Hinsdale Setbacks

I made two morning trips to the Hinsdale setbacks south of Brattleboro along the Connecticut River. Highlight was the Red-necked Grebe seen this morning.

Red-necked Grebe

Rec-necked Grebe

 Migrants are still moving through, such as the White-crowned Sparrow seen Thursday, but not on Saturday ...

White-crowned Sparrow

Residents are well into their nesting season with territorial singing and defense, courtship displays, nest building, and even feeding young ...

Common Yellowthroat

American Redstart

House Wren

Warbling Vireo

Baltimore Oriole

Yellow Warbler

Yellow-throated Vireo

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

 As we walked along the old railroad bed, we saw a pair of thrasher in the road and shrubbery. When we reached that point, we lingered to watch an oriole constructing her nest, then realized that the thrasher was waiting for us to move on so it could carry food to its young in the nest. We moved on ...

Brown Thrasher

Baltimore Oriole nest

 By late morning, the sun had warmed the world, and one of the first butterflies I've seen for the season made an appearance, the tiny Eastern Tailed-Blue.

Eastern Tailed-Blue

Good Birding!!

Birding Heinz NWR

We are using Philly for a birding base for a few days. Began yesterday at Heinz NWR at Tinicum.

Highlight for me was the Bay-breasted Warbler which I have not seen for several years as it heads north to the boreal forest for breeding.

The bird was working high in the trees, so the photo is at best documentary ...

Bay-breasted Warbler

Of special interest was watching a Yellow Warbler visiting a local home building center, in this case an oriole nest. Nest seems in good order, as though it may be this year's nest. On other hand, no landlord appeared to chase off the materials gatherer, so perhaps the nest survived from last year ...

Yellow Warbler

Yellow Warbler

Another highlight was to see this Baltimore Oriole shopping at his local Whole Foods market.

Baltimore Oriole and webworm nest

Baltimore Oriole

Baltimore Oriole

A few additional photos, beginning with Gray Catbird which was everywhere!

Gray Catbird

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

American Redstart

American Redstart

Good Birding!!

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!

Warblers on the Way

Spring migration has been slow in Vermont, but the warblers are on the way.

I spent yesterday in Cape May for the first full day of birding/photography which I have had in many months. Yesterday was the day when the migrants arrived in Cape May, and it was a great day for the many birders flocking to Cape May for the World Series of Birding and the Cape May Spring Bird Festival.

Warblers - those coveted little bundles of color and energy - were everywhere, and my camera was busy. The breath-taking male Magnolia Warbler continued to play hard to get, and others like the Chestnut-sided, Blackburnian, Blackpoll, and Prairie were also elusive. But many others were at least semi-cooperative. Choosing photos has been tough ... here are a few:

Northern Waterthrush (along Wissahickon Creek, Philadelphia)

American Redstart - first year male

Common Yellowthroat - male

Yellow-breasted Chat - male

Yellow Warbler - female

Yellow-rumped Warbler - female

Northern Parula - female

Black-and-White Warbler - male

Black-throated Green Warbler - female

Black-throated Blue Warbler - male

Good Birding!

The First Week of May - Part I

Many local birders are on pins and needles, wondering when the tropical migrants will finally arrive. The consensus is that the warblers, vireos, flycatchers, et alia, are scarce and overdue. Time will tell (trite, but true).

Meanwhile, the predominantly North American birds which come mainly from the southern portions of the continent, are well into their Spring activities. A sampling ...

Song Sparrows are well along in forming their breeding pairs and getting the season's activity underway, as this one illustrates by carrying nesting material ...

Song Sparrow

 The Yellow Warbler is the first warbler to grace us with his full-throated song, although he certainly is not doing it for our benefit ...

Yellow Warbler

 Common Merganser pairs are along the rivers and streams, including behind my home. This lady seems miffed that her beau has departed!

Common Merganser - female

 Common Grackle singing - at least, that is what he would call it. We might call it something else ...

Common Grackle

 Male Red-winged Blackbirds do a competitive display. The one on the right prevailed in the duel of the epaulets, and the other - intimidated, no doubt - flew off.

Red-winged Blackbirds

Good Birding!

Favorite Photos of 2011

Happy New Year!!

A new year has begun, but I am still looking back on the old year. While it often seemed that birding and photography got swamped by other things -such as a hurricane :( - when I look back I realize that I had many good trips and good opportunities for both. Here is a first sampling of a few of my personal favorite photos from 2011.

Green Heron - late February, Wakodahatchee Wetlands, Florida

Olive-throated Parakeet - March, Tikal, Guatemala

Golden-crowned Kinglet - November, Heinz NWR, Philadelphia, PA

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - July, my backyard, South Newfane, VT

Yellow Warbler - June, wetlands along Connecticut River, Hinsdale, NH

Bohemian Waxwing - mid-February, Putney School, Putney, VT

Tricolored Heron - late February, Green Cay Wetlands, Florida

Roadside Hawk - March, Hopkins, Belize

 
More soon. Hope you have good birding in 2012.