Carlos Avery - Blackpoll Warbler

Hey All, I could use some help on identification of this bird. I took this photo on Monday and I'm really not sure what this bird could be. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Update: Thanks to those of you that helped ID this bird as a female Blackpoll Warbler, I really appreciate it!

Carlos Avery - Baltimore Orioles and Scarlet Tanagers

On Monday, we also saw more Baltimore Orioles than I have ever seen before in my life. It seemed like they were everywhere. We also saw about 6 different Scarlet Tanagers including the female which was a first for me. Again, the lighting was pretty bad so the shots aren't that great, but it really was a great day and I thought they were worth sharing. I hope you enjoy.

Baltimore Oriole:


Scarlet Tanager:

Carlos Avery Today

I visited Carlos Avery again today with my Mother and Father and had a really great day. We saw about 40 different birds with a number of different warblers including another spotting of the Wilsons Warbler which was a life bird for both of my parents. Unfortunately, due the poor lighting I really didn't get any decent shots but it's always worth sharing the day.

Magnolia Warbler:


Gray Catbird:

Chipping Sparrow on the Nest

I've been watching a Chipping Sparrow build a nest in our yard but I hadn't seen much activity around the nest over the last few days so I walked a bit closer (we've been staying clear of the area) to see if the nest was empty. I only took a few steps to see that the bird was still on the nest. I went inside and grabbed my camera t get a shot.

Chipping Sparrow:

Mr. Kingbird has somethin' to say . . .

Carlos Avery - Black and White Warbler

Well, here is the last post on the warblers from Carlos Avery last Saturday. I saw this one Black and White Warbler only for a short time but I sure was happy to see him if only for a moment.

Black and White Warbler:

Carlos Avery - Yellow Warbler, Palm Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler

Saturdays photos continue with the Yellow Warbler, the Palm Warbler, and the Yellow-rumped Warblers. It was such a great day! I hope you all enjoy these great birds!

Yellow Warbler:




Palm Warbler:


Yellow-rumped Warbler:

Carlos Avery - Wilsons Warbler

So the Wilsons Warbler is a life bird for me. I was watching all of the Yellow-rumps and Yellow Warblers flit around and all of sudden this guy just showed up right in front of me. At first I thought it was another Yellow Warbler, but the black cap was so distinctive I knew it was a different bird. I'm extremely happy with how these shots turned out.

Wilsons Warbler:

Carlos Avery - Warblers

Saturday was one of the best days I've had at Carlos Avery. I saw a tremendous amount of warblers today including a Wilsons Warbler which is a life bird for me. I also saw a ton of Yellow-rumped, Yellow, and American Redstarts. I also saw a Black-throated Green and a couple Tennessee Warblers. I have pictures of most of the above, but with a day like that, I took a lot of shots and it will take a bit to get through them all so I'll be posting over the next week with what I got. Here's a few to start off with though.

Tennessee Warbler:




Black-throated Green Warbler

Learning About Birds . . . Great Egret

It's been quite a while since I've done a Learning About Birds post so after seeing the green lores on this Great Egret shot I took at Springbrook the other day I thought it might be cool to show the difference. Here are a couple neat facts about these birds.


- The longevity record for a wild Great Egret is nearly 23 years.
- Aggression among nestlings is common and large chicks frequently kill their smaller siblings.
- In high breeding, the bill becomes orange-yellow and the lores become lime-green. (Lore, region between the eye and bill on the side of a bird's head.)

Here you can see the green lores:



For comparison sake, here is a shot of Great Egret taken down in Florida a few years back. You can see that the lores are not green in this shot:







If you are interested, here is a link to all my posts on "Learning About Birds".

Indigo Buntings

The last couple of days have brought a number of great birds both in my back yard and outside my office window. At work I have seen a Tenessee and Cape May Warbler. At home I've seen Black and White Warblers, American Redstarts, and a pair of Indigo Buntings. This is a great time of year and I'm really looking forward to getting out this weekend. Here are some photographs of the Indigo Bunting (my first shots of this bird).

Indigo Bunting:

Rose-breasted Grosbeaks

Continuing on my Springbrook Nature Center walk from Monday, here's yet another post from that night. (I've got one more post after this . . . just in case you were wondering.)

The Rose-breasted Grosbeak (in my opinion) is one of the prettiest birds around. It has a wonderful song and when it's in Spring plumage is just a striking bird. Well . . . you can judge for yourself! :)

Rose-breasted Grosbeak:









PS I recommend clicking on the photos to see the larger versions over at my flickr site.

Here's a previous "Learning About Birds" post on Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.

American Redstart

We've had a couple neat yard birds in the last two days. Yesterday my wife saw an Indigo Bunting (wish I had been around for that one), and this morning as I was leaving for work, I took a couple quick shots of an American Redstart. Not the greatest photo, but I thought it worth sharing just because it's such a pretty bird and it was in my yard. :)

American Redstart:

Least Flycatcher and Kinglet

So the Least Flycatcher is also a new bird for me which is very cool. I initially thought this was an Eastern Phoebe by the way it flew, but as soon as it landed I knew it was something else. I was lucky enough to get this shot.


Least Flycatcher:




Well after last weeks attempts to get a shot of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, I was really happy to get this shot. I'm pretty sure that these birds never actually stop moving.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet:

Northern Waterthrush

Well, since the weather is likely to turn ugly again I ran over the Springbrook again after work and had a pretty good evening. In fact, I saw and photographed a new bird (for me that is)! I saw this Northern Waterthrush for only a brief period and I wasn't even sure what it was as I was taking the shots. I took some nice photographs of a Least Flycatcher, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

Here's the Northern Waterthrush:

Springbrook Nature Center

Here's the last post from Friday's trip to Springbrook. I have a friend that likes shots with reflections so here are a couple shots with reflections that I thought turned out nice:



Mallard:





Canada Goose:

Springbrook Nature Center (Continued)

The Yellow-rumped Warblers were most abundant around the water, I'm guessing this was due to the larger supply of bugs. I watched them spend time swooping towards the surface of the water and then back up the cat tails. It was a behavior I've witnessed earlier this year up at Carlos Avery, but I'd never seen it prior to that.

Yellow-rumped Warbler:





This Kinglet landed only about 3 feet from me and then continued to jump from branch to branch staying in each spot for only about 1 second. I could not get a decent shot of this bird. I had the feeling it was just taunting me. Here's the only shot I got that was even close to in focus. I think this bird was giving me the bird.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet:

Springbrook Nature Center

I stopped by Springbrook Nature Center today after work and saw a fair amount of birds: Brown Thrashers, White-throated Sparrows, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Palm Warblers, and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks as well as a number of other birds. I'll post some more of the shots from this evening over the next couple of days. The Brown Thrasher is a very cool bird but is quite difficult to photograph because it generally stays near the ground in the under brush. He popped up for a bit and I snapped off this shot.

Brown Thrasher:


These Mourning Doves looked really good in the sun and I certainly can't pass up a shot like that now can I?

Mourning Doves:

Blue-winged Teal

Hey All,

I haven't gotten out nearly as much as I would like lately so tonight I thought I would post a few photos taken back in April of 2005. Blue-wing Teal and Sandhill Cranes are two birds that I never tire of photographing. Both of these birds really got me going with birding and bird photography. I hope you enjoy . . . and I hope to get out soon. :)

Blue-winged Teal:


Sandhill Crane:

Carlos Avery - Palm Warbler

Well, I took another run up to Carlos Avery today and to be honest, there wasn't much going on despite it being a bright sunny day. The wind was blowing pretty good so I have a feeling that was the major factor in terms of not seeing many birds. I did get the following two shots though.

Palm Warbler:


Red-shouldered Hawk:

Carlos Avery - Eagles Nest?

For those of you that have driven through Carlos Avery, you've likely seen the large eagles nest (marked by a sign on the road). The other day, as I drove through I noticed a bird on the nest and thought, "Cool, it looks like there might be an eagle on the nest!". Note that this nest is pretty distant from the road, in fact, here's a shot of the bird on the nest at full zoom on my camera:



However, upon closer inspection, it's not an eagle on the nest (photo cropped for effect):

(Click on the photo for larger version - it's easier to ID the bird)

I had seen this bird on the nest a few days earlier, so it appears that the goose may actually be using this nest for the season. I'd be curious to hear from others, if they have observed the same bird on the nest.