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
Sunday, May 18, 2008
An eye very much like like this one saw dinosaurs. I went out for about four plus hours this morning. I found this Common Snapping Turtle just south of Terrapin Station. He and four others were pulled up along the bank. Everyone but this guy made for the river as soon as they saw me. At first this one was oblivious to my presence. He was out cold. I was even beginning to think he might be dead. And then, when he finally did raise his head to look me over, he didn’t care. I was three feet away and he just lay there eyeing me. I’m pretty sure that he is fairly old because of how smooth his shell was. Snappers are born with very keeled (jagged) shells that grow smoother as they age. Handsome brute, ain’t he? JK
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
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.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
I am not a birder, not that there’s anything wrong with that. I just like taking the pictures. I don’t really know the species. I just know some of the basics. Blue Jays are blue. Cardinals are the red ones. Crows are black, Seagulls are white, and they’re both noisy. Beyond that, I need to hit the field guides for clues.
These are two shots I took at David Weld Sanctuary about three weeks ago. This guy was singing away in a dense thicket. It was his voice that caught my attention. Had he not been singing I probably would never have noticed him, but he was putting down some great licks and I wanted to find out who he was.
When I got home and was reviewing the day’s catch I pulled out my Sibley’s and tried to identify this Robin-sized songster. My first guess was a Wood Thrush. But the eyes weren’t right. Wood Thrushes have all brown eyes and this guy has a dark pupil with a golden ring around it. Also, the Wood Thrush has a comparatively smaller tail than this bird. And this bird has a long thinnish bill that Wood Thrushes do not have. So it was back to turning pages. And lo, five pages later was my bird, a Brown Thrasher. Or at least I think it is. I can’t be sure because I am not a birder. But perhaps some of you are and can confirm or contest my guess. At any rate, here is another pic of this guy belting out a tune. Go baby go. JK
