Tagged With: Birds

Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

Photograph taken on Tuesday, March 26, 2019 by Henry
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)

I stopped at the park on the east side of Lake Needwood this afternoon. It was a beautiful, warm day, although not as warm as it’s been. I heard and then saw a few turkey vultures (Cathartes aura) a short walk from where I stopped and I headed in their direction. They had moved up into the trees by the time I got close but I also happened to see two red tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) as I walked nearer. I got a few pictures of them but they were taken through the branches and didn’t turn out all that well. I got a nice picture of this turkey vulture with its wings outspread, but that picture, too, had branches in the way. This one, of the vulture as he took off from his perch on the tree stump is my favorite. The next frame, taken a fraction of a second later, is actually better of the bird, but he’s just starting to go behind another tree trunk, which sort of ruins the effect.

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Robin Chicks

Photograph taken on Tuesday, May 21, 2019 by Henry
Robin Chicks

Robin Chicks

About a month ago a pair of American robins (Turdus migratorius) built a next under our front porch. I tried to discourage them, but they kept at it. I realized it was pointless to resist and they are almost done with it now, in any case. They flew off whenever we went in or out of the house, of course, but now the chicks are about two weeks old and ready to fledge. In fact, I took this picture in the morning with all three chicks in the nest. When I came home later today there was one standing on the edge of the nest and the other two had flown. Later in the evening the third was gone, as well, and the next has been abandoned, having served its purpose.

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Tree Swallow

Photograph taken on Sunday, May 26, 2019 by Henry
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)

After church Cathy and I went to Stadler Nursury in Laytonsville. On the way we happened to pass the Montgomery County Agricultural Farm Park. There were three large birds walking across the grass a little way in from the entrance and it was three female turkeys. I pulled in but they had moved into the deep grass before I was able to get my camera out and get a picture of them. They would have been small in the picture, anyway. When we went to turn around a little further in this male tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) was sitting on the sign just outside Cathy’s window. I got the camera ready and was able to get two pictures before he flew off. What a pretty little bird.

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Molothrus ater (Brown-headed Cowbird)

Photograph taken on Wednesday, May 29, 2019 by Henry
<em>Molothrus ater</em> (Brown-headed Cowbird)

Molothrus ater (Brown-headed Cowbird)

This isn’t as sharp a picture as I’d like but it’s what I was able to get today. Actually, I got pictures of three different birds today. This one, of a brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) in the birdbath, a Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), and a House Wren (Troglodytes aedon). The wren picture is sharper but I thought I had a better chance of re-photographing the wren, so I went with this one. The lack of sharpness is partially due to the low light and the fact that I had to crop the image to get this close, but a small part is due to the movement of the bird. As you can see by the water droplets in the air all around the bird, it is shaking water off of itself, taking a bath.

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Baby Robin

Photograph taken on Thursday, June 27, 2019 by Henry
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

The American robins (Turdus migratorius) nesting outside our front door are back to raise a second clutch. There were three in the first batch and another three now, although this photo only shows one. I don’t stay out to take pictures for very long, as that tends to keep the parents away. On the other hand, they built a next in a high traffic area and we’re not going to stop using our front door for them. They grow quite quickly and we watched the last set fledge and these three will be out before you know it. I’m thinking about doing putting something on this ledge to keep them from building another nest here next year, though. There are plenty of other nesting sites for them to use.

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Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

Photograph taken on Sunday, July 28, 2019 by Henry
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

Cathy and I took a walk on the beach this morning, heading east. We stopped for a while to enjoy the tail end of the church service on the beach and then continued as far as the pier. On our way back, as we neared out cottage, we saw a bird circling over the water and occasionally diving for fish. As we got closer we were able to identify it as an osprey (Pandion haliaetus) and I was able to get a few pretty nice pictures, considering I only had a 100mm lens. I had thought about the possibility of renting a longer lens for this trip but decided against it. Birds are fine to photograph but really, this trip is not about wildlife photography, so I decided to put it off for another trip.

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Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)

Photograph taken on Tuesday, January 28, 2020 by Henry
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)

Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)

I had a doctor’s appointment this morning and didn’t get to work until about 11:30. As I turned into the parking lot, I glanced to my right and sitting on a fallen tree limb was this hawk. I pulled into the space facing the bird but my camera was in the trunk and I knew if I opened my door, the bird would fly off. There is a small opening in the middle of the back seat that lets me get into the trunk, however, and I very quietly lowered my seat, reached through and got my camera. I took the first photo through the windscreen, which turned out reasonably well. I then lowered my window and leaned out and was able to get a few photos before he (or she) flew off into the woods. I believe it’s a Cooper’s hawk (Accipiter cooperii) rather than a sharp-shinned (Accipiter striatus), based on its size. Interestingly, both species are reverse size dimorphic, that is, the females are larger than the males.

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Another Hawk

Photograph taken on Wednesday, January 29, 2020 by Henry
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)

Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)

I had an appointment with my ophthalmologist this afternoon so left work a little early to go to that. When I was done, I would have gone straight home but I had two errands to run first. I went to the Kentlands shopping center, first to the Giant and then to Lowe’s. As I was coming out of Giant I glanced up into the small sycamore tree by the parking lot and saw this hawk. I nonchalantly walked by and got my camera out of my trunk. I got one photo of the hawk as it flew off but it landed again only a few trees over. I don’t think this is as good a photo as yesterday’s hawk picture, but it’s not bad. I think this one is a sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus), the smaller cousin to yesterday’s Cooper’s.

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Going Wireless

Photograph taken on Friday, February 07, 2020 by Henry
Going Wireless

I know wireless is here to stay, but it just feels weird

I’ve been thinking of doing this for a while. The idea isn’t completely original. I saw a cartoon something like this a while ago (at least a couple years, I’m pretty sure) but I’ve never gotten around to getting a good picture of birds on wires that I could use for it. I think the caption in the cartoon was something like “I know but it’s just felt weird ever since we went wireless.” That’s the caption I was going to use but I thought I’d change it just a little. Obviously this photo has been digitally manipulated slightly.

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Goose Feather

Photograph taken on Tuesday, March 10, 2020 by Henry
Goose Feather

Goose Feather

Spring really feels like it’s here. The first half of March is too early to be too sure we’re completely done with winter and we’ve had big snow storms later than this, but it’s really feeling like spring this week and I think a lot of folks are hoping it’s for real. The pears are starting to bloom and I’ve seen cherries and magnolias in bloom. I went out early this afternoon and wandered around a bit looking for things to photograph and came across this feather, probably a Canada goose feather, down by a drainage pond near my building.

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House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)

Photograph taken on Saturday, May 30, 2020 by Henry
House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)

House Wren (Troglodytes aedon)

I was out front sitting in a lawn chair taking photos of the spiderword (Tradescantia virginiana) when one of our house wrens flew up and landed briefly in the small apple tree growing near by. Then it flew to the nesting box (for lack of a better term—it’s a ceramic bottle, basically) and posed for me before disappearing inside. The other was around, as well, singing up a storm. These are very vocal little birds with a lot of volume relative to their size and we love having them. They are a lot easier to hear than to see, as small as they are.

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Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Photograph taken on Thursday, June 04, 2020 by Henry
Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Cathy and I took a walk in the neighborhood this evening. It was quite warm and humid but it’s still good to get out from time to time. I took some pictures of a purple clematis on a mailbox that turned out pretty well but I thought I’d share this photo of an eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis). It’s not as sharp as I’d like, but all things considered, it’s not too bad. These can be seen year round in our area and it’s always a treat. Maybe we’ll put up a bluebird box in the yard next year. It would be wonderful to have them in the yard.

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American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis)

Photograph taken on Saturday, June 27, 2020 by Henry
American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis)

American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis)

There are some birds, notably the American robin (Turdus migratorius), that doesn’t really compare favorably with its European counterpart (Erithacus rubecula. While the European goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) is a lovely bird, I think our American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) is quite beautiful. This is a female (on the left) and male (on the right). They really love the Verbena bonariensis and it’s fun to watch them as they land and the stems bend under their tremendous weight. I enjoyed this couple for quite a while this morning.

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Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)

Photograph taken on Monday, June 29, 2020 by Henry
Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)

Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis)

After work, except on days when it’s raining, I’ve been trying to sit in the yard to read. It’s started to get warm lately but I’ve still gone out, sitting in the shade after 5:00 PM, when it’s not quite so bad. I take my camera with me and look around for something to photograph. While I was reading, this gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) came and sat on the stake holding up our new hawthorn tree. It looked around for a little while and then flew off. There are quite a few of them around and since they are insect eaters, I’m quite happy to have them.

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Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Photograph taken on Saturday, December 05, 2020 by Henry
Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Cathy and I went for a walk on the western side of Lake Needwood this afternoon, parking at Needwood Mansion. It’s a trail we haven’t walked on before, although Cathy ran at least one cross country meet here when she was in high school. We saw quite a few eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) and some of them were even close enough that I was able to get a reasonable picture or two. I really would like a longer lens for this sort of thing. Relying on the 100mm lens I have leaves me a little disappointed, but this one is pretty good, if I say so myself.

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Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Photograph taken on Sunday, January 10, 2021 by Henry
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

We went to the Tridelphia Reservoir this afternoon to two different parking areas and walked out and back along trails from both. The first wasn’t as nice as we had hoped, although we saw two types of clubmoss, Diphasiastrum digitatum (fan clubmoss) and Dendrolycopodium obscurum (ground pine). The walk from the second parking area was really nice. It was an easy walk except for a few places where there was mud on the trail but it wasn’t hard to get around. We were about to turn around when Cathy spotted this great blue heron (Ardea herodias), who let us get quite close. We just stood and watched it for quite a while.

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Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Photograph taken on Sunday, January 24, 2021 by Henry
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

We went for a walk on the C&O Canal this afternoon, heading northwest from Pennyfield Lock. We saw a few great blue herons Great (Ardea herodias), including this one who posed for us very nicely. It was a lovely day and really good to be outdoors. The canal is nice, especially a little ways out from Great Falls Tavern, because it’s open and there aren’t a lot of people. More people than on some trails but not so many it’s a pain, trying to keep our distance from everyone.

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Bird Tracks

Photograph taken on Wednesday, February 03, 2021 by Henry
Bird Tracks In The Snow

Bird Tracks In The Snow

We had snow overnight and today and this evening there were lots of bird tracks on our back patio. It was getting dark when I took this, so it’s not as nice as it might have been, but there you are. Also, it feels strange posting this almost three months late, with temperatures in the upper 80s this week. But, it was cold when I took the picture and that’s life. I have ore than 30 pictures to post before I’m caught up.

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Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Photograph taken on Saturday, February 06, 2021 by Henry
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

We walked on the C&O Canal again this afternoon, returning to Pennyfield Lock but walking southeast instead of northwest. We saw three herons including one in a tree over the canal and this one, wading in the water. It seems like a good time of year for them and it’s particularly nice to see them as close as this. The trees are all bare, of course, which makes things in the trees easier to see. It was cool out today but not cols, so a really nice day for a walk.

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Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)

Photograph taken on Wednesday, February 10, 2021 by Henry
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)

Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)

This isn’t a great photo but since I’m not taking a photo a day, I have fewer to post than I did for the last ten years. The photo was taken through the glass of our kitchen door and with a mere 100mm lens, so it’s less sharp than it might be. Still, it was a nice view of the bird and we always enjoy wildlife in our yard. Well, almost always. We’re less excited about deer, which can be fairly destructive. And rabbits. Once it gets a bit warmer we’ll have lots of rabbits. But we love birds of pretty much all kinds and are especially happy to see foxes (and even more so if they eat the rabbits).

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