Lesser Yellowlegs

Well, I did find a new bird for me in Anoka county and at Carlos Avery on Saturday. We saw 2 Lesser Yellowlegs which was pretty cool. They are pretty noisy calling back and forth, but they stayed where they were for quite a while so we got a pretty good look at them. I was able to snap a few shots and look at them through my binoculars which is pretty unusual. Usually I just the get the opportunity to spot a bird through the camera.

Lesser Yellowlegs:

Hooded Mergansers (initially posted as Unknown Ducks)

My father and I went up to Carlos Avery on Sunday and when we saw these birds we thought we knew what they were, but upon closer inspection of the photo, I think we were wrong and now I'm not positive on the ID of these birds. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hooded Mergansers:


Thank you to all that responed to my request for help identifying these birds! I truly appreciate it.

Birds & Beer?

Well, I have started brewing my own beer and I wanted to create a label for the bottles. I wanted something specific to my life as well as something that I could expand upon in the future. Owls are probably my favorite type of bird so that seemed like an obvious choice. As I brew new beers, meaning different flavors, like brown ale, cream ale, stout, etc. I will modify the label with a different picture of an owl that I have taken and different text at the bottom for the type of beer. So here is the first label that I have made for my first beer, which by the way, I have yet to try. (It will be another 2 weeks before I can drink it. It's carbonating in the bottle right now.)

Anyway, here's the first label:

Oh so many Catbirds . . .

Well I went down to the Mississippi river valley refuge (I'm sorry I don't remember the exact name) with my father the other day and pretty much struck out. However, there were so many Gray Catbirds I couldn't believe it. I hadn't seen a Catbird in Minnesota until last summer and then it was only one. This year I'm seeing them everywhere and on this occasion I couldn't believe how many there were. Anyway, here's the best photo I got that day:

Gray Catbird:

North Shore Warbers . . . Again?

Yes, I have one more shot from the North Shore that I would like to share. It seems like every year that I go to the North Shore I see Black-throated Green warblers and this year was no exception. I always enjoy seeing these guys.

Black-throated Green Warbler: