Aviamania
May 4th, 2009
We've now entered the stage of bird migration known as "Yellow-Rumped Warblers take over the universe." Females and juveniles have arrived and flocks are everywhere, outnumbering even the chickadees. This one is, I think, a yearling male:
A Great Crested Flycatcher gave me a slightly less awkward view of himself (than last time). This is a common breeding bird at Mud Lake and many other places--and one of the noisiest! Its "crest" is really just a ruffling of the crown feathers and is not always apparent.
Not many new species today. There's more to come, but we're in a lull. I did see my first Barn Swallow of the year, and, belatedly, this:
This picture sucks, owing to the fact that it was taken in a swampy tangle of woods from about a hundred feet away. But I give a large leeway for interesting birds that I've never managed to photograph before. This is a Black-Crowned Night Heron. Several pairs of them breed near Mud Lake each year. It's not obvious from the picture, but they stand about two feet high.
May 4th, 2009
We've now entered the stage of bird migration known as "Yellow-Rumped Warblers take over the universe." Females and juveniles have arrived and flocks are everywhere, outnumbering even the chickadees. This one is, I think, a yearling male:
A Great Crested Flycatcher gave me a slightly less awkward view of himself (than last time). This is a common breeding bird at Mud Lake and many other places--and one of the noisiest! Its "crest" is really just a ruffling of the crown feathers and is not always apparent.
Not many new species today. There's more to come, but we're in a lull. I did see my first Barn Swallow of the year, and, belatedly, this:
This picture sucks, owing to the fact that it was taken in a swampy tangle of woods from about a hundred feet away. But I give a large leeway for interesting birds that I've never managed to photograph before. This is a Black-Crowned Night Heron. Several pairs of them breed near Mud Lake each year. It's not obvious from the picture, but they stand about two feet high.
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