Tagged With: Songbirds

Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)

Photograph taken on Sunday, September 14, 2025 by Henry
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)

Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)

We took a walk at Sandy Spring today, starting from the Friends Meeting House and walking to the spring and into the field and woods beyond. Sometimes we see a lot of birds here and other times, none at all. Today we got one nice view of this eastern phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) and that’s about it. It’s a pleasant walk, in any case, and we often go there after visiting Cathy’s mom, because it’s near by. The phoebe is a migrant but we are at the southern edge of their summer range and not far north of their winter range, so they are fairly common most of the year.

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Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)

Photograph taken on Sunday, November 23, 2025 by Henry
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata)

We walked to Sandy Spring today after visiting Cathy’s mom. We didn’t see much to speak of but I did get this slightly soft photo of a yellow-rumped warbler (Setophaga coronata) as we were heading back out. This is our most common winter warbler. We’re on the northern end of it’s winter range and the southern end (or just south of) it’s breeding range. It’s easily identified by it’s yellow rump, seen here, although it’s often hidden when perching.

We also saw them in Oregon last year, and I got a few nice photos of those, which can be seen on my posts for Wednesday, September 18 and Thursday, September 19, 2024.

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Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Photograph taken on Saturday, December 20, 2025 by Henry
Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

We walked a little in the Agricultural History Farm Park today. There were birds around the demonstration garden, and I got a few pictures of eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) and dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis). This is a bluebird, of course, which I really like. We see both of these birds in our yard, as well. The juncos are here in the winter, traveling farther north for breeding, but the bluebirds are here year round, which is a treat.

Once we wandered from the garden, we didn’t see many birds, but it was still a nice day to be out, with billowy clouds and cool breezes.

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Birds on Seneca Greenway Trail

Photograph taken on Friday, March 13, 2026 by Henry
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)

Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)

White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis)

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia siali)

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia siali)

 

We were in the northern part of Gaithersburg this afternoon and after the errands we had, we decided to walk a little way on the Seneca Creek Greenway Trail, walking north (upstream) from MD 355 (Frederick Road). We saw quite a few eastern bluebirds (Sialia sialis) and I got what I consider a pretty nice photo of a white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis). We walked a little over 2 miles up the trail, stopping about a half mile short of where the trail meets Watkins Mill Road. As we were coming back I got a few photos of an eastern phoebe (Sayornis phoebe), including this one of it taking off, which I really like.

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White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

Photograph taken on Tuesday, April 07, 2026 by Henry
White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

Cathy and I took a walk on Cabin John Creek, walking upstream from where the creek is crossed by Bradley Blvd. We went as far as where the creek meets Seven Locks Road, near the Seven Locks Swimming Pool. We heard a few birds but didn’t see too many. I did get a few photos of this white-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) that turned out well enough. I’d prefer to get it from the side, but you often see them from this angle, anyway. I got some pretty poor photos of a little brown bird that was working its way up a tree. They were not good enough to share but they were, thankfully, good enough to identify the bird as a brown creeper (Certhia americana), so that was fun.

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Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)

Photograph taken on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 by Henry
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)

Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)

Just as I did yesterday, I sat outside to eat my breakfast this morning. I enjoyed the birds singing all around. There was a tiny blue-gray gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) that landed pretty close to me but at that point I didn’t have my camera with me. Later, when I did this tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) moved around in the trees just into the woods. This isn’t as sharp as I’d like, but it’s certainly good enough to identify the bird, which is sort of the lowest level of bird photography. I have to admit that I have a lot more at this level than I do at what I might describe as the pretty good level and even fewer of the field-guide level photos.

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Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea)

Photograph taken on Tuesday, April 21, 2026 by Henry
Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea)

Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea)

One of the best things about being retired is that we can go places during the day that we used to only visit on weekends. That’s what we did today, heading out to McKee-Beshers in Poolesville and parking at the furthest parking area on Hunting Quarter Road, near the dog training pond. There were a few others out with long lenses, as apparently a few notable birds had been spotted there recently. We aren’t monitoring those lists regularly so for us, it was just good luck that we happened to see this prothonotary warbler (Protonotaria citrea). We also saw (and I photographed) a greater yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca), an American coot (Fulica americana), and a solitary sandpiper (Tringa solitaria), birds we don’t generally see this far inland. The coot was sitting on a nest.

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Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Photograph taken on Wednesday, April 22, 2026 by Henry
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Cathy volunteers with the county park’s archaeology group one day a week and after she did that today, she took a walk in the woods nearby. When she came home she suggested I go with my camera. I heard three birds that I’d love to photograph but never caught even a glimpse of them. Those were the yellow-throated warblers (Setophaga dominica), pine warblers (Setophaga pinus), and northern parulas (Setophaga americana). I did see a few norther cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis), which are among our most common and most easily seen birds. I also saw and photographed a few blue-gray gnatcatchers (Polioptila caerulea), which are easy to hear and often hard to find.

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