Three Odd Birds
June 3rd, 2010
Lesson learned: When wading through knee-deep grass in early morning shortly
after the dispersal of morning mist, you might as well be wading through a
swamp. Wear waterproof boots. Heck, wear waterproof
pants!
That said, on to the pictures.
The area south of the airport is teeming with
Bobolinks.
I didn't realize just how many it supports until now (with spring migration
completed). They and the meadowlarks duet from the open fields off High Road:
the meadowlarks' wistful "see-yur"s and the bobolinks' resonant, almost
electronic chatter. Those fields are fenced off, but now and then a bobolink
or even a group of them perches on the fence, giving me a photo opportunity.
The meadowlarks, alas, do not perch on the fence. They don't even come close.
Investment: a half hour of wading through wet grass and weeds resulting in
shoes, socks and jeans soaked to the skin. Payoff: my first good picture of a
Common
Yellowthroat!
I got lucky when a
Grasshopper
Sparrow--usually a shy, secretive bird--chose to sing on the fence, and
furthermore, let me get close enough for a few at least half-decent shots,
before he vanished into the ether for the rest of the morning. The hunched
appearance in the first picture is typical of this species, as is the spiky
tail in the second.