Getting Ready for Winter Birds

There's a cold front coming through tomorrow so there'a good chance for a rare migrant in the Southeast.  But Before that, I gotta enjoy some fall birding.  I stopped by the Blue Heron Nature Preserve in Buckhead in North Atlanta to look their trails and their community gardens.  Community Gardens can be great places to see birds due to the well maintained plants and diversity of plants.  Blue Heron's are no exception.  There were a ton of sparrows and cardinals around and a couple of warblers in the bushes near the gardens.  As winter sparrows move in, this will be a great place to check for them.  Georgia has also been getting a lot of Rufous Hummingbirds wintering around and I suspect that the Gardens might be able to support one as well.

I managed to get a couple of shots of some butterflies and skippers and birds as well.  Swamp Sparrows, Bluebirds, there was even a young Red-Shouldered Hawk around, although they were getting harassed by some crows.  This is a great preserve that is currently also expanding and growing and protecting some great parts of North Atlanta.  Hopefully the last days of Fall Migration will be fun and exciting.  Until the next time, get outside and go birding!

Gulf Fritillary in the Blue Heron's Gardens

Eastern Bluebird

A Swamp Sparrow

I need some help with this one.  What do you see?

Quiz Bird: What do you see below? 

Wild Bird Wednesday -  Link here

This post's pictures came from the Blue Heron Nature Preserve - Link here a lovely park in Buckhead, Atlanta, Georgia

Kingfishers and Woodpeckers

While Kingfishers aren't the prolific migrants that warblers or raptors are, they are still awesome birds and one of my favorites in fact.  Why?  Well, its hard to say, however, as this is a blog, I will attempt to do so.  The only Kingfisher for most of North America is the Belted Kingfisher.  This bird has an impressive beak and an awesome rattling call.  In fact, I have to say that the Belted Kingfisher is just one of the coolest birds around.  Their spiky mane, the cool frosty blue color, and their jet black beak just make this an awesome bird to find around any body of water.  They are also one of the few birds where the female is more brightly colored than the males.  An odd combination but one that makes the world of North American Birds so exciting!

Take the time to enjoy North America's most Common Kingfisher.  Last Winter all the ice forced our resident Kingfishers to leave.  When spaces go quiet they become a bit eerier.  Luckily, the ice melted (thanks global warming!) and the kingfishers returned to my local pond.  While, I don't look forward to the return of ice or snow, I always like to hear the rattling call of the Kingfisher.

A Kingfisher surveying Milford Harbor

Flying across the Water

Can you find the Woodpecker?

2013 Year List: 264
Black-Throated Blue Warbler

The Belted Kingfisher at AllAboutBirds  - Link

Butternut Squash, Butter-Butt Warblers, and other Signs of Fall

Since my last post exemplified the extraordinary, an American Golden-Plover, I thought my next post should celebrate something ordinary.  One of the true signs of fall is the arrival of Yellow-Rumped Warblers for me.  Their kissing calls mark the coming of fall in many ways.  Although most people will tell you about the cool brisk breezes, the changing autumn leaves, and the omnipresence of pumpkin as the true signs of fall.  But for birders, birds announce the change of the seasons.

For me, the Yellow-Rumped Warbler is one of those signs of fall.  This flighty warbler is one of my true signs of autumn.  This warbler is unique in that most of its wintering range is in North America and not the Neotropics.  There are wide ranges of biodiversity with birds and even within bird families.  Some warblers like the inside of the tree, some the outside, some the brush.  You can have several different type of warblers in a single tree, eating completely different kinds of insects in completely different parts.  The variety of Yellow-Rumped Warblers also helps us to appreciate the differences of individuals in the bird world as each butter but can pose a challenge for IDing under certain lights.  In the end, getting out and appreciating Yellow-Rumpeds helps us to understand the world of warblers better.  So get out and bird!

A Frog in a Pond

The Butter-Butt in a Tree

More Butter-Butt

Can you find the Butter-Butt?

2013 Year List: 263

Yellow-Rumped Warbler on All About Birds - Link

Migrants Migrants and More Migrants

Fall Migration is in full swing and Connecticut has had some great visitors in the past few weeks.  Amazingly, all the photos were taken at Hammonasset Beach State Park. I've attached links to the park below.  HBSP is an amazing park and one that has been classified as an Important Bird Area by National Audubon and people work to try to expand the park.  Recently, there were efforts to try and pave over the open grass and gravel parking lots and make them asphalt.  While this would increase the amount of non-point source population in the park, it would also decrease the open grass and gravel fields that so many birds love.  These parking lots have yielded, Golden Plovers, Black-Headed Gulls, Lapland Longspurs, Horned Larks, Lesser Black-Backed Gulls and many more.  News Link here  Since the Paving stopped, the Birds keep will coming back to this little spot.

My last visit here got me two great birds to add to my Connecticut List.  Wilson's Phalarope and American Golden-Plover.  I had seen both species before on my trip to Texas and got to see them in their breeding plumage.  While they weren't as decorated as when I saw them in spring, it was still a wonderful opportunity to see these birds.  The pharalope was having a good time playing hide-and-seek with the many birders trying to see it.  He kept darting in and out of  the tall grasses and we went picture crazy trying to snap a photo or two... or 50.  The Golden-Plover was playing a different game.  He was playing chicken with us and got within 10 feet of the birders watching him.  I am going to put a more detailed post of the pictures and poses I got from that experience in my next blog!  Until then, get outside and see some birds!

A Wilson's Phalarope

An American Golden Plover

A Snowy Egret and Little Blue Heron Face Off!

2013 Birds:
263

Hammonasset Beach State Park
DEEP
Friends of Hammonasset

Fall Migration Madness

Fall Migration is a wonderful thing.  While it isn't over, its very exciting to be see birds come through again and some with good numbers, while we are still very concerned about the future of many species, its is still good to see nature being so active and working.  I had a easier time with Fall Migration last year due to spring being a busy season for teachers.  So far this Fall Migration has been a hit.

This week was the first week I could really get out after recovering from Birding in Dixie.  I have to say that the first trips outside were quite productive.  I've added a bunch of birds to my Connecticut List, Year List, and my Life List.  I even got one of my goal birds!  Of the past couple of days, I've seen a lot of birds, I'll just outline some of my favorites.

I am so thrilled to finally seen Clapper Rails and Bobolinks.  I can't count the numbers of close calls and dips for getting trying to find these two birds.  The Bobolinks were fluttering around a tidal grassland.  I didn't get great looks at them but its pretty hard to.  I hope to get better looks at them in the near future.

The Clapper Rail was a great pick up for me as I had been searching for one for a while.  They are awesome and mysterious birds.  People call them 'Chickens of the Marsh' and when I heard their call, I knew I was close to finally seeing this elusive bird.  When I finally saw the Rail, I can't tell you how excited I was.  I probably don't have to since I imagine most of you have felt the same way.

What bird or birds have literally made your heart skip a beat?

A Clapper Rail!

A Monarch Butterfly, Haven't seen too many of these guys around 

Can You Find the Sparrow???

Laughing and Herring Gulls

A Black-and-White Warbler

2013 Year List: 260

Recent Additions:

Bobolink LIFER and GOAL BIRD

Clapper Rail LIFER

Nashville Warbler

American Kestrel

Next: More Fall Migration!  Waterfowl!  Raptors!  Hawkwatch!