I will once again be a part of the blogging team for The Biggest Week in American Birding. I had so much fun writing about my experiences last year and hope to gear everyone up for this year’s festival.
So what is all the hype about??
Thousands of birders flock to northwest Ohio to witness the best warbler migration in the United States. This ten day “week” starts on May 6th and features birding events at the Black Swamp Bird Observatory in Magee Marsh, Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge and surrounding areas. It is headquartered at Maumee Bay Lodge & Conference Center, which has a great bird habitat in itself.
Cape May Warblers are a given!
Last year, I saw twelve life birds, met many new friends and got the best looks at great birds than I ever have before. If someone sees a good bird, you will know about it and they are happy to point it out. There is also an official twitter account that you can follow and get tweets sent right to your phone so you don’t miss a good sighting.
This Eastern Whip-poor-will gave many people great looks
The American Bittern who was seen by many
Surprises are always a possibility – like this Long-eared Owl that flew into the Marsh! My friend and I found out about this bird from a tweet while we were at Ottawa NWR, we promptly drove to Magee and made our way to its location on the boardwalk.
A surprise Long-eared Owl at Magee
I am looking forward to birding from sunrise until sunset, then ending the days relaxing with friends. I will be there from May 11th through the 15th.
I started my blog in February of this year so this will be my first “new year” with an audience. I am taking this opportunity to do what many others do this time of year – reflect on my year, with a focus on my best birds and experiences. Personally 2013 brought many changes to my life – I started the year in New York and am ending in Pennsylvania. As far as birds go, I got 36 life birds, a great oppurtunity to be a part of the birding community and unforgettable trips with friends.
I started out with a bang doing New Years birding with my friend; the first bird we spotted together was a life bird for me – the Northern Shrike. This bird eluded me any time I would look for it during the previous season. The scope views were great, but he was too far for good photos.
Documentation shot of the Northern Shrike
Halfway into the month, my friends and I went up to the Cayuga Lake region to search for a Townsend’s Solitaire that had been reliably seen. We searched for two hours and never found the bird. Of course, the bird was spotted about ten minutes after we left – go figure. As we were making our way back down the lake I received an email about a juvenile gray-morph Gyrfalcon that was spotted at Montezuma NWR. A Gyrfalcon?? We turned right around and chased this bird which would have been a lifer for all three of us. We had our sights on a bird that we thought was the Gyrfalcon, but it was too far even for scope views and concluded that it was a Rough-legged Hawk (shadows played tricks on us). We went to another area to get a better view and the bird we were looking at was, indeed, the Gyr. It was a great turn-around to our otherwise disappointing day!
I promise you that this is a Gyrfalcon
This month was the start of my interest in falconry. My friends caught and hunted with a handsome male Red-tailed Hawk who they named Rusty.
Rusty, my friend’s Red-tailed Hawk
I watched birds hunt for the first time at the New Jersey Falconry Club Annual Meet. I hope to have the time to hunt with birds one day in the future. For now, I will follow around my friends and photograph them with their birds.
Rogue, my friend’s Harris’s Hawk
January was also the start of my Redpoll invasion that ran well into February. I had over 100 birds at my feeders – they cleaned me out, but it was a great experience. Within the Common Redpoll flocks, I also spotted a couple of Hoary Redpolls.
Common Redpoll
Hoary Redpoll
The winter months bring tons of waterfowl to the finger lakes. This year was my first time seeing rafts of ducks swimming close together – this raft included great views at a life bird, the Eared Grebe.
Eared Grebe
In March, my friends and I did a winter big day where we found a flock of Red Crossbills at a residential feeder. My next lifer was seen on the very next day – a Lapland Longspur within a flock of Horned Larks.
Red Crossbills
Later in the month, after multiple attempts at finding Short-eared Owls both locally and further north, we finally had one fly over low as the sun was setting. I didn’t even lift my camera for it, because I did not want to lose this beautiful sight by playing with settings and focus.
My biggest highlight this month was not an actual bird – earlier in the season, I submitted a photo to Project Feederwatch that was recognized by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology on their Facebook page. An editor at National Wildlife Magazine saw this photo and asked me if she could use it in an article. The magazine arrived in my mail box on March 15th. I was published in a national magazine for the first time!
My photo in National Wildlife Magazine
April brought another really great life bird – the Bohemian Waxwing. A friend and I went up to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to photograph birds. As soon as we parked the car, I received an email that the Waxwings were nearby. We packed back up and headed to the location. We ended up getting permission to go in private woods and were surrounded by these beautiful birds!
Bohemian Waxwings
May was highlighted by The Biggest Week in American Birding. Back in February, I volunteered to be on the events blogging team. I ended up getting a bit more involved than last year, met many new friends and walked away with a lot of great memories – and 12 life birds.
This Long-eared Owl was the most unexpected life bird at Magee Marsh
Cape May Warbler at Magee
Things slowed down in June and July. We did, however, get to see the return of a local family of Barred Owls. At about the same time, I also had a guest Great Horned Owl in my own woods. All of these birds proved to be great subjects and were fun to watch.
Young Barred Owl
Great Horned Owl
In August, I added some more really good life birds – An American White Pelican who was out of range at Montezuma NWR and some Least Bitterns that I was able to self-identify in the field. A Black-billed Cuckoo also flew into my yard – this was a very unexpected visitor!
Black-billed Cuckoo
Then came September and our annual trip to Cape May. For me, this trip started last year and both visits were beyond my expectations. While the morning flight at Higbee was not as great as last year, we still went on a good day and saw many birds zip by.
Cedar Waxwings morning flight
I finally saw a Marsh Wren – a bird that I had previously only heard… many times… many many times.
Marsh Wren
We also found out where the Black Skimmer flock likes to hang out during the fall – a beach near the 2nd Avenue jetty. I was in Skimmer heaven!
Black Skimmers
Endless Black Skimmers
I moved to my new house in Pennsylvania – this was a big change for me. Leaving New York was difficult, but it had to be done. Before I left, however, I was given the opportunity to hold my favorite bird, the American Kestrel, for the first time thanks to my friends.
Me with an American Kestrel
Birding slowed down for me in October. I spent a lot of time settling into my new house and only went birding once with a new friend. Other than that, I watched as migrants passed through my yard. In November, this same friend also brought me to Barnegat on the coast of New Jersey – a first for me. The trip yielded five life birds including the Harlequin Duck – our target bird.
Harlequin Ducks
We stopped by Sandy Hook Gateway National Park to check in on some Snowy Owl sightings. Just as we were about to give up, a fisherman told us where to find the one of the birds on the north beach. The photo op was unbeatable. This was one of the earlier Owls from this years irruption.
Snowy Owl
Last week, my best Christmas present was in the form of votes – I won week 7 of Project Feederwatch’s BirdSpotter Contest. This was completely unexpected since I never asked anyone for votes – it just happened!
My winning House Finch photo
We visited Barnegat again in December with another friend to show her the Harlequins. Once again, the trip did not disappoint us. Not only were we rewarded with great views at Harlequins, we also had up-close looks at Northern Gannets and an unexpected visit from two Razorbills off shore.
Northern Gannet
I look forward to seeing new birds in new places for 2014. Every year keeps getting better as I add more places to visit. More trips to Cape May are already planned, the Biggest Week is already in discussion and we are even considering going to the Rio grande Birding Festival this year. Perhaps my post a year from now will be even better than this one!
Snowy Owls have been showing up in high numbers across the United States. A friend and I went to Sandy Hook Gateway National Park in New Jersey to follow up on an early sighting of two owls. We had no idea where to look and just about gave up when a fisherman in the parking lot asked us if we saw the Owl. He told us where to go and led us to a very cooperative subject. She was resting on the beach with some photographers who already had their sights on her.
This Snowy Owl was resting near the dunes
She sat comfortably and preened for about an hour while we were there.
Snowy Owl preening some tail feathers
Snowy Owl cleaning her large feet
The setting was perfect as it neared dusk.
The sky was turning pink, but light was quickly fading so we left her where we found her.
One more shot as we were walking away
The reason why the sky was pink
Remember, these birds are tired and hungry from a long journey south – enjoy them at a distance and do not get so close that they need to use extra energy to fly away! All of my photos are cropped from my original 400mm focal length. All photographers that were with us respected her space!
Between my neighborhood Great Horned Owl and the local Barred Owl family, this really seems to be the month of the Owl for me. I am enjoying every bit of it!
On Sunday, I visited the local Barred Owl family with a friend. I had every intention of spending an entire morning with them – and I did from 8:30AM to 12:30PM. We could hear one of the babies as soon as we started on the trail from the parking area and eventually found one baby not far off the trail. The baby flew to another tree right below an adult.
Barred Owl baby
By staying for the full morning I witnessed some really cool things that I may have otherwise missed:
Mom and baby shared a moment together that did not involve food exchange.
Mom and baby Barred Owl share a tender moment
A Red-shouldered Hawk was screaming at the Owls. The adult Owl seemed unconcerned even after the Hawk swooped past it’s baby. The Hawk showed up again later in the morning.
Red-shouldered Hawk
We believe the Hawk was after an already dead Crow that was in the bog. The story behind this Crow is unknown to us. All we know is that after the Hawk left, Mom went into the bog and lifted a Crow out.
Mom Barred Owl with a Crow
Mom Barred Owl with a Crow
The juvenile Owl decided to preen a single feather even after it already fell off. Notice how he is holding the feather with his feet.
Young Barred Owl cleaning a single feather
One of the babies decided to take a bath in the bog.
Barred Owl inside the bog for a bath
After the bath, the young Owl had some preening to do.
Barred Owl Juvenile shaking off some water
Barred Owl Juvenile scratching an itch
We caught the young Owl on the perfect perch.
Young Barred Owl on a nice perch above the bog
The Owls sometimes came to us.
Barred Owl up close
They didn’t mind falling asleep even when we were nearby.
Barred Owl falling asleep
Spending a morning with Owls is a great way to start the day! Though, I could have done without the constant mosquito bites (even after putting on coats of spray).
Last year, a Barred Owl family put on a great show for the local birders and photographers. The at least one adult would perch out near the bog and watch over us as we explored her home. The babies were usually easy to find as they hissed back and forth begging for food. I wrote about them back in March, Last Summer’s Barred Owls.
One of the Barred Owl parents, taken last year
As time passed this year, we were thinking that the Owls did not have a successful nest. Adults were being seen, but babies were not and it was already two weeks past when we first saw them last year. Then yesterday, a local birder spotted the kids. A friend and I went out to find them and had no trouble at all. As soon as we arrived on the trail, we could hear the Owls calling back and forth. Both siblings were together in a tree.
Two bikers were making their way up the trail and, before we could even set up, the Owls flushed from the tree. One of the Owls ended up flying on a branch directly above us! We had to back away in order to take some photos and get some good looks. I was able to fill the frame with bird at 250mm.
Barred Owl baby calling to its sibling and parents, at 250mm
Zooming in all the way produced some nice head shots.
Barred Owl baby, at 400mm
On our way out, we ran across its sibling on the trail. He was on a very nice perch.
Barred Owl baby, at 200mm
Once again, this one was very close.
Barred Owl baby calling to the first sibling, at 400mm
I also got a couple of videos of them calling back and forth.
The lighting wasn’t favorable and I got eaten alive by mosquitoes (you can hear one in the second video), but it was still a great experience!
In other Owl news, the Great Horned Owl that appeared in my neighborhood last week is still here! Today, he stayed out in the open all day – I was able to show him to some neighbors. It’s great when such a beautiful and unique bird can be seen by many!
On Wednesday afternoon I heard a ruckus in the woods behind my house. My neighborhood Crows and Jays were going crazy – which usually means a predator is around. Most of the time, this predator is a Red-tailed Hawk just passing through, but lately they have been acting up from the visiting bears. I kept alert in case I had to bring in my bird feeders – I only have a few hanging from under my deck since their last visit.
Things were starting to get loud so I went to check it out… with my camera in hand, of course. As soon as I walked into the woods I could see what they were mobbing – a Great Horned Owl!! I’ve only ever heard an Owl in my woods (Eastern Screech-Owl for one night only) – this is the first time I actually saw one here. The birds flew into another tree so I climbed the incline and went after them. The Owl was in plain sight.
Great Horned Owl in my woods
The bird hopped around from tree-to-tree until finally settling up high in the treetops out of sight. For the next few hours, Crows, Jays and other small birds would yell and scream at the Owl on and off. I did relocate the bird later in the evening still in the same area that I had left it earlier.
Keeping an eye on the surrounding Crows and Jays
Getting fed up and wanting to rest
Eventually, things quieted down. I do hope that the Owl was able to get a meal before he left… or maybe he is still back there, hiding from the smaller birds. It would be great to gain a new resident!
I still have my mind on the Biggest Week in American Birding. It was an unforgettable experience that will be tough to top. I saw 150 species of birds and had twelve – yes TWELVE – life birds. Last week, I wrote a post about some highlights from my trip. This week, I will continue by sharing some photos to show you what can be expected if you decide to attend next year – yes – I am already thinking about next year…
This Clay-colored Sparrow was a life bird!
Birds, birds and more birds
Beautiful birds are everywhere you look!
Cape May Warbler from the boardwalk tower
Baltimore Oriole near the boardwalk parking lot
Blue Gray Gnatcatcher taken from the boardwalk tower
You will see more than just birds
Aside from birds, you can see some cute mammals, rare snakes and many turtles.
This Raccoon was playing peek-a-boo with me
Do not let the crowds scare you away
Crowds will form where there are good birds – the good thing about these crowds is that someone in it will see a good bird so no bird goes unseen. When they spot a bird they will let you know what they are looking at and help you find it. I took some photos with my phone of the crowds, both what I saw…
What’s that? A Golden-winged Warbler?
And some viewpoints from the birds…
A bird’s view from the ground
A bird’s eye view of the boardwalk
There are other great spot to visit
If the crowds are too much for you, there are quiet spots both on and off the boardwalk to visit. You do not have to even stay at Magee Marsh – you can also go to the trails at Maumee Bay State Park, take the auto tour at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge, go for a day trip to Oak Openings, watch birds from the Windows On Wildlife at Pearson Metropark, look for waterbirds at Metzger… there are so many great hotspots!
Red-bellied Woodpecker at taken from the “Windows on Wildlife”
Beautiful view from Oak Openings, taken with my phone
Hard-to-see birds will be in someone’s sights
How many times can you say that you’ve seen a Whip-poor-will perched in a tree??
Other birders directed us to this Whip-poor-will
You can test top-of-the-line scopes and binoculars at Optics Alley
I think this photo speaks for itself…
The scope line-up at Optics Alley
Bird by day, hang out by night!
Birds & Blooms hosted a karaoke night. I did not sing, but those who did gave a great show!
Kim Kaufman killed it on the karaoke floor
There are other great events during the day
While we were making our way out of Magee Marsh, we stopped at the visitor center and were surprised by some live birds of prey from Back to the Wild. These birds were injured and cannot be returned to the wild, so they are now used for educational purposes. It was nice to get some photos of more cooperative birds. And further down the road at the Black Swamp Bird Observatory, they were banding wild songbirds – they had a Northern Waterthrush when we were there.
This young Peregrine Falcon was flapping around
This Bald Eagle was hit by a train and is now blind in one eye with an injured wing
My favorite little raptor, the American Kestrel
I hope to see a Barn Owl in the wild some time soon
This Barred Owl was keeping an eye on us
The Great Horned Owl was not as angry as he looks
You will make new friends
It was great birding with friends who we met last year – even after seeing them a year ago at 2012’s Biggest Week, we connected like we see each other all the time. We also met many new friends along the way. Everyone, from the bloggers to the guides to visitors on the boardwalk were pleasant to be around and we could not ask to be around a better group of people!
Kim Kaufman’s sand art
Did I mention that there are lots of great birds to be seen?
Magnolia Warbler
American Bittern out in the open on the Magee causeway
I do not even know where to begin with my favorite parts from Biggest Week in American Birding. The week was so perfect, even if the Kirtland’s Warbler did not show up. As always, I will share my experience through photos, both good and bad quality.
The first Warbler I saw was a life bird
When we arrived on the boardwalk, we ran into a decent sized crowd. We asked them what they were waiting for and they directed us to a little bird shadow on a log and said it was a Mourning Warbler. We stopped, we waited and we got some good views of the bird – even though I did not get good photos. A life bird for both of us!
Mourning Warbler foraging down low
We saw 150 species of birds, 28 were Warblers
My friend, Renee, and I collectively saw 150 species of birds. We could have done better if we also concentrated on waterfowl and shorebirds which we failed to do! We did, however, chase down a Ruddy Turnstone in breeding plumage near the Maumee Bay Lodge in very high winds and rain. The fact that we saw 28 species of Warblers was mind blowing! FIVE of those Warblers were life birds for me.
Golden-winged Warbler foraging down low
I stopped watching a Golden-winged Warbler to see a Canada Warbler
I still cannot believe that I went from photographing the Golden-winged Warbler above, a recent life bird, to the Canada Warbler below, another life bird. Guides were actually using these birds to let people know where other birds in the area were: Chestnut-sided Warbler to the left of the Canada Warbler.
The Canada Warbler is one who I heard singing before but never saw
Brightly colored birds were everywhere!
Some birds were so bright that I have to tone down their saturation in Photoshop. BIRDS RULE!
This Scarlet Tanager was just too bright
We went to Oak Openings this year
Renee and I headed to Oak Openings with our friend Chris who showed us some awesome birds. We would have never known where to go if it was not for him. He found both of us two life birds that day! For me, it was the Yellow-breasted Chat and Lark Sparrow.
We ended up picking many ticks off of ourselves for this Yellow-breasted Chat
An American Bittern hunted out in the open
I never had such a good look at an American Bittern before. Previously, I’ve only seen them flying (and caught a bad photo of it flying too). This bird was reported on the Biggest Week Twitter right off of the causeway leading to the boardwalk. Cars and birders were lined up to see this elusive bird. He appeared two days in a row.
This American Bittern hunted out in the open for two evenings in a row
Being a blogger has its benefits
I was pleasantly surprised to see that my name tag had an extra ribbon on it that said “volunteer” – what a way to make us feel special! I also received a Biggest Week shirt with this year’s beautiful logo on it. The perks did not stop there. The bloggers were invited to a private cottage for authentic New Mexican food. This was certainly the best tasting food that I have had recently – I never tasted anything like it!
Authentic New Mexican food
Everyone at the dinner were people who I just met [in person] that day except for Chris who is also on the field trip and blogging team. They are all wonderful people who will be friends for as long as I am a birder – aka life! The night ended with a beautiful sunset over Lake Erie. Great food, great people, great setting – who can ask for more??
Lake Erie Sunset
The most unexpected life bird made an appearance at the Boardwalk
As Renee and I were slowly making our way through the Ottawa Auto Tour, looking at three young Bald Eagles in a tree, this tweet came through on our phones: Boardwalk, 13, Long-eared owl. PIB. We were both speechless. We drove through the rest of the drive without stopping unless others were stopped ahead of us (oh yeah, we had to wait for a family of geese too); drove back to the boardwalk, passed the crowd looking at the Bittern who was out in the open again, parked the car and made our way to the boardwalk where the Owl was reported.
Long-eared Owl seen by many off the boardwalk
I was so excited that I was shaking. Earlier in the year, both of us had our life Short-eared Owl. We never thought we would have been looking at a Long-eared Owl a couple of months later.
I looked at a few birds through the Traveling Trinovid
If you have not heard of this, I suggest you check out Leica’s Traveling Trinovid blog. This pair of binoculars will be passed from birder to birder where they will see birds from different cities in many countries. So far, it has seen 313 species of birds only five months into it’s adventures. I only used it at the Black Swamp Bird Observatory feeders and also ID-ed a Northern Waterthrush with them at the banding station – what a difference these binoculars made compared to my regular pair! Maybe one day they will be in my hands for a real birding trip.
Me holding the Traveling Trinovid (photo by Jeff Bouton)
I saw a few baby turtles
Baby turtles were out in full force on Friday. Many people were helping them cross the road so they would not get crushed. The previous morning, I helped an adult Blandings Turtle across the road on our way in. I should have taken a photo of this endangered turtle – he was beautiful!
Baby turtle being helped across the road
I met authors to great field guides
Our Owl chase made us very late for the evening social, but we arrived at the tail end of it to see our friends and meet more new people. I noticed that Ken Kaufman and Don and Lillian Stokes were set up for a book signing so I went to the room and grabbed my field guides. Since it was already ten minutes until closing, there was no line and I was able to properly introduce myself. It was a pleasure meeting such great names in birding. BIRDERS RULE!
An upside down Black-and-white Warbler
I am OK with not seeing a Kirtland’s Warbler
I had high hopes for seeing a Kirtland’s Warbler this year, but even though multiple birds were found last year, they eluded us this year. I figure that it is OK to save that one for next year though so that there is a chance to top off this year! Kirtland’s or no Kirtland’s – it was a GREAT birding week!
What a way to start off the Biggest Week! After a long seven hour drive my friend and I headed straight to Magee Marsh to stretch our legs and get some initial birding in. As soon as arrived on the boardwalk we noticed a crowd huddling in one spot. A Mourning Warbler just flew into the brush and they were waiting for it to pop back up. They didn’t have to convince us to stay! This bird was on our most-wanted list last year and we dipped on it – we had to get it this year! We were all staring at a shadow of a bird who was not moving – then he started to flit around.
Mourning Warbler foraging down low
Our first warbler at the boardwalk was a lifer! I did not manage to get a good photo yet but he has been pretty reliable so I will try again later in the week.
Nearby, another bird with a similar name was sitting on her nest with two chicks poking their heads up. This is the first Mourning Dove nest I’ve seen – and it is right off the boardwalk.
Mourning Dove Nest
We walked around and slowly gathered more birds to our lists with great looks at Blackburnian, Magnolia, Nashville, Palm, Black-throated Green and Yellow Warblers. We stumbled upon an area where a White-eyed Vireo had been seen. It did not take long for the bird to pop back up and give me great life bird views!
White-eyed Vireo
A little further down, another crowd was gathered looking in a wet area of the marsh. A Northern Waterthrush has been seen. This is a bird that I often heard, but never had a visual on. He wasn’t hard to find as he foraged near the water for food. Three life birds in such a small amount of time – all right on the boardwalk!
Northern Waterthrush
We eventually met up with another friend in search of life bird number four – the Worm-eating Warbler. We didn’t find it yet, but hope to later in the week. After dipping on that bird, we headed to the estuary trail to look for the Prothonotary Warbler who has been building a nest. There is a Great-horned Owl nest in good view here, but the birds were hidden when we passed by. On our way in, however, we were greeted with a Gray-cheeked Thrush who gave me my best look and my first real photo of this species.
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Further in, we stopped to look at all the Terns, Gulls, Ducks and Shorebirds having dinner. They were backlit, so the photo op was not good. I only took a general view here.
Terns, Gulls and Dunlin
The path was full of Yellow, Pine and Yellow-rumped Warblers, Warbling Vireos (who were taking over the boardwalk!) and others scattered around. The bird that caught our attention though was an Orange-crowned Warbler – another life bird for the both of us! We did eventually get good looks at this bird, but he made photography difficult. It was still very satisfying! We gave up on the Prothonotary Warbler and started to head back to the parking lot. On our way we heard the bird singing and spotted a small group of people gathered around the brush. He made it difficult to get really good looks of since he was on the other side near the water, but we finally found him! Again, no photos – but who can beat the ones I got last year of the bird practically singing in our faces.
It was getting late, but we did stop at the Owls nest once again to find one of the babies poking its head out of the snag.
Great Horned Owlet
We birded until 8PM and finally made it to Maumee Bay Lodge to finalize our registration and check in. It turns out that we arrived too late to register – oops! We also had to rush to the Lodge’s restaurant because it was going to close in twenty minutes. Time flies by when you are having a great time! The day ended with a beautiful sunset.
Sunset from Maumee Bay Lodge
… And now we are ready for day two. We are heading to Oak Openings in search of four key birds – the Blue Grosbeak, Summer Tanager, Yellow-breasted Chat and Lark Sparrow. Three of those would be life birds for me. Wish us luck!
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…
