Common Goldeneye Pair

We saw this pair of Common Goldeneye ducks at Eastwood Lake.

Heron

Kingfisher's Dinner

While driving through Old Reid, we saw this male Belted Kingfisher drop down and come up with a fish. It always amazes me how these birds can swallow a fish much larger that it would appear possible. The trick is for them to position the fish just right…headfirst so the fins do not open and obstruct swallowing. That’s what he’s doing in the second & third shot. In the fourth shot, the Kingfisher is tossing the fish up in the air to reposition it. Finally, belly full, he takes a look to see if I caught his performance!

 

 

 

 

 



Hooded Mergansers

Thursday morning there were at least 30 Hooded Mergansers at Old Reid. I really wanted to try out my new camera body, a Canon 5D Mark III, but the light was not good….it was overcast and windy.
Here’s a few images…despite the poor conditions, the 5D did well, even at iso 1200.

Coot & GHO

A couple of images from the weekend….an American Coot at Old Reid Park:

And a Great Horned Owl in a local backyard!

Reid Park Long-Tailed Duck

This female Long-Tailed Duck was seen a couple of days ago at Old Reid by Doug Overacker.
 She was back tonight when we checked.

Eastwood Metropark

Some pics from today’s outing at Eastwood Lake. There were at least 6 Red-Necked Grebes…

Squirrel in the Sunshine

David caught a great shot of this squirrel sunning on a branch on Baldwin Lane. It’s my favorite shot of the day!

Waterfowl Tuesday

David & I took our usual route today and found some fun subjects….
This Pied-Billed Grebe:

A Horned Grebe:

And this RedHead Duck

Red-Breasted Mergansers

A couple of red-Breasted Mergansers we photographed at Deer Creek State Park….the evening light was beautiful!

More Long-Tailed Ducks

Long-Tailed Ducks

We had some free time this week, so took a short drive to Deer Creek State Park. For several days, a male Long-tailed Duck had been seen at the dam in accompaniment with mergansers. To top it off, the previous evening birders had reported that several females had also arrived.
The temperature was about 20 degrees, but there were several fishermen along the banks when we arrived, and I was concerned that the ducks would not be visible. To my surprise, the Long-tails were cruising up and down the dam run-off area only yards from the fishermen.
Here are a few images….more to come!

Moorefield Christmas Pictures

Merry Christmas!

Once again, I had the pleasure of photographing the kids and families of the Moorefield Twp Fire Department and Road Crews. You can order additional prints (including many gifts available for 1-hr pickup) from the Walmart site.
Click on this link to go to the album:
Walmart Gallery

Indigo Bunting

White-Eyed Vireo

Walking along the Estuary Trail at Magee Marsh, this curious fellow kept his very unusual eye on me.

Golden-Winged Warbler

Hybrid Blue-Winged Warbler

We returned home yesterday from a wonderful week at Magee Marsh. The “Biggest Week in American Birding” was in full force; celebrating the annual migration. Birds stop at the Lake Erie edge to feed before crossing the lake. This allows great opportunities to view birds that are seldom seen in many areas of the country.
Of interest on Thursday at Magee was a hybrid Blue-Winged Warbler.
A little background…the Gold-Winged Warbler is a much sought-after bird to see at Magee (and anywhere else for that matter). We were fortunate to have several chances to view and photograph this little gem. Here’s a shot from Friday, May 10.

The history and life cycle info for the Golden-Winged Warbler is here.
The Blue-Winged Warbler, also a vermivora, was also frequenting Magee this week. The history and life cycle info for the Blue-Winged Warbler is here.
We have some opportunities to photograph them as well….such as this one taken by David:

On Thursday, May 9, we were at the small loop on the Magee boardwalk, when I heard the Blue-Winged Warbler call….looking up, I thought that it was a Blue-Winged, and was able to snap a few brief shots before the birds flew out. We (and a large crowd) were not able to relocate him.
As I reviewed my images and showed them to some advanced birders who had also viewed the bird, it became evident that the bird was not a Brewsters (a first generation cross between a Golden-Winged Warbler and a Blue-Winged Warbler), or a Lawrence’s (a crossback between a Brewsters and a Blue-Wing) but rather the bird had wing patches of  a Gold-Winged and head feathering of a Blue-Winged. The experts told me that a Brewsters will cross back with another pure bird; producing a 2nd-generation hybrid warbler. Here are some images (apologies for the poor quality):



More information is available here: aba.org/birding/v37n3p278.pdf

Green Heron

David took advantage of a unique look at a Green Heron perched high on a branch at Magee. Love it!!

Hooded Warbler

Hooded Warblers have been on my list for several years….rarely have I had a chance to photograph them and do them justice.
When we arrived at Magee on Saturday, May 4th, we were amazed at the numbers and variety of birds showing. Hoodeds were in that list, and there were several showing up conspicuously on the boardwalk.

Another Spring Weekend

Here's an Osprey from Old Reid Park:

It didn’t hesitate to snatch a carp from the pond right in front of us!

While watching the Osprey, this Coot tried to look cute to see if we would toss some bread…

The Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher was curious.

And eventually headed back to the treetops….

Owletts....Now Young Adults

Colorful Birds

I was able to spend a short time at George Rogers Clark Park….was able to see Northern Parula, Blue Headed Vireo, and Indigo Bunting.

Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher