Thursday, April 30, 2009

The common yellow throat



I know, I know... boring,... but for me the common yellow throat warbler is not boring. This handsome little hyperactive bird goes hunting for bugs and seeds. The trick is to find him in amongst the leaves. I'd rather spend quality time watching one bird than go chasing all around the park adding to a viewing list. This was my first really successful photo op with this bird.
_______________________________

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

First two hours of the morning


There's no way to tell what's going to be seen. Sometimes I have a plan,... start at Riverside Drive to check on the hawks, then get to Central Park. In this two hour stretch I saw that the hawks were fine, stopped to greet my favorite mockingbird, got to Central Park and saw the bathers and nest-building mud-faced robin, a very sweet field sparrow (don't see them often), the yellow rump warbler, the towhee and the B/W warbler, a very nice assortment for two hours. I heard an oriole and another warbler, but couldn't find them in the tree tops. The serious birders would not be impressed, but I don't find any bird to be ordinary. I'm glad we share the same space.
_________________________________

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Fixated


I dream about birds. I think birds while eating, walking, working. My brain is so fixated on birds that when I saw this my brain gave it an instant name- the blue-finned fish-eating warbler. A person can dream, can't one???
________________________

A very special friend


A long time ago before I could really identify birds I saw a little bird and made a notation that I had seen a "masked bird". A month later I heard someone refer to it as a "bandito", so I made another notation. I'm not the fastest learner. The little masked bandito is a common yellow throat warbler, male. Every spring I really await the first appearance of this wonderful bird. Today was it, and for the first time I could take pictures with the more powerful lens. I'll blog extra images, ....for now here's my friend.

But you must not think I've learned everything. I also saw the blue jay with a "cherry bomb". Terrorist in the Rambles???? That's what my brain registered.
Actually, I did watch a "terrorist" at work. Yesterday we heard a hawk. All the small birds vanished. The hawk screamed again, but this time we heard and saw the "hawk". It was the blue jay doing hawk,.... nothing like a flying bully.
_____________________________

Monday, April 27, 2009

Monday fun

The "buzz" this morning was the prothonotary warbler obligingly bugging in one location for a long time. After a while I headed back to the "watering hole" where one yellow-rumped warbler called for me to take his picture. "I'm here"! Love it when that happens.
______________________________

Oh, so pretty


In town- the brown thrasher, the blue-wing warbler and the yellow rump warbler.
________________________________

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Real style


Nothing like a little sex in the old swimming hole. Bing-bang, one second.
________________________________


Why leave home????


I was in the park for about four hours seeing very nice birds.... and sweating, ... it was very hot and thick. Finally I decided to head on home. I didn't want heat exhaustion. I always check our little garden fountain. There sat Mrs. Cardinal cooling off, bathing, enjoying the water. Smart bird. I thought about joining her, but it's a very small fountain. Then I went into the lobby and looked out into the back garden. Thank goodness the camera was in my hand. HOODED WARBLER. I should have stayed home and observed garden activity. The garden window is coated, so there is always a glare. The birds can't see into the lobby. They see a reflection of the garden. Both the hooded and a bug-hunting wren were up on the outer window ledge, too poorly lit for pictures, but eye-visible, close enough to touch had the glass not separated us.
_________________________________

Bye Bye birdy


There's the bird! Ready,.. aim,.. click......... oops, off by a split second. Nobody said it was easy.
_______________________________

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Oats



Who's oats? The horse's oats. Want to bet? Pigeons' oats. Want to bet? Everyone's oats. Community bucket.
________________________________

Friday, April 24, 2009

The red flasher


Yes, I adore kinglets and when the ruby crowned kinglet flashes I adore it.


It was quiet in the park this morning. It's very funny..... the serious birders are in the park early and they all have cell phones, so the word gets out, nothing at Azalea Pond, nothing at the Gill, nothing at the upper lobe, yellow rump in Strawberry Field, one hooded seen at....... , by 9:30am general agreement, it's a quiet day.

So I'm happy to have seen the flasher.
___________________________