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.
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.
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