Tag Archives: Birding with Ginger

F/8 and be there birds

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“f/8 and be there” is an old expression. It means you should just shoot. Don’t be too concerned about getting everything right. That’s why I carry my digital camera nearly every time I’m out.

I’ve seen a lot of birds on my walks and drives with Ginger lately. With the heavy foliage, warblers are a challenge but here are a couple from the last few days. American Redstarts are everywhere, calling, foraging, and always moving.

The same goes for Common Yellowthroats .

This has been the summer for Gray Catbirds, their litany of calls and songs wake us early most mornings.

It’s easier to photograph birds that sit still for a while. This Savannah Sparrow at the airport the other day is a good example.

Or this American Robin bringing breakfast home.

Birds that swoop and soar are impossible for me to capture with my point-and-shoot camera. These Tree Swallows stopped for a break.

Ticks and mosquitoes are bothersome in the summer, and there often are too many leaves to get clear shots. For me, summer mornings are a wonderful time to get out for exercise and birding. I need to remember that four months ago, here’s what our backyard looked like. Seize the day!

A Road-side Hawk

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One of the first rare birds I ever traveled to find was a Roadside Hawk in early 2010, in Texas.  

Yesterday, on a rural back road not far from here, I had a brief but wonderful encounter with a hawk. My dog and I were traveling slowly with the windows down. Suddenly, my windshield was filled with a flash of brown and a distinctive tail of black and white stripes. It was low and landing just beyond us. I stopped the car. I decided not to back up or get out. Instead, I slowly opened the door partway. I leaned out with binoculars and saw the bird just behind me.

Grabbing the camera from my backpack, I leaned out, hoping no cars were coming, and took a photo.

The bird was focused on something on the ground. As I shot a closeup, it lazily flew off behind us. Because of the car acting as a blind, it never got spooked.

It seems it was a Cooper’s Hawk. This is an example of the neat surprises we get when we least expect them.

Local Talent

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During weeks of gray days with drizzle and chilly, we walk most every day waiting for warmth and migrants. Here are some birds that hang out locally and brighten the dismal mornings. This Song Sparrow was singing non-stop and still at it an hour later.

Common Mergansers cruise on the icy river.

We see a few Mallards – this guy was a “puddle duck” on a nearby recreation field.

American Robins are showing up more often, often in traveling groups.

Snow is again the forecast tomorrow but the days are longer, more birds are on the way here. Ginger and I are ready to get out there and see them. Good April birding to you all.

That’s Nature!

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Many years ago, my grandson Dane and his family was visiting our Vermont home on a lovely summer day. We were relaxing on the back lawn when suddenly, in a flash of brown and an explosion of feathers, a Red-shouldered hawk grabbed a Mourning Dove and flew away as we all gaped and shook our heads. Dane, in his young boy voice announced, “Well, that’s nature.”

Ginger and I had a That’s Nature day yesterday. Our walk on new snow started with watching some birds in the back yard.

We went down to the frozen river to walk a bit when I spotted a pile of feathers which I suspect once was a junco, and Ginger was very interested. Probably a Sharp-shinned Hawk had an early breakfast.

We then walked a few miles on trails and returning, I spotted this dead deer right beside the trail. I suspect a coyote/coydog got it . The sight was grisly and I kept Ginger from seeing the carcass.

We then returned to the relative placidity of our backyard and our American Tree Sparrows and American Goldfinches.

I’m reading a great book – The Courage of Birds – by the noted birder/author Pete Dunne. In addressing the worry about backyard feeding causing birds to be killed, he writes “A Sharp-shinned or Cooper’s Hawk is going to catch and consume two birds per day no matter what.”

That’s nature!

Grey Days

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Freezing rain, drizzle, wind – late November in Vermont can get on your nerves. I stopped at the local airport yesterday while a was gale blowing. Aside from a few wind-ruffled crows, no birds were about but I remembered a past visit, just a few weeks ago, and it made me smile, because of this guy.

See you next spring buddy – you got out of Dodge at the right time.

Geocaching Again 

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I’ve been an intermittent geocacher since 2012 when, as I described here, got hooked on one of the world’s most popular outdoor activities. Since then, I have found over two hundred caches in many states and a few in Spain, usually when I am traveling on vacation.  I can search for descriptions and addresses of each cache with my cell phone. There are more than three million around the world.

More recently, in addition to looking for caches, I have placed a few of my own in local forests. I placed my latest one, “Off the Beaten Path -Barely,” last month. It’s an multi-tasking trek – exercise, dog walking, bird watching, and enjoying nature as I looked for an interesting site.

Chicken of the Woods – a favorite of many.
Beech Mushroom

After a mile or so of hiking on trail system, I found a place I thought would be easy and also accesible in winter. Here’s what it looked like:

So far, three groups of geocachers have found it including one person who logged it the next day as a “first to find.” This cache is near a trail that is lightly used so it will be interesting to see how many notification emails I get before spring. Why not add geocaching to your activities in the year ahead.

More Mergs

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While most birds along river have departed, we still are seeing mergansers on our daily walks. Here are a few from the last few weeks.

And a few Hoodies.

With Thanksgiving coming, here are some Wild Turkeys from this mornings back road drive. Not a great shot but they weren’t waiting around to pose for me.

On We Go

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For a variety of reasons, I haven’t blogged for months. On a day where I have disconnected from news feeds for mental health, I’ve started an initiative to focus on topics such as birding, travel, dogs, and family that enliven my spirits. We’ll start with these Hooded and Common Mergansers I recently saw on a grey windy day at Berlin Pond, one of our local hotspots.

There were about twenty Hoodies and nearby, sixteen Mallards.

We’re in the season of no leaves, few birds and numb fingers on the camera but Ginger and I get out daily and do our normal multi-tasking of walking on leash, looking for birds, and for me, practicing Spanish. Enjoy this transition time, at least the seasonal one. As a friend wrote me today from Spain, “Hay que pensar en lo bueno” – “You have to think about the good.”

June 1st Ride with Mom

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Early this morning on a dog walk/birding outing, I came across this merganser family out for a cruise. For once, the dog was not moving, the sun was behind me, and there was no foliage in the way. I count ten or eleven youngsters – including the two getting a ride.

Early May Birds

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New migrants are arriving daily and the trees are just budding — it’s a great time to get out an check things out. Here are a few recent sightings.

This pair have been here for weeks but always nice to see.

Eastern Kingbirds showed up last week, as did Common Loons.

And I’m still sorting out sandpipers — this one, which I saw just up from the house, I’m calling a Solitary Sandpiper, not a Spotted.

Warblers are here but their movement and the dog’s leash make them difficult to photograph. But all the Yellow Warblers and American Goldfinches add lollipops of color to enjoy.