Category Archives: Birds

Baltimore Oriole

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Thursday, May 22, 2008

After hiking early yesterday I took a short trip – two hours – in the kayak. I didn’t go far. I just putted around the north end of the river. Weather.com was calling for some afternoon storms and it seemed prudent not to go far. Luckily, I didn’t have to.

Right next to the King’s Park Yacht Club I saw this guy chowing down on some tent caterpillars. In the top shot you can see one of the hapless fellows at our hero’s left foot. Yum, yum. I’m nearly positive that he’s a young male Baltimore Oriole. It first I was uncertain but a photo in my Kaufman’s clinched it for me. It’s not my favorite field guide but it came through for me today. JK

Yet Another Ring-necked Pheasant

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Thursday, May 22, 2008

Click for a larger view.

Yesterday was a busy day. In the morning I took an early hike through David Weld Sanctuary before going kayaking later on. The grounds were still very wet from the morning dew and the rains that we had the day before. I was soaked from the knees down in no time. I saw several rabbits with ticks – it must be a bad year for the little buggers – and I was graced with another Ring-necked Pheasant sighting. This guy was strutting and calling from a large rock that is just off one of the main paths. I got a couple of decent shots. I should have gotten more and better ones at that but that’s how it goes. He would only call when I would duck down out of sight so I was unable to get a shot of him crowing but I could hear a great deal of wing flapping as he called. I’d like to know what’s going on there. In my mind’s eye he’s doing a King Kong across his chest. Maybe, if I try hard enough and long enough, and eat all my veggies, I’ll manage to get that magic shot. Don’t hold your breath. JK

Red-tail And Crows

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Tuesday, May 20, 2008

These are some shots I took while I was out kayaking Sunday. Two crows were showing this poor defenseless Red-tailed Hawk to the exit. Something about an exclusive neighborhood, I think. I guess being top dog isn’t always easy.

The Red-tail appears to be missing one of its primaries on its left wing. I don’t think it happened during this encounter, unless it occurred before I caught sight of their altercation. The pic below shows the missing feather a bit more clearly. JK

Common Tern In Breeding Plumage

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Friday, May 16, 2008

Well, almost. On May 9th I posted a photo of some Common Terns who were not yet wearing their breeding plumage. This tern is sporting his all black skullcap and he’s just about ready for some action. The black on his bill will retreat till it only covers the tip. This is another one of the shots from Wednesday’s outing. If you take a close look at his leg you will see that he is banded. No, that is not an ankle bracelet. Last year I noticed several of these terns that were banded. How do you catch a tern? Most times I can barely follow them with the camera. JK

Trigger Happy

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Thursday, May 15, 2008

I went out for three hours in the morning yesterday. 808 pics, 500 of them in the first 31 minutes. I may be a little trigger happy. Maybe a lot. But I did have plenty to shoot. And, besides, what do I bring extra memory for?

The bird pictured above is a female Red-breasted Merganser. This is my best shot of a Merganser yet, not that it’s a particularly great shot. This past winter I photographed three couples from the shore but the shots were very distant and blurry. This lady was swimming along with a flock of Brant Geese, with no mate in sight. According to all of my field guides, Kaufman, National Geographic, Peterson, and Sibley, she should be well north of here. Apparently she reads different field guides than I do.

At my launch site there was a large mixed flock of Great and Snowy Egrets. I counted 35 birds. The majority of them dispersed as I put in but I came across them again just a little upriver on the west bank. This time I could count 41 birds. This guy admiring his reflection is a Snowy.

This is a close-up of a Great Egret in his breeding colors. Their faces are yellow during the rest of the year. This may be the greenest Great Egret I’ve ever seen. He was greener than any of the others I saw him with at the very least.

I went as far as Terrapin Station before heading back. This Diamondback Terrapin was sunning himself on one of the islands. I saw only two turtles the entire trip but I had to include this one because the chicks love terrapins.

On the return trip I came across the mixed flock of Great and Snowy Egrets again. This time there were some Black-crowned Night Herons and this Great Blue Heron as well. The Great Blues are very impressive birds.