November at Heinz NWR

Last Friday was another delightful late Fall day, which once again challenged my prejudice that November is the Blah-Month. Lots of waterfowl, and even a few small things-with-wings ...

Clouded Sulphur

Autumn Meadowhawk

Green-winged Teal

Green-winged Teal

Heinz NWR - Philadelphia Airport in background

Carolina Wren

Carolina Wren

Question Mark

Gadwall

Tufted Titmouse

Carolina Chickadee

Good Birding!

This Week at Heinz NRW

Plenty of signs at Heinz NRW that Spring is finally well entrenched. Waterfowl - except for the nesters - have moved on. Plenty of song activity from the residents or early arrivals, plus returning passerines present. A few images ...

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Palm Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warblers were not singing during mid-day, but were finally sporting their breeding finery ...

Yellow-rumped Warbler

The nesting Bald Eagles have hatched. This adult took off from the nest and flew overhead en route to the marsh and estuary for foraging ...

Bald Eagle

 This Carolina Wren was in a song duel with another nearby male ...

Carolina Wren

Mallards were on the nest. Most other ducks were gone, except for a few pairs of Green-winged Teal and a pair of Blue-winged Teal ...

Green-winged Teal (male and female)

Along the edge of the impoundment, a muskrat was foraging, while in many locations, turtles were enjoying the returning warmth of the Spring sun ...

Muskrate

Good Birding!!

Spring in Philadelphia - Heinz NWR

Plenty of signs of Spring at Heinz refuge in Philadelphia in the form of early migrants and early nesting activity.

A particular treat today was the presence of a pair of Blue-winged Teal, which I have found to be uncommon on the mid-Atlantic coast and rare in Vermont.

Blue-winged Teal

Blue-winged Teal - pair

 The eagles appear to be on the nest, but too distant for any photos. In the early migrant category, Eastern Phoebes are "fee - bee - ing", and a flock of Pine Warblers proclaimed their buzzy presence ...

Eastern Phoebe

Pine Warbler

In the early breeding/nesting activity category, there was vigorous singing by cardinals, Song Sparrows, blackbirds, and robins. A mallard hen was on the nest while her mate kept wary watch nearby.

Mallard - hen on nest

American Tree Swallows were staking claim to nest boxes and actively seeking to pair bond.

American Tree Swallows

American Tree Swallow

Carolina Wren males were singing with enthusiasm. I observed several individuals who were giving a buzzy call, were not singing, and who appeared to be in early stages of finding/building nests in hidden places.They were also less richly colored. I suspect these were females.

Carolina Wren (female?)

Carolina Wren (female?)

A good opening chapter to the season of really Good Birding!!

Birding Cape May

After the frantic activity of late September and most of October, a day of birding and photography in Cape May was a day of refreshment. I found no need to rush after this and that. Rather I just enjoyed what came.

There's always a highlight to a day of birding, though the highlight may often be a butterfly, a dragonfly, a blossom, or an encounter with a friend. On this day, the highlight was a bird - Eurasian Widgeon - 2 drakes in fact, though only one provided a reasonable photo op.

Eurasian Widgeon

Predominant among the songbirds was the Yellow-rumped Warbler. Common everywhere. Other which allowed their photos to be taken were Savannah Sparrow and Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Savannah Sparrow

One of my favorite winter birds is the Carolina Wren. This tiny bundle of energy will sing on almost any day of the year.

Carolina Wren

And finally ... an exotic. In the pond in front of the Hawk Watch platform, a Black Swan has been present for a couple of months. A native of Australia (and virtually a non-migrant) this bird is certainly an escapee from some zoo or private collection. Regardless, it was interesting to see, and a beautiful bird. The swan even has its own Facebook page: Black Swan of Cape May.

Black Swan of Cape May

Good Birding!!

Refuge Images

A few images from relaxed birding trips to nearby refuges last week.

John Heinz NWR at Tinicum (Philadelphia, PA) ...

Ring-billed Gull

Ring-billed Gull

Bombay Hook NWR (Smyrna, DE) ...

Carolina Wren

American Avocet

Semipalmated Sandpipers

Semipalmated Sandpipers

Good Birding!!

Retrospective 1

The weather in the Northeast has been gruesome, and I have been pretty much confined indoors. But I feel like I need to get back into the regular groove of posting.

So I am doing in a series of photos from last year - random, and obviously not just birds and things with wings.

I will be back to my main theme soon.

Retrospective 1 --

Atlantic Puffin

Fly-Away

Hummingbird Moth

Summer Azure

Carolina Wren

Recovery - and on to Cape May

The last couple of weeks since my last post have been rather trying. Instead of enjoying the delightful Fall weather in Vermont, I dealt with a computer crash/infection/or some - @#$% - thing. Stress and lost time, but its working, and I seem not to have lost anything of importance.

Finished the recovery job in Philly, then celebrated yesterday with a trip to Cape May - a delightful, pleasant Fall day. Just being outside meandering about some of my favorite spots was fulfilling - the kind of day when you don't have to see anything "special," because everything is special.

Just a few samples, beginning with the Carolina Wrens - they were singing and chasing one another. Since breeding season is over, I presume the rivalries had to do with older males chasing off younger males, and younger males trying to find some territories of their own. Whatever it was precisely, it was entertaining.

Carolina Wren

My cats awakened me very early for breakfast, which meant getting to Cape May at dawn ... which in turn meant some wonderful early morning light. A few samples ...

Northern Cardinal

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Great Blue Heron

 No dawn light on this Ruby-crowned Kinglet, but this one was much more accommodating to my camera than the ones I tried to photograph outside my kitchen window in Vermont - no keepers from Vermont, but a nice, if fleeting, pose from this one.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

 Cape May is famous during the Fall for hawk migration. I did not spend much time at the watch platform, but that hardly mattered. The hawks were visible overhead all over the area. On several occasions, I looked up to see several accipters (sharps & coops). Here is a Sharp-shinned Hawk ...

Sharp-shinned Hawk

A few butterflies were still flying - one Monarch, Clouded Sulphurs, Common Buckeyes, and in several locations, American Lady ...

American Lady

No trip to the coast is complete without some time watching the Sanderlings chase, or be chased by, the waves ...

Sanderling

... and finally ... just because it is Fall, a time of glorious color before the bleak monotones of winter.

Good Birding!