More This & That - 2

A few more "un-themed" birds from Wakodahatchee and Green Cay - all friends who have returned, or will return soon, to my Vermont neighborhood.

Red-winged Blackbird

(Western/Brown) Palm Warbler

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Blue-headed Vireo

Pine Warbler

Northern Harrier - female

Good Birding ! !

Cape May Autumn Weekend

Cape May Bird Observatory had a stunning weekend for their annual event. I went to Cape May on Sunday, not for CMBO events, but just to enjoy the great weather, location, and birds. There were lots of birders, birding groups, and bird hikes, but also plenty of room to roam away from people and enjoy the opportunities the birds presented to the camera.

New for my photographic archives was a Eurasian Widgeon among a flock of American Widgeons in the state park ...

Eurasian Widgeon with its American cousins

In a year when photography has been frustrated by other demands and an inability to get out where the birds are, the day was refreshing and rejuvenating. A few examples of the wonderful colors and light in which the birds posed ...

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Song Sparrow

Eastern Phoebe

Brown Thrasher

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Northern Cardinal

Dark-eyed Junco ("Slate-colored" with some "Oregon" hints)

Swamp Sparrow

More soon. Good birding!

Wood Ducks, Kinglets

A Friday afternoon walk along Philadelphia's Wissahickon River provided great opportunities for Wood Duck photography.

The Wood Ducks were also a case study in birdwatching irony - at home in my Vermont neighborhoods where wild beaver ponds and wetlands provide nesting habitat, it would require exceptional effort and good luck to get photographs like these. On the other hand, an urban park within the city limits of Philadelphia provides daily opportunities to stand in awe of these beautiful birds.

Wood Duck

Wood Duck

Wood Duck

Sunday at Heinz NWR (in the shadow of Philadelphia airport), waterfowl still populated the lake, including several Greater Scaup (no photos), while Yellow-rumped Warblers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Eastern Phoebes, and many sparrows worked the trees, understory, and weedy edges ...

Northern Shoveler

Eastern Phoebe

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Golden-crowned Kinglet

 Good Birding!

Favorite Photos of 2011 - 2

Just one more installment of favorite photos from 2011, then I will return to the dabblers ...

Blackburnian Warbler - June, Green Mountain NF, Somerset, VT

Lark Sparrow - June, Badlands NP, South Dakota

Mourning Warbler - late May, Putney Mountain Road, Brookline, VT

Painted Bunting - late February, Okeeheelee Park Nature Center, Florida

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - late October, Cape May Point State Park, New Jersey

Snowy Owl - December, Brattleboro, VT

Western Meadowlark - late June, Badlands NP, South Dakota

Good Birding!!

A Great Day of Ordinary Birds

Recovery from Irene has gone much better and faster than I could have anticipated, given the amount of damage. In South Newfane there is still much damage that is evident, but roads are open, passable, and in condition that will allow them to be plowed when the snow comes.

At home, the leach field is replaced and we can once again flush at will. To protect the nearby bridge, the precipice on which we were perched, post-Irene, has been rebuilt and the river rechanneled to its pre-Irene bed. The debris and sand on the lower yard has been cleared. As much has been done as can be done until Spring.

And so ... with various obligations met, I headed to our small condo in Philadelphia for a period of rest. It began with a visit today to the John Heinz NWR at Tinicum. This small refuge is in the shadow of the Philly Airport and in the midst of refineries. Though it seems a disconnect, it is a place of quiet, in spite of airplanes taking off and nearby interstate traffic noise.

For the first time in weeks, I was able to walk slowly and turn attention to photography and birds. Nothing unusual, but who cares! Nothing will lift the spirit like the bubbling song of the irrepressible Carolina Wren ...

Carolina Wren

 When the Ruby-crowned Kinglets dropped in for a visit in South Newfane, photos eluded me. They were elusive today, but presented some limited photo ops ...

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

If the Mallard were a rare bird, we would fall over ourselves with glee at any sighting. The drake is a gorgeous bird. No wonder that this hen has a glint in her eye ...

Mallard

The most common bird was the American Robin refueling on its journey south ...

American Robin

Nothing rare, mostly common, but ordinary birds deserve their own exclamation -- Good Birding!!