I have been to McGinnis Slough twice this month – on April 8 and this past Sunday, the 23rd. It’s been such an on-again, off-again spring, it’s really hard to imagine, let alone anticipate, what to expect. But I always find a visit to this site full of potential surprises.
It was warm and sunny on April 8, and there were even some dragonflies I could not capture with the camera, but it certainly seemed like spring was imminent. The dominant species in the water – Northern Shovelers, Blue-winged Teal, and American Coots – were still present two weeks later, with a few additions. But the visit on the 23rd was cold and cloudy, which presented some extra challenges.
There are a lot of Northern Shovelers. Their numbers are exceeded perhaps only by the American Coots. But it has been hard to get a close view of them. They were a bit closer on the 23rd, when the light was less forgiving.
But I did manage to capture them in flight on the earlier visit.
I often inadvertently flush the Coots out of the marshy areas as I walk by, but for whatever reason I was able to capture a few of them somewhat closer than usual.
Blue-winged Teal have been everywhere this spring.
I managed to get quite close to a pair of teal nestled by the back end of a Canada Goose. You can’t see the birds very well, but I found the exposure of the preening male’s feathers fascinating.
Two more Blue-winged Teal photos.
I adore Pied-billed Grebes. They always look like they’re smiling, if rather sardonically. I was very close to a couple of them on the earlier visit.
The slough has greened up considerably in the last two weeks.
I managed to grab a few photos of a small group of Bufflehead on the last visit.
Also last Sunday, one Great Blue Heron testing the chilly water.
There were a considerable number of Ring-necked Ducks this last visit, but they were too far away to capture well. This was the best I could do from a distance.
The Mallard drake below was likely guarding his nest location.
Red-winged Blackbirds simply own the marsh.
Black-capped Chickadees were enjoying the warm sunshine on my earlier visit.
I have seen Tree Swallows off and on all month, but mostly on the warmer days.
I always expect to see Wood Ducks here, but they are a bit more secluded right now. In a month or two they should be easier to find hanging out on their favorite fallen log.
Just another reminder that it is nesting season already.
It was cold and rainy this morning. I kept arguing with myself about going out for a walk anyway, as soon as the rain stopped. The rain, as miserable as it is with the cold, has not been a downpour. But it has kept me in, and now the day is getting away from me. This afternoon, Linda and I have our likely last rehearsal before we perform in the 2023 Spring Music Festival. The run-through is Friday night and the actual event Saturday evening. It will be our comeback performance after the 2019 SMF.
I have many more observations to share from my other two most-frequently-birded locations, but the balancing act between musical endeavors and spring migration will be a bit more sporadic this week.
There were still a few Red-Winged Blackbirds hanging out, singing.
In addition to a lot of Swamp Sparrows, there was my first American Tree Sparrow of the season, the arrival of which always reminds me of winter coming…
And of course the waterfowl. Below, a view of only a couple hundred of 850 American Coots. Or so I calculated…
And here are two cute Coots up closer.
There was a nice little group of Green-Winged Teal…
At one point two Mute Swans flew overhead. The second time they weren’t entirely mute and I thought they sounded a bit like Snow Geese so they had me fooled for a minute, but my photographs later said Swans.
A few more of the Yellow-Rumpeds and the tree they were in.
The trees looking windswept and leafless…
Sunday morning the choir sang two services, singing “Somebody Prayed for Peace” and “Sweet Freedom” which is based on the national anthem. Afterward I went to city hall for early voting, deciding that it might not be such a bad thing to try, even though I live half a block from my polling place. As I sat in the gallery section of council chambers waiting my turn at the voting machine, I was reminded of sitting in a church pew and struck by the metaphor of voting as a form of prayer.
I’ll let the pictures talk for themselves…
I went into the city an hour earlier this morning to see if it was possible to see any birds before getting to the office. It wasn’t easy. The light wasn’t good until I had to leave Lake Shore East Park, after it took me half an hour to get there. I will simply have to find birds close to the river. I will miss the lakefront parks, and particularly my crows. I may have to go downtown a few weekends to see if I can find the crows, because I miss them terribly. I refuse to believe they aren’t around as much because I have been absent, I still think it’s the hot weather. I hope I’m right.
I will try to be back sooner. Still getting used to the new regime. I hope the autumnal equinox finds you safe and sound, wherever you are.
That said, there’s still only so much you can do with anything in poor light. Like the very cooperative and friendly Golden-Crowned Kinglet below, he was pretty dull and drab yesterday.
The dead wood in the water was perhaps more suited for the weather. It is transforming into…I’m not sure what bird that resembles on the right, below.
Sparrows were abundant. White-Throated Sparrows, which are a dime a dozen on the lakefront, seem special here. There were lots and lots of Song Sparrows singing like crazy, even though I managed to capture a silent one. Below these two, a couple hidden shots of a fairly distant Fox Sparrow, whose rufous caught my eye and brightened up the surrounding gloom. And the final sparrow at the bottom, a Chipping Sparrow, is my first one of the season, although I’m sure I heard one in neighborhood last week.
Lots of woodpeckers but they were hard to get on. Below is a Red-Bellied on the left. The little bird on the right is a Brown Creeper, not a woodpecker, but spends as much time on trees as woodpeckers if not more, and it’s also the first one for me this spring. Click on the pictures to enlarge, and look at how beautifully the creeper blends in.
Okay, well, tonight I’m going swimming unless there are thunderstorms, and I promise I will finish The Panama Pictures so I can start sharing them with you.
At opposite ends of the slough, I ran into two other individual birders and we exchanged information. The second one suggested I go to the newest section of Orland Grasslands to look for Lapland and Smith’s Longspurs. I find it a bit funny that I exchanged names with neither of these people, but it’s probably all any of us can do to talk to each other with the distraction of looking for birds first and foremost in our minds.
And more Caspian Terns.
As for Sunday’s choir performance, below is the poster that tells it all.
This beautiful and moving experience will be part of me for a long time to come. And in a moment of reflection later, about the unifying experience while we were singing, I realized maybe I gained an insight into something the birds do all the time…