“Our” immature Cooper’s Hawk, Lindsay, caught an unfortunate Pigeon today in the yard. Lindsay spent more than 1 hour devouring the bird, and then he/she flew off with about 1/5 of the Pigeon’s remains in his/her talons. All that was left was a big pile of feathers. Bob took the photos through the window. See all 6 photos by clicking this image (warning – fairly graphic):
While watching 4 Pine Siskins at my thistle feeders today, a large sparrow with a flash of white flew onto the ground: an adult WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, only my second time ever for the yard. Here are some photos of it (through the window) eating under the feeders and on the lawn – click any photo to take you to the full album:
Bob and I took a fantastic vacation, beginning in San Francisco and then down at the Monterey Bay Birding Festival, with Bob documenting all our fabulous finds with his camera. Please enjoy ALL the pictures by clicking on this photo of Redwood trees in Muir Woods…Day 1 begins here:
Here’s a teaser of just some of the amazing birds we saw:
Today Bob and I found a gorgeous Golden-winged Warbler at Ringwood Manor. Bob got photos, although the bird was moving so fast that it was hard to focus on. Still, he got a few decent shots for the record! We saw 7 warblers total, including WORM-EATING, Blue-winged, Parula, Ovenbird, Redstart, and Yellow. Click photo for the album:
This Eastern Phoebe was very cooperative:
We saw a lot of baby Tree Swallows:
This Great-crested Flycatcher was very obliging:
And this adult Tree Swallow let us visit its yard:
It was a beautiful day, and we saw 48 species total.
Bob and I walked along the path that follows the river. There was much birdsong – especially from the numerous Yellow Warblers and Gray Catbirds:
We found a spot that was very active and stayed for a while. There was a tiny newly fledged baby Blue Jay who was waiting for his parents to come back. He had no tail at all:
How cute is this Mourning Dove pair?
Bob got some fantastic pictures of a Double-crested Cormorant drying its wings and lounging with some Canada Geese:
Overall, a very beautiful day. Click on any of the photos to take you to the full album.
We were among the many lucky people who saw the Mississippi Kite today. Apparently the female has been sitting on the nest in the past few days and is not visible too often. We saw this stunning male who put on quite a show by flying around to various perches around the parking lot. Click on either photo to bring you to the full album.
Bob and I went to Presque Isle and Caribou for my grandma’s 93rd birthday. We were able to do a lot of local birding, where the migration was just starting to get into gear. Bob took all these photos with his new camera. We were fortunate to see 4 Bald Eagles up close, plus a couple while driving up and back. This bird was bringing sticks to its nest over Echo Lake:
This young eagle landed directly over our heads in a huge pine. It checked us out and then flew off, while Bob was able to get these 4 photos. We could hear the beat of the wings as it flew:
Here is a cropped photo of picture #1 to see the feather details:
And this eagle (full adult) gave us a real treat as it circled the lake, landed in a tree, and posed for a while:
Bogs are full of life up there. We pulled over and watched the action in one small bog near Aroostook State Park. We saw lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers:
A Greater Yellowlegs and a Solitary Sandpiper:
A Downy Woodpecker possibly feeding young in its nest hole:
In Echo Lake, we saw Ring-necked Ducks:
And saw Black-capped Chickadees by the shoreline:
Common Ravens were numerous. The croaking calls echoed through the skies on some quiet days:
You can click on any of the photos to bring you to the full photo album.
Bob and I went up to Flat Rock Brook Nature Center in Englewood on May 6th, and it was extremely exciting to hear a KENTUCKY WARBLER singing away within the dense brush and woods. We waited for about 5 minutes for the bird to come out, but it didn’t, so I ventured in a bit, saw the bird for a split second before it flew, and that was that. It was singing from across the path, but I didn’t continue after it.
Bob’s new camera is great. Here are some photos he took…click on any photo to bring you to the full album:
A Baltimore Oriole made for a wonderful subject:
We saw a pair of Wild Turkeys:
A gorgeous female Towhee posed for us:
We saw a bathing Black-throated Green Warbler!
A very vocal Great-crested Flycatcher was calling:
And we saw many other beauties too:
We had a beautiful time in Cape May this weekend, and we want to thank our awesome B&B, the Victorian Lace Inn, for making the stay even better than imagined. Here are some bird photos from the trip, including lots of pictures from our Bald Eagle Cruise aboard The Osprey boat along the Maurice River (click photo for full album):
Another nemesis was added to my life list today: Greater White-fronted Goose! With relative ease, I saw the bird almost immediately after scanning a close flock of Canada Geese in the water. Click on any photo to bring you to the full album:
