Cape May Things with Wings

We did a day trip to Cape May yesterday. This premier birding destination is on the transition edge between summer and fall. There were only a hand full of shorebirds about. Mockingbirds were still feeding young. Several Osprey nests still had young calling for food and being watched over by parents, but the hawk migration count began its first day on Sep 1 with 145 migrating Osprey.

Many songbirds were calling quietly. Most young birds were on their own, but clearly not quite sure how to fend for themselves. Waterfowl numbers lie in the future.

In the hot, steamy shore weather, butterflies and dragonflies were in the air.

Here's a sample of the day ...

A few Monarch Butterflies were about, plus the occasional Viceroy which disguises itself as the foul-tasting Monarch ...

Viceroy

Twelve-spotted Skimmer (somewhat the worse for wear judging by the left hind wing)

Eastern Pondhawk

Black Saddlebags (female)

Green Heron (probably juvenile)

Common Whitetail

House Wren (juvenile)

Blue Dasher

Tricolored Heron (juvenile)

Chestnut-sided Warbler (juvenile)

Delaware Skipper

Good flying to all!

A Few Warblers

A few warblers have presented themselves for my camera in recent days. Here is a sampling - most are familiar, but never let it be said of the warblers that familiarity breeds ennui. They are exciting to a bird ...

The male Blackburnian Warbler defines warbler-neck while his mate is seldom seen. But this female was working the bushes along a woodland lane in Somerset ...

Blackburnian Warbler - female

Blackburnian Warbler - female

 Chestnut-sided Warblers were actively engaged in pair forming last week, with jealously and coyness present in the males and females respectively ...

Chestnut-sided Warbler - male

Chestnut-sided Warbler - female

Two familiar, common, but always entertaining warblers. First, the Black-masked Rogue, officially (though boringly) known as the Common Yellowthroat ...

Common Yellowthroat - male

... and the Yellow Warbler.

Yellow Warbler - Male

Good Birding!

A Photo Review of 2012

Sometimes it is good to look back, and a New Year provides a good opportunity/excuse to do so. Here are a few of the Birding/Photography images which stand out for me during 2012.

"Morning Flight" - Sandhill Cranes, Bosque del Apache, NM, 02/02/12

"Why Is It Called Ring-necked?" - Ring-necked Duck, Forsyth NWR, NJ, 03/07/12

"Alone" - Solitary Sandpiper, Herricks Cove, VT, 05/05/12

"Untitled" - Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Herricks Cover, VT, 05/06/12

"What's Up" - Chestnut-sided Warbler, Brookline, VT, 05/27/12

"Kids!" - Hooded Merganser, Putney Wetlands, VT, 05/27/12

"Leap" - Spotted Sandpiper, South Newfane, VT 08/02/12

"Yellow Blossom" - Ruby-throated Hummingbird, South Newfane, VT, 08/17/12

"Untitled" - American Oystercatcher, Cape May, NJ, 08/29/12

"On Your Way" - Red-tailed Hawk, Cape May, NJ, 08/29/12

"The Stoop" - Merlin, Putney Mountain, VT, 09/14/12

"Ignore Him!" - Red Crossbills, Salisbury Beach, NH, 12/06/12

"Friends" - Sanderling & Dunlin, Parker River NWR, MA, 12/06/12

May your birding be good in 2013!

Delivering Breakfast ...

I have not been out much. We had the house painted, and there has bee much to do getting the house put back together post painting, plus post-Irene yard work, and unstable weather. But this morning I got out for a couple of hours.

I begin with the end of the morning when breakfast was being delivered. This crow iscarrying food; it appears to be a frog or toad. The young have probably fledged, and there was one flying hurriedly behind this parent ...

American Crow - carrying food

Just a sampling of additional images ...

Pink Lady's Slipper

Chestnut-sided Warbler - female

Red Squirrel

Willow Flycather - "Fitz-bew!"

Good Birding!

Weekend Highlights

A highlight of the weekend birding was this Hooded Merganser hen leading 10 chicks in the Wilson Wetlands, Putney, Vt.

Hooded Merganser, hen with 3 of the 10 chicks she was leading

In the same vicinity, I captured a Brown Thrasher taking his/her morning bath ...

Brown Thrasher

One of the odder moments was watching this female Red-winged Blackbird as she "danced" along the branch, much the way some tropical mannakin males dance. The female red-wings were busy with nest building. Could this one have completed her nest and was she now sending a signal to the male (males) that she was ready to mate? Perhaps ... but if so, the boys were not paying attention ...

Red-winged Blackbird, female

Additional highlights, photographically, are this Chestnut-sided Warbler ...

Chestnut-sided Warbler

... a Red-eyed Vireo on Black Mountain which sang from the same branch for as long as we were within range, and certainly before and after we were in range, since he was not trying to impress us - although he did ...

Red-eyed Vireo

... and this Black-throated Blue Warbler ...

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Good Birding!!

My Favorite Warbler

Note: It appears that blogger somehow deleted this posting from yesterday, hence a repost, and re-tweet.

The Prairie Warbler, my favorite warbler, has returned for the second year to Old Ferry Road in Brattleboro. Going east toward Windham Waste Management facility, there are storage buildings on the left (across from C&S). At the east end of the storage facility, the Prairie Warbler is singing in bushes along the cyclone fence and immediate surrounding area. (This species was not recorded in Windham County during the Breeding Bird Atlas survey.) Photos are from this morning ...

Prairie Warbler

Prairie Warbler

In many places this morning, I saw and heard my favorite warbler - the Chestnut-sided Warbler ....

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Chestnut-sided Warbler

 Also this morning, I saw and heard on Black Mountain my favorite warbler - the Black-throated Blue Warbler.

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Ahhh ... MAY!! - pleasant temperatures, blossoming bushes, singing birds, and warbler neck!

Good birding.

Nostalgic for Spring

For the last three months, my wardrobe as rotated between 2 pair of flannel lined pants, 7 flannel shirts, supplemented with 2 wool vests. During this period, I have gone outside wearing my red & black plaid wool coat, with 2 exceptions when I opted for a slightly less bulky jacket.

Yes, I am nostalgic for Spring and even Summer, and I hope that early next week I can offer some definitive cures for wardrobe monotony. For the moment, however, I remember a few images from Spring, 2010 ...

Broad-winged Hawk

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Eastern Bluebird

Yellow Warbler

Good birding!