Category Archives: Four Harbors Audubon Society

Tree Swallows At Rest

Posted on by
2

Friday, May 2, 2014,

Mr. and Mrs. Tree Swallow

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

 

Young Ring-necked Pheasant At Avalon

Posted on by
3

Saturday, November 23, 2013,

20131012085015-5x7wFour 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.

A Night Heron Hangout

Posted on by
1

Saturday, August 31, 2013,

In my previous post I mentioned seeing fourteen Black-crowned Night Herons behind the Old Grist Mill in Stony Brook. Here are twelve of them. I was shooting with a long lens and it was impossible to capture the whole lot in one shot. Missing here are the adult featured in my prior post and an immature bird that was feeding nearby. I have very little doubt that even more of these guys were congregating along Mill Creek as it leads to Stony Brook Harbor.

This is not a pic that I would ordinarily publish because, well, it’s not very good. But folks both here and on Facebook have expressed an interest in seeing it so here it is. As usual, click on the pic to view a larger version. It’ll make it easier to count the birds.

What I don’t really understand is why so many of these birds are adults. I only see two immature birds in this lot. The younger birds are those which are mostly brown, while the adult plumage is largely black and white. I would expect to find more young birds, especially at this time of year. When I see these guys on the Nissequogue River the ratio between between adult and immature birds is much more even. I imagine that there are features of Mill Creek that draw more adult or experienced Night Herons whereas the Nissy offers more of a family atmosphere. Maybe it’s easier to learn how to fish on the Nissequogue. Or, perhaps the Nissy makes for a better training ground for up and coming herons. I really don’t know. Look, I just take the pictures, even these lousy ones. JK

White-throated Sparrow At Avalon

Posted on by
3

Sunday, June 2, 2013,

Here’s a shot of a White-throated Sparrow I saw at Avalon Preserve This is the same bird I mentioned in my Bobwhite post. These little guys have always been a favorite of mine. One often expects a sparrow to be rather drably decorated but click on the pic and check out that bright white bib and those canary yellow patches between the eyes and bill. This is one good-looking bird.

This was this species that first got me involved with Audubon. I had taken a shot of a bird braving a snowstorm back in February of 2008. I loved the shot but I didn’t know what I had so I sent the pic to my friend Sue at Four Harbors Audubon Society. Sue introduced me to several folks, via email at first, who could help me identify the birds I’d been capturing with my camera. Whenever I couldn’t determine a species, which was pretty much darn near all the time, I would send a pic out to these folks and they would ID it for me. Eventually, Four Harbors asked me to become their photographer. Either they were very happy with my pics – it’s a possibility – or they had grown tired of my incessant questioning and were hoping to shut me up. I tend to believe that the latter hypothesis is closer to the mark. Either way, it has never stopped my questions. In similar fashion to the Energizer Bunny, I keep asking and asking and asking. JK

Bluebirds Nesting At Avalon!

Posted on by
8

Friday, May 24, 2013,

Bluebirds are nesting at Avalon!

For the first time in Avalon’s eleven-year history a pair of Bluebirds have taken up residence in one of the several bluebird boxes that dot the farm fields. The boxes were donated by Four Harbors Audubon Society about ten years ago and while Tree Swallows, wrens, and numerous other species make good use of them, it’s taken ten long years for a pair of Bluebirds to stake a claim. And stake a claim they have. One of my fellow birders reports seeing Mr. Bluebird pulling a wren out of the nest. You go Mister B!

Bluebirds have been seen at Avalon but this is the first time that a pair has been observed preparing a nest. Our fingers are crossed for the new neighbors. If they’re successful, maybe we’ll see more of them next year.