The Glare
May 24th, 2009
I took several pictures of this grackle, and this one, colorwise, was not the best. But I just love the look he's giving me. "Do you mind, lady?"
Spring migration is winding down. So I guess I can officially say I've missed most of the warblers this time. (I don't feel too bad: sounds like a lot of people are in the same boat.) No Northern Parulas, no Black-Throated Blues, no Black-Throated Greens, no Chestnut-Sideds, no Magnolias...the list goes on. I comfort myself knowing that I'll almost certainly see some of them around the cottage this July, on their breeding grounds. Common Yellowthroats, too, I know where to find: they should be popping up by the marsh at Old Quarry Trail any day now.
Red-Eyed Vireos and Eastern Wood-Pewees, our latest-arriving common breeders, are now here and singing. (Pictures to come--if they'll come down out of the canopy for me!) Hummingbirds are flitting around enjoying all the newly opened flowers. On my last trip out, I was surprised to find four Blackpoll Warblers. They're boreal breeders, renowned for their long-distance migration (wintering in South America, summering primarily in Alaska and northern Canada), and are generally the last of the warblers to move through. I don't see them often, and when I do, they're always in thick cover. I hope to see and maybe even photograph them during our vacation to Gaspé. They breed on Bonaventure Island.
Orioles continue to pose prettily for me. Most of the orioles at Mud Lake are now breeders, not migrants. I can tell because orioles have dialects--differing songs by region--and all the orioles I encountered on my last trip out were singing the Mud Lake dialect.
1680x1050 wallpaper
Another view of that flicker, calling to attract a mate. That's what he was doing in the other picture too, but it's a little more obvious here.
May 24th, 2009
I took several pictures of this grackle, and this one, colorwise, was not the best. But I just love the look he's giving me. "Do you mind, lady?"
Spring migration is winding down. So I guess I can officially say I've missed most of the warblers this time. (I don't feel too bad: sounds like a lot of people are in the same boat.) No Northern Parulas, no Black-Throated Blues, no Black-Throated Greens, no Chestnut-Sideds, no Magnolias...the list goes on. I comfort myself knowing that I'll almost certainly see some of them around the cottage this July, on their breeding grounds. Common Yellowthroats, too, I know where to find: they should be popping up by the marsh at Old Quarry Trail any day now.
Red-Eyed Vireos and Eastern Wood-Pewees, our latest-arriving common breeders, are now here and singing. (Pictures to come--if they'll come down out of the canopy for me!) Hummingbirds are flitting around enjoying all the newly opened flowers. On my last trip out, I was surprised to find four Blackpoll Warblers. They're boreal breeders, renowned for their long-distance migration (wintering in South America, summering primarily in Alaska and northern Canada), and are generally the last of the warblers to move through. I don't see them often, and when I do, they're always in thick cover. I hope to see and maybe even photograph them during our vacation to Gaspé. They breed on Bonaventure Island.
Orioles continue to pose prettily for me. Most of the orioles at Mud Lake are now breeders, not migrants. I can tell because orioles have dialects--differing songs by region--and all the orioles I encountered on my last trip out were singing the Mud Lake dialect.
1680x1050 wallpaper
Another view of that flicker, calling to attract a mate. That's what he was doing in the other picture too, but it's a little more obvious here.
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