From Water to Woods...

Tweet My favorite time of the year for birding, Spring, is here.  This means that any time that I am not at work or sleeping, I am usually out looking for new bird arrivals.  After an above normal temperature winter, spring has started off cooler than usual.

It has also been fairly dry, especially when compared to this time last year.  Shorebird habitat is always very hard to find on the east side of town.  The farmers fields are always well drained.  There has been some good shorebirds found around the area, but too far for me to try for.  So, I'll take any shorebirds that I can get locally!  My only really reliable spot for shorebirds is ironically a shore rather than a flooded field, the beach at the local reservoir (East Fork).

My first non-killdeer shorebirds of the season were these two molting Dunlin on the beach at East Fork.

Always enjoy watching them navigate the incoming waves.  Looks as if they are dancing.

Here is one running from an incoming wave.

After running from the wave, the bird turned around and started to walk right up to me.

A couple of Lesser Yellowlegs have also been hanging out on the beach for a while.  They are funny birds to watch.

Cool back colors.

They were feeding on something in the sand.

This one thinks it is the BOMB!

Love the expressions of this bird.

I know I've got something stuck on my foot, so quit looking!

Tu-tu, tu-tu, tu-tu

This nice looking breeding Bonaparte's Gull was near the yellowlegs.  A nice looking bird that I don't see much sporting its breeding plumage.

 

 It was also feeding on something in the sand.

While driving down my road, something caught my eye, so I turned around.  Lo and behold, there were eight Wilson's Snipe in a corn stubble field right off the side of the road.  I had my camera, so I snapped a few pics out of the car window.  Very camouflaged birds.

 

Since most of the holes on my ragged life list are shorebirds/waterbirds, I have a tendency of just checking the lake.  With the woods radiating with the sounds of new arrival migrants at East Fork, I decided I should spend more time in the woods than just looking for rare water birds. 

Prairie Warblers are singing all over the south side of the park in the cedar fields.

Yellow-rumped Warblers are everywhere at East Fork and in my yard.  This one found a yummy inchworm.

Warbling Vireos are everywhere as well.

Here is one of my favorite warblers.  While pishing a stream, this Wilson's Warbler very briefly popped up from the vegetation.  I was able to get this quick shot.  Beautiful bird!

Prothonotary Warblers are singing all over the park in the woods surrounding the lake.  I saw two at one time and heard another one calling in the distance across the cove.  Two Prothonotaries were chasing each other and calling.  I pished and the birds flew in to see what was going on.

"Sweet, Sweet, Sweet"

Looks like Pikachu!

*****************

Tweet

I wished there were more people like this...

Tweet

On my way home from work the other day, I noticed a taped off area on an adjacent road. I didn't really pay much attention to it and just subconsciously read the sign that was accompanying the taped off area. Here is a picture of the sign.

I looked down by the road and sure enough there was a Killdeer on a nest. I am surprised that someone actually noticed it, but I think I am more surprised that someone actually cared enough to rope off the area. I know that a lot of people walk through this lot daily with their dogs.

I remember seeing Killdeer nesting in the driveways around my childhood home when I was younger and putting bricks next to the nests to protect them. As the trees grown, the Killdeer habitat eventually disappeared. I also remember a not so distant time when a large outdoor event put on by a publicly funded park caused the trampling of several Killdeer nests much to my protest.

I like how the person put a picture of a Killdeer on the sign. This will definitely draw attention to the nesting bird, but it also serves to educate the public about birds! It is little things like this that gives me hope for the future.

Tweet

A blue and yellow day

Tweet Warblers and other migrants are starting to show up. This year is odd in that the trees are so advanced leave wise, that you would expect them to be dripping with warblers right about now. While I have seen some earlier than usual birds, most seem to be right on schedule with past records.

Yesterday, I was out and about looking for new arrivals and was able to find some. I have been hearing Yellow-throated Warblers for a while now. I seldom get to see them, so I was happy to be able to spish one close enough to see.

A little closer please!

Love to see them.

There is a little wetland adjacent to the woods that held the Yellow-throated Warbler. I heard an odd sound coming from the vegetation. When I went over to check it out, I found six Blue-winged Teal and a lone female Hooded Merganser.

I have always thought of Hooded Mergansers being small, but when compared to Blue-winged teal, they are slightly bigger. The male teals were battling for the females. I watched them for a while. I think the merganser is confused as to what species it is.

Double vision




Mirror image







Like the two-toned bill.

And as I was leaving the wetland to look for more warblers, the male gave me a wink!

Such nice looking ducks!

But the real surprise of the day came when I heard what I thought was a Blue-winged Warbler calling from the nearby wood line. I spished and up popped a little yellow bird - Blue-winged Warbler it is. I love their call!

*****************

Tweet

Ferruginous Hawk - Life bird!

Tweet Since some time in February of this year, birders have been seeing an odd Buteo at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) in Boone Co., KY. Not much attention had been paid to the original sighting. Recently, another birder brought up the suggestion/possibility that the bird was a Ferruginous Hawk. Many birders then descended on the airport and many photos were taken. The bird was definitely a Ferrunginous (immature), a first state record for Kentucky!

The Ferrunginous Hawk is a hawk of the western US Great Plains region. From what I have read and heard, it is not so easy to see even in its home range.

With the opportunity to see such a cool and cooperative rare bird not so far from me (and somewhere that I know how to drive to!), I had to go see this bird. I was off last Friday, so I headed to KY to see the hawk.

When I first got there, the Ferruginous was laying in the grass just on the other side of a fence that was in front of the plane viewing area. Very easy life bird, but I wanted to see it in flight. The bird stayed on the ground for at least an hour or more.

Nope, not a Red-tail! Finally, the bird took off!

The back of the bird is very different from a Red-tailed. The Ferruginous would practically disappear with its light coloring and streamline profile. It was very hard to follow with optics.

The profile and flight style is different from the Red-tail.

The bird was very fun to watch, as it was more acrobatic than a Red-tail.

Here is a shot of the hawk in front of the control tower. Only, the hawk didn't take off or land.

There has been rumors that there are two Ferruginous Hawks at the airport. I do not believe this to be the case. The Ferruginous hawk has been hanging out with a very light Red-tailed Hawk. When I was there, the Ferruginous and Red-tail were talon tagging. They had also made wing contact. I seen six Red-tailed Hawks at the same time that I saw the Ferruginous Hawk.

The birds were far away, but here is a pic of the two. (Click for a lager version)

The light Red-tail is on the left and the Ferruginous on the right.





Here, the two are very close together and appear to have touched wings.

When the hawk got out of sight, there were plenty of other birds to watch. This Eastern Meadowlark landed right in front of everybody as if to say "Hey that hawk has nothing on this!"

And, just as I was getting ready to leave and get in the car, the Ferruginous flew right over me! I was able to get these cool shots! Awesome day and bird!

*****************

Tweet