Until the last few days, we’ve had a small group of Common Mergansers on the river behind our house. In several kayak outings I’ve mixed with them, and when I had my camera onboard, trying to photograph them. With a moving river, skittish birds, and trying to balance the boat and the paddle, it’s an interesting challenge.
The river is pretty barren now, as are the trees, and frost is in the forecast. We’ve had good birding this season on the North Branch of the Winooski.
We recently spent a nice week on Cape Cod, avoiding crowds and taking long walks along the National Seashore beaches.
We saw a lot of gulls, Herring, Greater Black-backed, and likely others.
Each day, we also saw dozens of Harbor Seals who seemed to enjoy us as much as we did them.
On our first trip to Spain in 2018, we discovered this gem of a wetland refuge not far from our lodging in Salobreña. Nestled into an area of apartment and industrial buildings, it is a wonderful network of ponds, shady paths, and streams that during the week, is not crowded. The ten or so “hides” attract birders and many serious photographers – you can see a great array of birds, some of which I’ve included below.
Here are a few of my favorite birds we’ve seen here:
Charca de Suárez is on the coast, a little over an hours drive from the Malaga airport and less than that from Granada. This little spot (40 acres), which has plans for expansion, is a perfect place to spend a few hours. Check the opening times, they are often rather late during the week. I hope to make it back to this delightful place.
****** Covid-19 has put a halt on most of our traveling so instead of planning journeys, I am electronically revisiting some places that I would like to return to once the pandemic is over.
We’ve enjoyed seeing a lot of bird youngster activity in our yard this summer including a brood or two of House Wrens as well as young Blue Jays and Common Grackles begging their parents for food from the suet feeder. On the river, we’ve had geese, mergansers, and ducks all raising kids.
Here are some youngsters that I’ve seen nearby the last couple of days.
Song Sparrows are everywhere, but we know they’ll be gone soon. It’s fun to hear them work on their calls.
Yesterday, I was surprised to see this juvenile Herring Gull on the river. Quite unusual but I suspect he hooked up with his cousins at one of compost facilities nearby.
Over the years, I’ve owned a number of small planes and spent a lot of time around airports. Our local airfield is a great place to find some birds and exercise the dog when not much is going on aviation-wise. This summer, Ginger and I have had some nice morning sessions. Here’s one:
And here’s my birding buddy, returning down the taxiway without the tennis ball I threw. I think it’s still there in the tall grass.
Enjoy the rest of these summer days. Before long, we’ll be up there looking for Snowy Owls.
Early June is a great time to be outside in Vermont – birds are still singing, young ones are clamoring for food, and everything is lush and green – but ticks abound.
Just up the trail, these three gals watched us with great interest. Ginger, on her leash, likewise was ready to play but we moved on.
There is a medley of bird songs in the early hours these days and here are a few of the chorus members.
Just down the road, these Yellow Warblers were singing, flirting, and just jumping around. They are easy to see but tough to photograph.
Driving Vermont backroads, some early mornings you see more birds than vehicles. It reminds me of the neat bumper sticker, “Caution, I brake for birds.”
One of the toughest birds for me to photograph is the Common Yellowthroat. They are everywhere with their “witchety-witchety-witchety” call but usually buried in bushes and always on the move. Here’s one recent shot I got:
While checking out the airport this morning, I saw a large bird dive into the underbrush up ahead. Parking and searching with the binoculars, I found this young turkey.
As I scanned, I came across this guy, a Wilson’s Snipe, hiding in the grass. You never know what you’ll find when you just slow down and look.
With migration in full swing and trees leafing out fast, it’s been a good time to get out with the dog and check things out. The other day we came across this guy who was waiting for the morning sun to get up and going.
Shortly thereafter, a Bald Eagle, being harassed by a Common Raven, flew over.
It’s a great time of year in New England for birds and birders. Get out there!
