Pinebrook Park is my go-to park for a quick, birdy walk during the spring and summer months. Songbirds are not the only draw to this park – the Brodhead Creek runs along side it, which brings a great variety of water-loving species. I often see Common Mergansers around the creek from a distance or flying by, however, late in August, they gave me a couple of nice photo opportunities.
Common Merganser after a dive
During my first photo op, I only had one subject who was busily fishing close enough to my side of the shore. This was in the morning, so I did not have a ton of time to photograph it.
I returned the next evening and had an entire cooperative flock who swam right by me and perched on some rocks. The lighting was perfect!
I was able to slowly creep closer to them behind the vegetation and get some nice views of them resting, preening and stretching.
I was very happy with the results! I left as soon as I lost the sunlight and the birds remained on the rocks behind me.
My friend and I made a trip up to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for some photo ops. My original reason for wanting to go up there were to see some Bohemian Waxwings that have been reported during the week. They were not seen all day yesterday, but we ended up going anyway to see other birds. When we parked the car at the Lab, I checked my email to see if anything interesting had been sighted and it turned out that Bohemian Waxwings were reported not far from us on Cayuga’s birding listserv. We hopped right back into the car and made our way to the birds.
When we got there, we ran into a Cornell Spring Field Ornithology class who led us to the right location, but the birds were slowly trickling away from sight into private property. At that point, I only had binocular views of them with no real looks at field marks – you could tell they were Waxwings, but I wanted to see the key marks of a Bohemian. My friend decided to go see if she could get permission to go on the property and the owner allowed us in!
We came across a flock high up in the trees and got very nice scope views of about 30 birds. We went further in for a closer look and suddenly we were surrounded by Waxwings.
Bohemian Waxwing pair
Bohemian Waxwing pair
This is a bird that I have wanted to see for a long time. We estimated that there could have been up to 80 individuals (though, I put 70 on our eBird list), plus one lone Cedar Waxwing. In our area, it is usually the opposite! We had satisfying looks from every angle.
Bohemian Waxwing
We were pleased to see some of the birds exhibiting courtship behavior by exchanging small pieces of food back and forth.
Bohemian Waxwings courtship
Bohemian Waxwings courtship
Bohemian Waxwings courtship
It was one of the best “life bird” experiences I’ve had, especially considering that I would have never expected to see so many.
Bohemian Waxwing
After this wonderful experience, we went out to look for waterfowl. While the numbers are down from the winter-waterfowl birding, we still did see a good variety including Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Ducks, Bufflehead, both Mergansers, Redhead, Ruddy Ducks, Common Loons, American Coot and a Pied-billed Grebe. I finally got some decent photos of Hooded Mergansers, thanks to another friend who joined us!
Hooded Merganser
All of us couldn’t help but get photos of this Mallard up close in the sun. As common as they are, you cannot dismiss their beauty!
Mallard
The last highlight was another good one. We went to find local nesting Great Horned Owls and did not come up empty handed.
Great Horned Owl
A great start to a birding weekend. I wonder what tomorrow will bring…
One of the things that I instantly fell in love with when I saw my neighborhood for the first time was the creek that runs along the road. It was in the summer, so the water flowed very peacefully. Little did I know that I would eventually become a birder and the creek would become my favorite birding patch.
Some of the regular visitors to the creek are very chatty Kingfishers.
Belted Kingfisher
And Green Herons, who I typically see flying away before I even spot them. Sometimes, they stay put.
Green Heron in breeding plumage
Green Heron, digiscoped with my Nikon EDG and Canon 7D
Great Blue Herons have been spotted a few times, even though the fish are pretty small.
Great Blue Heron
I often get waterfowl, mainly Canada Geese, Mallards and Common Mergansers.
Male and Female Common Mergansers
Two female Common Mergansers
… who also brought their families along.
Common Merganser Family
Canada Goose Family
I have some one-time visitors that are worth mentioning such as Solitary and Spotted Sandpipers.
Solitary and Spotted Sandpipers
As well as one lone Double-crested Cormorant.
Double-crested Cormorant
Some other nice surprises included a Veery, a very vocal Towhee and Great Crested Flycatchers.
Great Crested Flycatcher
I also often get Warblers, mostly during migration. However, the Yellow Warblers and Common Yellowthroats sing throughout the summer.
The best life bird I had at the creek was such a huge surprise. Before I was a birder, I adored the beauty of Cedar Waxwings. You can imagine how excited I was when I found them hawking insects at my creek. Now I get to see them all the time!
Cedar Waxwing
They would perch on the rocks and on the fallen branches that were scattered throughout. They always seemed to return to the same perches making photos pretty easy.
Cedar Waxwings
At one point, a bit of flooding washed away the branches, so I replaced one in their favorite spot. Not a minute later, I had a taker.
Cedar Waxwing
This past summer I found a Louisiana Waterthrush fledgling.
Louisiana Waterthrush Fledgling
And then Mom showed up, gathering some grub. These birds were very reliable for about two weeks and very easy to spot as they pumped their butts up and down while foraging for food.
Louisiana Waterthrush
The creek gave me my first close up with Turkey Vultures, a bird who is normally seen soaring the skies. They didn’t mind my presence as long as they had their food. They were munching on the bones of a raccoon that is hidden behind a rock. The smell was awful, but the photos were well worth it!
Turkey Vultures
And of course, it is a creek, so birds will find shallow places to bathe…
Bathing Grackles
Bathing Robin and Catbird
… and sun bathe!
Sun Bathing Kingfisher and Catbird
It’s not just the birds that I enjoy here – there are also mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects!
This summer, a pair of Beavers were spotted, but did not stick around. They had many small trees that they chomped down, but perhaps the creek was too much for them to dam up.
Beavers Pair
I often see deer crossing the water.
White-tailed Deer
Deer Couple
Along with many frogs and snakes that I find if I look close enough in the water.
Snake in the Creek
Frogs in the water
The frogs also find their way on the rocks by the dozen. I have to really watch my step sometimes because they are everywhere.
And, of course, the outdoor and feral cats that rule the neighborhood have to cross over at some point.
Domestic Cat
All of this is seen within a quarter mile walk along (and through) the water. I really love this creek. Even on days that there are no birds or other animals, there is always something to enjoy.
