Today at Carlos Avery

Well today was a pretty good day at Carlos Avery. It started out with a pair of Scarlet Tanagers, a number of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, a few of Common Yellowthroat and a single Baltimore Oriole. I also had a great view of an Eastern Kingbird. Here's some pictures from today.

Eastern Kingbird:


Rose-breasted Grosbeak:


I have a pretty good guess of what this bird is but I sure would appreciate a few more opinions:

A new Yard Bird!

Well, we had a Swainsons Thrush, Redstarts, YR Warblers, and what I initially thought was a Hermit Thrush in the yard this weekend. What I had incorrectly ID'd as a Hermit Thrush (a guess in the field since I still haven't seen one of these), is actually an Ovenbird. A new lifer for me!

Ovenbird:

Scarlet Tanager and Warblers

We had a flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers and this Scarlet Tanager move through the yard this morning. I was lucky enough to be able to run back in the house, grab the camera, go back outside and get this photo. I'm surprised he stayed long enough for that, usually when I go back to get my camera the birds fly away about the time I pull the camera up to shoot.

Scarlet Tanager:

Springbrook Nature Center Part 2

I really did have a great time at Springbrook yesterday. There weren't a lot of people, so I was able to walk quietly and see plenty of birds. I have to admit that as much as I like photographing birds I missed quite a few shots yesterday just watching. I guess that's a pretty good sign that I was having a good time! Here are a couple more shots that I took:

Yellow Warbler:


Brown Thrasher:


There were plenty of Swallows as well . . . including one rubbing his head on his perch:

Tree Swallow:


I had initially ID'd this as a Tree Swallow, thanks to those that helped me correctly ID this bird.
Northern Rough-winged Swallow Rubbing his head:

Springbrook Nature Center

I was able to leave work early yesterday and I made a run up to Springbrook Nature Center. I had a really good evening and was able to get shots of a number of birds, including 2 new birds for my photography life list (Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Brown Thrasher). I would also like to thank Ivars for his help in locating this Red-winged Blackbird on the nest. Thanks Ivars! I'll be posting more photos of my evening over the next couple of days.

Red-winged Blackbird on the Nest:

A bit of sad news . . .

Well, the Red Shouldered Hawks have not been present on the nest for about the last 5 days. It appears they have abandoned the nest and have started to build a new one. On Sunday I saw both hawks soaring above my house and calling vehemently. I also noticed that they were carrying sticks and pine branches. My hope is that despite their first attempt going wrong, they are trying again and are building a new nest. I haven't located it yet, and I'm not sure that I will, but if I do, I will post to the blog. I hope that they are successful and am a bit saddened that we won't get to see the nestlings this year.

Birds on the Nest

I recently found a Sharp-shinned Hawk nest at park near where I work. I was able to get a few shots of the hawk standing on the nest but the lighting wasn't that great and the nest is pretty hard to get a good look at. Anyway, I'll be going back there periodically to take more shots. I also took a shot of a Canada Goose on the nest at Carlos Avery last week. Getting photos of birds on the nest has really become an interest of mine. I think mainly because it's difficult to get a good shot while still being respectful of the bird on the nest (which is very important to me). Here are the shots of the birds:

Sharp-shinned Hawk:


Canada Goose:


By the way, here's link to a great shot of Red-winged Blackbird on the Nest over at Ivar's Birds.