Sunday, May 4, 2014,
My last post showed a pair of Tree Swallows taking a break from their morning routine. This is a shot of the female gathering some grassy material for her nest. Isn’t she beautiful? JK
A Tree Swallow At Work
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Category Archives: Avalon Preserve
Tree Swallows At Rest
Friday, May 2, 2014,
Four Harbors Audubon Society and the folks at Avalon Park and Preserve in Stony Brook have teamed up for years to provide bluebird boxes at Avalon with the sincere hope to attract our New York State Bird, the beautiful Eastern Bluebird. We get distressingly few bluebirds but those boxes don’t go unused. As it turns out, Tree Swallows are amongst several species that are fond of the same kind of homes that would attract bluebirds.
This is a pair of Tree Swallows sharing a moment atop the bluebird box they have chosen for this year’s nest. A bit of a breather from the toils of the morning. They’ve both been very busy. On the right is the female. She spends much of her time collecting nesting material from the nearby fields. From what I could observe most of it appeared to be long strips of dried grasses or similar stuff. After selecting each piece, and she does seem to be kinda choosy, she brings it back to the box where she is building her nest. Then she disappears into the box for several minutes. I can’t see into the box but she’s obviously constructing her nest within. And then she’s out again, searching for more to add to the nest. It’s all go, go, go for this lady.
Meanwhile, lets not forget that male. It’s a busy day for him as well. His time is occupied by looking good in those pretty cerulean duds and watching his mate do all the work. Occasionally, he peeks in on her handiwork. Hey, it’s not easy being green, er, blue. It’s harder still deciding how to tell the missus that maybe the couch should go beneath the window. JK
Early Bird
Sunday, April 27, 2014,
The early bird gets the worm. Here are two shots of a Robin capturing and devouring an earthworm at Avalon. To each their own but if I was expecting worms for breakfast, I just might decide to sleep in.
JK
Young Ring-necked Pheasant At Avalon
Saturday, November 23, 2013,
Four Harbors Audubon Society holds its monthly walks every second Saturday at Avalon Preserve in Stony Brook. These walks are great for sharing and collecting all kinds of nature info. I’ve learned a great deal during these walks, and not just about birds. It has been my experience that ‘birders’ are not all about birds themselves. I’ve yet to meet anyone on these Audubon walks that doesn’t see or look for the bigger picture. Each of our walkers seem to enjoy nature as a whole, not just the birdy parts. Of course, these walks are about birds so it’s always cool, and well, wonderful, to find any interesting feathered critters. Our October walk did not let us down. This is a young Ring-necked Pheasant, probably male, that we encountered that morning. This guy may look a bit drab now but he’ll grow up to be snazziest dresser on the block. And who can tell? Perhaps we’ll see this same bird during a future walk. I certainly hope so. They make for great pics. JK.
The Creature From The Green Lagoon
Thursday, October 31, 2013,
Happy Halloween all. This seems as likely a time to post these pics as any. I got these shots near the start of the month at Avalon. Both of these photographs are lucky captures. I mean that. I visit Avalon on a regular basis but I’m usually a very early bird. Most times, I’m already wrapping things up by 9AM. It’s a quality of light sort of thing. But I was being interviewed by Sue Wahlert, a reporter for the Times Beacon Record Newspapers and I was out later than usual. The folks at the Times Beacon thought I’d make for a decent human interest story of sorts. I had a camera with me despite thinking I really wouldn’t need it aside from being a prop. Since I was being interviewed (and photographed) for being a photographer, I figured that having a camera with me would be a plus. So there I am, pretending that I’m taking photographs of the local wildlife which was represented primarily by Mallards when this Common Snapping Turtle made its appearance. I was actually taking pictures (hey, I’m a method actor) when this monster came out of seemingly nowhere, rearing its head from the duckweed as went past us. And then it opened its mouth, but without any apparent threat. It swam past a pair of resting ducks without raising any alarms despite its open maw before disappearing beneath the little bridge. This was a pretty amazing thing to see. Trust me on this. I cannot and will not claim to be a Snapping Turtle expert but I have seen more of these beauties in the wild than many other folks and finding one swimming around with its mouth wide open is a very rare and wonderful occurrence. Enjoy the holiday. JK
