I got 48 bird species today. 4 of them were lifers.
I found this one:
A Swainsons's thrush. I found it and ID'ed it! Woo hoo!
Lifer.
A house wren was nest building in a cavity right above our heads.
Lifer. How could I have never seen a house wren before?
Veery. Very cooperative, sitting in the sun posing.
A peekaboo rose-breasted grosbeak.
Ruddy turnstone.
Want to see another dead animal?
Well, too bad. Here it is:
A very dead tundra swan. And if you look closely, you can see me touching it with one finger. Just to make my mother and mother-in-law crazy.
Kathi and I split up for the rest of the day. I told her that she was allowed to peel off whenever she wanted to, since I am aware that Susan (in uber-crazy birding mode) is a lot to take for long periods. I know that I am a bit much sometimes so I let her escape.
Lesser yellowlegs
Greater yellowlegs. Looks like the same bird, doesn't it? The only real difference between the two is size. A greater yellowlegs is about 4 inches longer than a lesser. Thank goodness they were together to compare.
Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge gives lots of opportunities for good photo ops. This great egret coasted right in front of me on the auto tour. If you have the good fortune to visit here, do yourself a favor and take the auto tour. You can go as fast or as slow as you want, and sitting in your car gives you a portable bird blind.
This was fun. A huge flock of somethings swooped down the road, and I was able to catch up with them:
A flock of dunlins. About 500 of them.
10 comments:
Wow! That's a lot of birds! How satisfying.
Congrats on the lifers!
Isn't the bird gliding across the road an albino loon?
Looks like a fantastic day. I think you should pay more attention to the Swami. I'm quite sure he's right on your bird ID!
Awesome! Looks like you had a great day birding at the marsh.
Very cool Susan! Congratulations, and what fun!
Great pictures but could you post them a little larger for us old guys to see...:-).
Wow! 48 species including 4 lifers. What a great day you must have had. Looks like the weather has been perfect. Enjoy the rest of your time.
Thanks for not doing a close-up shot of the dead (very dead) tundra swan.
Wow, you saw some wonderful birds and the Turnstone would have been a lifer for me! Great time you guys had and wished I could have stuck around to see these with you guys!
No, Susan, you may not count the dead swan as a "Life Bird." You may, however, add it to your "Death List," if you so choose.
Why no pictures of the ubiquitous Dead Lake Erie Carp (or whatever those dead fish were)?
~Kathi, who can beat Susan up every morning
Dang, girl! What a great trip. Love the dead swan, it really adds something.
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