As we walked a couple of miles alongside the reservoir, there was a quite a mix of birds. Here are more — some of the images are poor because of the grey skies. The first was this American Kestrel which we flushed walking in but was perched again of the same branch an hour later.
This Red-breasted Merganser was moving away from us.
My “helper” who like me, enjoys our birding outings.
When I visit my daughter in Massachusetts, I often try to go birding with Ginger at Cherry Hill Reservoir. We spent a few good hours on a chilly morning last Thursday. Here are a few of the waterfowl we saw.
There were also a number of Scaup – I’m calling them Lesser due to the rounded head.
Ruddy Ducks are often here, in large rafts, resting. They are delightful to watch as they dive and re-appear, usually farther away.
We had a great hike and saw 33 species. I’ll include more in the next post. Happy migration birding.
We recently spent a nice week on Cape Cod, avoiding crowds and taking long walks along the National Seashore beaches.
We saw a lot of gulls, Herring, Greater Black-backed, and likely others.
Each day, we also saw dozens of Harbor Seals who seemed to enjoy us as much as we did them.
One of the amazing sites, and sights, of birding Southern Arizona is Whitewater Draw, the winter home of thousands of Sandhill Cranes. I’ll just let these pictures tell you of our visit.
We were enthralled by the way the cranes just appear as specks high in the sky and spiral down in twos or threes, hundreds at a time. As a pilot, I marvelled at the way they spilled lift, descended in close formations, and picked out a precise landing spot among the thousands already resting. It was an unforgettable day.
Penny and I took took a road trip yesterday down to Merrimac to see Jen and her gang – and to do a little birding. Things are several weeks ahead down here and being further south, we hear Tufted Titmice, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, and Northern Mockingbirds that are less common up our way. I was just setting up the van – which takes no time at all – when I heard an unusual bird song and found a couple of Magnolia Warblers working the apple tree in the front yard.
This bouncing Magnolia Warbler reminded me how tough it is to photograph warblers.
This morning, we paused for a silly selfie before heading out for some birding along a trail I (and many other birders) like along Artichoke Reservoir.
Jen’s Mini-Cooper is dwarfed by the Interstate RV
We heard and saw a lot of neat birds, the best being several Blue-winged Warblers, Northern Waterthrush, Warbling Vireos, Baltimore Orioles, and Rose-breased Grosbeaks. Everything was singing and it was a challenge to figure out the various calls since it’s the first time this year I’ve heard them. This Scarlet Tanager greeted us as we were leaving the trail.
Pretty lousy photo of a pretty bird singing its heart out.
This is not only big-time mosquito territory but also tick heaven. She has a treatment each month – I have to remember to wear long pants, load up with spray, and check afterward. It is a favorite place of mine and favorite time of year to bird – oral and visual overload. A nice problem to have. Good birding
Down in Massachusetts for a few days visit, I decided to take Penny birding yesterday morning at one of my favorite spots, Salisbury Beach State Reservation. If you get there early, even on a weekend, there are few people around. Later in the morning, it seems like every dog walker in the area descends on the place.
I had just turned on to the access road when I saw a Northern Harrier working the salt flats, hunting low over the ground, swooping and soaring in the way that I just love to watch. It was too far off for photos but a great start — first I’ve seen this year.
The ocean was pretty dramatic with a stiff wind and high tide and as far as I could tell, no birds.
Several House Finches were in the shrubbery along the walkway to the beach.
After seeing several large dogs cavorting off leash along the beach, I decided to move inland. We ran into a host of species and Penny had a chance to race around a bit around the vacant campground. Perhaps the most interesting were the Song Sparrows, which were singing everywhere, and a half-dozen Northern Mockingbirds.
The mockingbirds were going through their repertoire – fun to hear and see.
Even House Sparrows got into the act.
We headed toward the boat launch area and noted several large groups of Brant.
The Brant breeds in the high Arctic tundra and winters along both coasts.
It was a nice morning outing, relatively quiet since many migrants have yet to arrive. Both Penny and I got some nice exercise and fresh air. We’ll be back again until they start charging $14 per car when the beaches open up.
After four days of rain showers with some thunderstorms, we finally are getting a day or two of muggy but cloudy weather. Yesterday morning, I asked our grandson Mac if he wanted to paddle for a bit and when Mary graciously offered to watch the dog, we were off to the local lake.
Lake Attitash’s chief feature for us is that it is only a few miles away. It is shallow, small (360 acres) and extensively developed; roads and cottages, two or three rows deep in places, virtually ring the entire lake, as well as a summer boys’ camp, and at least two boat docks. There are literally hundreds of boats of all types and sizes but most just are active in the evening and on weekends. It was rather quiet today but the south wind gave us a steady chop to deal with.
We just had launched when we saw a Bald Eagle cruising past. The waves were hitting us from the stern quarter so I was more focused on paddling than grabbing for the camera. Ten minutes later, a Great Blue Heron lifted off from the bushes right in front of us, followed by an active Belted Kingfisher who delighted us by diving rather close by the boats.
There is a long inlet that is very shallow and full of water lilies, water hyacinths, and many aquatic weeds. It is protected from the wind and often has a lot of waterfowl. We spotted our Great Blue Heron, or his brother, fishing in the shallows.
Further ahead, I spotted this trio of young Mallards cruising just so they kept ahead of us.
The inlet has a protective boom to supposedly keep nutrients and algae out of the lake. It once may have been a good idea but as Mac says, "Doesn’t look like they maintain it." Sticks and branches pushed sections to allow water to just move over the top – and looking at the lake, it appears to be a lost cause. This lake is eutrophication with a capitol E.
Heading back down the inlet, we saw a Mute Swan family again – having seen the adults earlier. The cygnets are nearly full-grown but still grey and fuzzy-looking.
Heading back into the wind, the paddling was a little slower but the boats tracked better. We ended the outing with a flyover by an Osprey. It was a fun outing with my fourteen-year-old grandson who is a pretty good paddler/birder. Good birding.
CAPE COD BIRD FESTIVAL
September 18 20, 2015
Hyannis, Massachusetts
Guest speakers are:
Join us for the third annual Cape Cod Bird Festival! Last year birder’s from 20 states and Canada enjoyed weekend of birding, workshops, guest speakers, and the Vendor Marketplace.
Cape Cod during fall migration! Where the unexpected is expected!
Field trips will offer offshore island, pelagic, key land and shore bird sites. We have informative workshops and our Vendor Marketplace.
Friday night enjoy our welcome social and presentation by Miyoko Chu. Miyoko will share the revelations of scientists to answer age old questions on the lives of migratory birds.
Saturday Richard Crossley will present Past, Present and Future. Lessons learned in the wild British birding scene. Share his travels around the world from Japan to Cape May. It will be fast paced as Richard’s passion for color, art and a definite point of view will be shared. Richard will also discuss his thoughts behind his Crossley Field Guide.
Family Day will be a free event and feature Wilson’s Eyes on Owls live owl program at the CCMNH along with other events. Mark and Marcia Wilson are a charismatic team who teach, study, photograph and share their passion for the natural world. Each has nurtured a fascination for nature since childhood. Both have biology degrees and share a keen interest in birds. Please join us for an exceptional day.
An Eastern Screech Owl and a Northern Saw-whet Owl join 4 other live owls at Marcia and Mark Wilson’s Eyes On Owls presentation. Photo © Mark Wilson / Eyes On Owls
Our headquarters is the new Doubletree by Hilton in Hyannis. Check out the hotel www.doubletree3.hilton.com and mention the Festival to receive a special discounted room rate!
Registration is now open. For additional information, visit our website www.capecodbirdclub.org , email us at festival@capecodbirdclub.org or call 508-331-0345 for more information.
Gerry Cooperman
Festival 2015 – Chair
trogon6@aol.com
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We are in Merrimac, MA for a while and enjoyed a wonderful Christmas. This morning, I took the dog and went looking for birds for a few hours on a brisk, but sunny Saturday morning. One of my favorite places to exercise the dog while birding is Cherry Hill Reservoir in West Newbury — although on a Saturday, half the world seems to have dogs cavorting so we passed on that and went looking for a Greater White-fronted Goose which has been reported hanging out with a gaggle of Canada Geese there as well as nearby Artichoke Reservoir.
I spotted geese feeding in a field beside the water and scanned them with no luck and went on to check the rest of the reservoir. Reversing course, I noticed more geese on the water that were not visible during my first look, and sure enough, a GWFG was in the midst of them. Here are some shots that I took as it cruised around.
It was rather easy to see the stranger in the group of CAGO’s.
I decided to drive over to Salisbury State Beach Reservation so that I could let the dog run a bit off leash. While there were dozens of dogs everywhere, the campground was rather empty and perfect for a workout. We then checked the river for Harbor Seals and Common Eider (plenty of both) and I decided to check out the boat ramp area. I saw a grey bump on a log way off but could not distinguish it with my binoculars. But, just in case, I dragged out my scope from the truck cap and set it up in the breeze and sure enough, way off was a juvenile Snowy Owl.
This Snowy is a long ways off and looking away from me – but it’s my first this winter.
I think that it’s the first one this season from Salisbury. In any case, even though it was looking West most of the time, it was a nice find on a nice Saturday morning.
We are in Massachusetts for Thanksgiving, arriving here before the Nor’Easter, and settling in for a snowy day or two. We are just inside the snow line and will likely get 3-6 inches of heavy wet snow.
This morning, I took Penny out in the truck to do some pre-storm birding. It was raw with a wind out of the north but we had several hours before the cold rain started. We stopped at nearby Lake Attitash and saw some Mute Swans and Buffleheads before retreating back to the truck.
Salisbury Beach State Reservation is one of my favorite birding spots since unlike Parker River NWR, I can bring the dog along. Today, I even got a new life bird — Northern Gannet #411 — a bird I have missed a number of times. Four were actively feeding far out to sea this morning, plunging into the icy water for food. Fun to watch.
Other highlights of the morning for me were Horned Larks, Common Goldeneyes, Common Eiders, Northern Mockingbirds, and Great Black-backed Gulls. Then I headed over to the spot where each year, we see the Harbor Seals. As I noted last year:
Named common seal throughout Europe, this seal frequently observed around Long Island lives along the shores of eastern Canada, New England and in the winter, as far south as the Carolinas in a variety of habitats. Their scientific name loosely means “sea calf” or “sea dog.” This latter nickname is well suited as these seals closely resemble a dog when their head is viewed at the surface of the water.
These photos were shot through my spotting scope with the iPhone 5. Hope to get back and see them again with Mary before we leave the area. Happy Thanksgiving folks.
