Monday, October 9, 2017

And So the Migration Begins....

I never really thought of myself as an avid "birder", bird watcher that is...until I moved to a home on a lake that happens to be situated on a migration flyway. (Central U.S./Mississippi Flyway) Not only have I seen so many different types of birds here, I now am seeing birds I have never, ever seen. As the chill in the air brings an omen of wintry days to come, many birds are on their way through to warmer climates with a brief stop at our lake for a rest and a bite to eat.  I couldn't be happier to let them stop by and I have developed the habit of having my camera ready to capture their image, if I'm stealth enough.
Common Merganser
My most recent "capture" is a water bird I identified (with my trusty Peterson Field Guide) as a Common Merganser. These Ladies (all identified as female) hung out on our dock all afternoon. Kind of pretty coloring and if you were to just glance you might think they were "just a group of Mallards", the males do have green heads. Sometimes it is better to take a second look to realize what you are seeing.

So I have enjoyed for months the beauty of the Loons that are on our lake.  I know they migrate, so they soon will be leaving us. Try as I might, the Loon is a creature that is hard to photograph, rather elusive.I rise to the challenge and keep trying for that perfect Loon picture.  I will soon have to postpone that challenge till March.

In the mean time, the flurry of birds "just passing through" are interesting to try to identify. I had pretty good success with the Merganser, but there are an amazing number of water birds that are really hard to identify. Grebes, Coots, Loons and Gallinules come in a variety of types.  If not familiar with these, it seems like I am hurling insults at you...You old Coot. Doesn't "Grebe" sound like an insult?
American Coot? (Can anybody confirm that?)
Unique names for some commonly found birds, but very unique to watch. Here is a photo of some birds that I believe to be American Coots. Any guesses out there on this photo? That is as close as I could get.

Many of these birds that I have captured in a photo, will probably winter here and I will continue to provide suet and seed for them.  It is a small price to pay for me to enjoy watching them and brightening up my yard. Additionally, my cats, love to sit and watch their activity as well. Not to fear, bird lovers....they are exclusively indoor cats and would not be allowed outside to hunt.
American Goldfinch
I have seen the usual finches, wrens and nuthatches at the feeder. In addition to those I have seen a Baltimore Oriole, Goldfinch and I have a few resident Bluejays that I see almost every day.  If I don't see them, I hear them.  Bluejays are one of the few birds that I definitely know their call, or shall I say screech. Even though considered the "bullies" of the bird world, I think Bluejays are so pretty.

Pileated Woodpecker
The latest visitor to my suet feeder was quite a surprise and really startled me to have such a huge bird right in front of my window: a Pileated Woodpecker.  These are the fellows that get quite large, and the one I saw was probably a young one. He has his full colorization, but as far as Pileated woodpeckers go, he was on the smaller side.  They grow to be almost 20" high and have a huge wingspan. Their adult size is compared to a large crow. This fellow pictured here has come to my feeder several times for the suet. Perhaps it will help with a growth spurt for him, he still is quite an impressive size already...good start!  Next time he comes I hope to get a better photograph, but here is what I happen to capture on my cell phone.

 So with my trusty bird book I continue to correctly identify most of the birds I happen to see.. It's kind of fun to look them up when you spot them.  I also found an additional web-site that is fun to browse thru and they even have audio to help you identify a bird call. I personally have fun listening to the Loons...what a unique and haunting sound. The link can be found at: www.allaboutbirds.org The site is managed by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology (Ithaca, New York) and contains a wealth of tips and photos.  They also have an amazing amount of information to assist with bird identification and the interesting hobby of "birding". One can always learn something new with this hobby because as this site states there are over 800 species of birds in the US and Canada.
Common Loon

I am determined to get some better Loon pictures before they migrate...but I may have to wait till spring. Time will tell, but here's a few that I captured early summer. So grab your binoculars and a camera and enjoy the flight of of our feathered friends.
My Fellow Bird Watchers......


The Magic in Mentoring

 I really wish I had a mentor. I could use some  technical assistance and at least some moral support on my current project.  I am in the pr...