Ovenbirds are loud in the woods, their “teacher, teacher, teacher” call resonating loudly but they themselves tough to spot. Yesterday I saw a number of them, chipping at me as the dog and I walked along the trail. I’m not sure if they were youngsters upset with the intrusion or adults distracting us from nearby ground nests. In any case, they were the first I’ve seen this year.
While foliage covers up some of the birds this time of year, we enjoy the wildflowers and critters that we see on our walks. Ginger has a fetish about squirrels and today, several crossed our path.
Late in the walk, I saw something I’d not seen before. There was a wake on the river and I thought it was a River Otter but …..
We also saw and heard a number of birds so we’ll share some images next post. Great time to be out and about in Vermont.
We have been enjoying the weather, the culture, and the people this trip — birding has been just another activity, but still very enjoyable. Here are some birds and flowers from some of our outings.
Little Grebes are cute but sure like to dive in the muckiest water. Time for a shower.
Here is a Northern Shoveler between and egret and a coot.
Even the common House Sparrow looks pretty sharp today.
On one of the first sunny days we’ve had in ages, I took the van (which by the way is for sale) out for some birding and at Berlin Pond, after seeing my first Baltimore Oriole of the year, too high and bouncy to photograph, came across this Osprey perched over the pond. It was windy and at the far range of my little camera and it was not until I got home that I realized it had a big fish breakfast.
Fontainbleau State Park, on an old sugar plantation on Lake Ponchratrain, is filled with wildlife. Deer, relatively tame, watch us as we tend to the van or walk the camp roads.
It is great to see our northern birds, such as Yellow-rumped Warblers here in force. Southern birds, such as Loggerhead Shrikes like this one, are also fun to see once again.
Here is a sampling of others we have seen on this first birding stop of the trip:
Great Egret
Killdeer
Northern Mockingbird
American Coot
We are off to Texas today and anticipating some cool rainy travel weather but next week in the Rio Grande Valley look good. Buenos dias, mis amigos.
Nearly mid-June and I just launched the Hornbeck canoe this morning for the first time. Too many other activities, chores, excuses but it was a great beginning. I went early to our local Wrightsville Reservoir and being a weekday and early, only one sculler was on the water.
Dozens of bird calls kept me occupied as I headed north on the quiet water with a few beavers objecting to my presence with loud slaps. Then, up ahead, I saw the white head of an Osprey or Bald Eagle in a craggy tree and carefully approaching it, saw that it was my first bald eagle of the year. 
I sat at a distance and watched him for some time and then carefully paddled away leaving him undisturbed.
The inlet of the reservoir is the North Branch of the Winooski River and for a short period, it gets scenic and is a great paddle. 
I came upon a Common Merganser with her chicks resting on a sandbar and she slipped into the stream and led them away as I tried to steady the boat and take some photos.
The eagle was still there on the return trip and I saw/heard over thirty species, got a nice workout, and finished up before 8 o’clock. Good to be on the water again.
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park takes its name from 18th century Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza and borrego, the Spanish word for bighorn sheep. On our last day there, we took a hike up the Palm Canyon trail to check out wildflowers and do some birding.
We spotted this hummingbird hawk moth along the way.
Further along, we saw a hiker intently watching the far hillside and found she had a group Bighorn Sheep in sight. There were about nine, mainly ewes and youngsters, far across the draw.
Returning, we ran into a larger group, being gawked at by the many weekend hikers. There were a couple of big guys with this crew.
In spite of the Saturday crowds, it was a great finish to a week-long stay. Next is the Pacific Ocean and sea breezes for a new set of adventures.
Yesterday, I got an early start and visited the City of Tucson’s Sweetwater Wetlands, a 60 acre treatment and recharge project set up for wildlife viewing. It is a popular birding site where you can see nearby tractor trailers on I-10 while watching a Northern Harrier hunt for rodents.
I saw about 35 species in an hour but I also saw wildlife – or wild life. So this post might be PG or NSFW.
Moving along one of the paths that line the marshy lagoons, I noticed movement up ahead behind a tree and through my binos saw a big racoon – no make that two racoons. It was 8:30 in the morning.
I felt like a paparazzi as I watched and fired away with the Canon but they could care less. After about ten minutes, I slowly walked by them and if racoons can have a sheepish grin, this couple did. I left them to enjoy their cigarette and coffee or whatever.
It is nice to see a public facility so open and accessible – and such a neat teaching tool about wildlife and water reclamation. And its nice to think that in about two months, there will be three to six baby racoons to enjoy the place.
While I record each species we see and use eBird to track birds as we travel, my birding partner is more interested in "slow birding" – taking time to "smell the flowers" – to mix metaphors. It’s got me seeing more and enjoying birding even more.
We came upon these gulls just after a lesson from a local bird walk leader. So we paused and sorted them out into Laughing Gulls, Ringed-billed Gulls, and Herring Gulls. Right now,those are the three species here so it is fun to sharpen ID skills by just going over groups – and when they line up on a pier it’s even more interesting.
Just up the road we saw these Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. Can you see what they were looking at?
Yes, it was an Anhinga, a relatively rare bird here. We watched it as it fished with snake-like movements and then strolled back up to the larger group of ducks, spreading its wings to dry out, and hanging out with the kids with bubble-gum legs.
In the next field we saw an odd couple – a young Crested Caracara and an adult Turkey Vultures. I know that they are both carrion eaters and sometime soar (kettle) together, this seemed almost like a foster mom situation.
A second juvenile joined the group as we watched entranced by what appeared to be flying lessons.
There were three juveniles, one of whom could barely fly, several Turkey Vultures, and everyone seemed at ease with the scene. No adult Caracara seemed present. We loved what we had seen but were a bit bewildered about what was going on. Anyone have any suggestions? Leave a comment if you do.
One of the "must-do" trips when we are a Goose Island State Park is to get to the [Aransas National Wildlife Refuge](http://www.vtbirder.com/aransas-national-wildlife-area/) so we loaded up some lunch, our birding gear, and the dog and headed out yesterday morning. It’s only a short trip, much of it at 70 mph, and it is always a bit unreal to take the narrow roads through cotton country. The fields are continuous black soil, flat as can be, cut only by irrigation ditches. Way off, like mirages on a desert, trucks float along just on the horizon. It’s about as far removed from Vermont as possible.
The refuge is large and being remote, not that busy, even on a weekend. Mary and I get in free with our Senior Pass (one benefit of getting old) and there is a pretty driving loop along the coastline with several overlooks.
The first stop after the impressive visitors’ center is the alligator viewing pond. They’ve constructed a new viewing platform and right below it was this young alligator, taking the sun. It’s Mary’s type of alligator viewing – there’s no way, unless he sprouts wings, that he’s going to bother her.
The birding was so-so with the exception of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, who have just begun to show up. Some will stay here, others will continue their migration northward. There were over a dozen and all were having trouble perching in the stiff breeze. This one balanced on a sign.
As did this one.
Later, after seeing a couple of Whooping Cranes from the elevated platform, I thought I saw a bunch of white birds way up high. I tried to get my binoculars on them with no luck, finally giving up. I told Mary that I must have mistaken a swarm of insects for a flight of birds.
We moved on, driving the long scenic loop, when I thought I saw a similar group of white objects. I stopped the truck and realized right away that they were birds that showed up when the sun was on them but disappeared when they turned away. They were making large circles, thermalling and drifting with the wind. I got Mary on them and through the binoculars, could see that they were White Ibis. My camera didn’t focus well but you can get a sense of the neat swirling birds we were seeing.
The temperature showed 80 as we stopped in a grove overlooking the water. The wind, while making casual dining a workout, kept the bugs (which were there) away. It was a nice Saturday morning in southern Texas.