It was very chilly and windy Saturday morning, which made it difficult to even imagine seeing birds, but we did manage 25 species. I didn’t see them all.
Shortly after we convened, the Great Blue Heron that hangs out in the water by the Hal Tyrrell Trailside Museum of Natural History flew in and landed in a likely spot.
After standing around trying to identify distant birds perched hundreds of yards away, we did manage to see very few warblers in the sunny tree tops. At one point, two Blackpoll Warblers came out to engage for the camera.
Then I managed to barely catch one leaving.
With some frequency, a Red-tailed Hawk would fly over.
We were having a hard time finding passerines until we got out to the grassy area, but even then they were difficult to see as they were far away. So I have no usable photos of the Eastern Bluebirds, numerous American Robins, two Eastern Phoebes, and a few Northern Flickers. The Bluebirds and Phoebes might have been related to those nesting in boxes and the shelter this spring, respectively.
I forget exactly where we were when we noticed some activity in a bushy area. The bird was hard to see, moving around in the middle of a mess of branches. But then it started to move closer to us where we could see some of it. I first caught sight of a “spectacle” eye-ring and speculated that it was a Yellow-throated Vireo. The bird must have heard me, because it came out just then to prove otherwise. It was a Blue-headed Vireo. This was the Bird of the Day.
Later, for added excitement, two Red-tailed Hawks flew over, interacting with each other.
The last Red-tailed Hawk photos I took were when the hawks were flying right over us saying hello.
With luck we will get good views of more species this coming Saturday in Columbus Park, and then we have a couple walks the beginning of next week, and then I am on duty every Saturday morning through the last walk at Columbus Park on October 12.
Meanwhile, Linda Rios and I are preparing for our auction-event flute and piano recital on October 13. It will be a very birdy music month.
Great flying pictures today and a very nice bird of the day too.
Thanks, Tom! Those hawks were having too much fun showing off.
Blue-headed Vireo is a very nice find. Your camera does a really nice job on the Red-tailed Hawk. Keep seeking out the fall migrants so I can better learn their appearance.
Thanks, Bob. We’re at Columbus Park this morning. In spite of the hot weather and no rain, migrants are still coming through and stopping by, at least around the river. I had 9 species of warbler yesterday – one of them a Connecticut. Stay tuned.
Wow a Connecticut!! Awesome, I have never seen one. Sounds like. your fall migrant tours have been a great success.