Pink-footed Pit-stop

     With a (mostly) 3-day weekend, Tim and I decided to visit my parents. Original plan was to visist a museum with them, but then my dad decided golf would be better. So, I golfed...and birded.
      Before arriving to my hometown, we made pit-stop in Valley Stream to see the pink-footed goose that continues to hang out behind the high school in Hendrickson Park. I love when my husband let's me do these things, and he helped me to look. I laughed after I told him he walked by it, way far past that it merited a phone call, as I didn't want to yell to him. This is after I explained what to look for, he's adorable when he helps me bird. Anyway, I found a goose napping in the morning sun, who didn't mind me observing him/her.
Anyway... enjoy-

oh hai! With pink legs and pink on its bill, it already has some noticeably different looks from a Canada goose. 

Also a uniform greyish-brown, smaller statue, and lack of the bold marks around the face and head make this guy look a lot different from the others.

These geese typically breed in Iceland and Greenland and migrate into Europe, wintering in the UK, Netherlands, and Denmark.

This bird also feels very stout, for its size.

Perhaps this is why my husband walked right by the pink-footed... there was a lot of goose to scan through.

A lot of goose. 

A nice pit-stop for a quick and easy life bird, the pink-footed goose!

The Week In Review

     I went out a few times last week, but also managed to stay super busy last week with work and gatherings. So, here are (a lot) of views from last week...

On Monday, Halloween, my trick was not seeing pipits or blue birds, but my treat was a few different sparrows in the setting sun- really great lighting to highlight these great little birds.

A lovely swamp sparrow in the first two shots. I walked along the cricket field to the RAG pond, and in the brush bordering the path were some very active sparrows.

Another treat was this perched merlin who was greeted, or pestered by another merlin who flew in and swooped close, just as quickly as it flew off- so I got to hear some vocals which confirmed this as a merlin, especially because I saw it from afar and it was severely backlit.

In losing light- I was not about to go solo onto the trails, so I turned back and practiced checking out sparrows. The song sparrows, in terms of photos, are always reliable to capture. Other sparrow species can be a bit more skulky than these guys-- birder speak for staying hidden among the brush/grasses/trees- you get it? good.

Saw some birds foraging in the grass- a slightly more slender/pointier bill, yellow above the eye, streaky...

And a full body view, looks good for a Savannah Sparrow.

This bird reveals how their streaks differ from those of the song sparrow- they are not as thick- also many sparrows boast a marking referred to as a malar stripe-- it looks like a mustache coming off the side of the beak. The malar stripe on this bird is thinner than the one boasted by the song sparrow.

Walking to my car I had a chance to enjoy a second and smaller species of falcon (the merlin being the first), a male American Kestrel- patrolling the fields before the sun disappeared for the evening.

On Thursday, before work, I took a quick walk through Prospect. With cloudy skies, and the threat of rain, I didn't take too many pictures. But another sparrow species to toss into the mix from Monday, a white-throated sparrow, common throughout the winter into spring. You can see where they get their name- also another fairly easy sparrow to ID if you're just getting started with sparrows. And also, like the song sparrow, fairly common- especially this time of year.

A nice treat on the Lullwater that Wednesday, a small group of American Wigeon, including a nice flashy male.

And one last sparrow for the road- and one already ID'd in this post-- I'll let you give it a try, especially if you're practicing.
I just invested in Sparrows of the United Sates and Canada by Beadle and Rising- it's a photo guide, which I am finding I tend to like better than guides that use art. I have been studying it little by little, and so far, I like it alot!

I also went into work late on Friday- had a couple extra hours I worked to burn... Started off with some close to shore ruddy ducks on the lake. 

The squirrels were especially ridiculous today...

Especially this guy, who consumed his snack entirely while dangling like this.

A chameleon squirrel.

A fat squirrel.

Another sparrow species. I am feeling confident for chipping sparrow... the streaky crown helps me differentiate this guy from one further down in this post.

The group of Wigeons on the Lullwater grew to also include another male and additional females.

On Saturday I joined my friend and the Feminist Bird Club and arrived early to find this guy/gal- a juvenile white-crowned sparrow. The brownish-red crown lacks streaks like the chipping sparrow. Subtle differences become important to note when spying sparrows.

I had to scurry home early but found some less-than-normally-shy hermit thrushes foraging by a picnic/bbq area on Wellhouse Drive.

Ending the day with a hermit thrush smile? Maybe? 

Feminist Bird Club Walk at Salt Marsh Nature Center

     My coworker and friend, decided to start a group for birding to inspire women to get outside, explore, and bird. The Feminist Bird Club is for also starting a conversation about women in birding and our safety in exploring our urban landscapes (because let's be real, ladies-- we have all had an uncomfortable moment out in the field, where we felt like our safety was at risk). It's not just for ladies, guys are welcome too, and on it's first walk, we explored The Salt Marsh Nature Center at Marine Park.
     Four of us spied 40 species of birds, many of us achieving life birds of our own (two for me!). We had a really great time  on such a comfy and beautiful autumn day- the weather could not have been better!
     We saw a lot, I snapped many photos of what I could, here are the better of the bunch (over 300). Enjoy!

We began with being greeted by an Eurasian Wigeon near the entrance to the trails.

First looks at a male Eurasian Wigeon. I have been hoping to see this guy and was pleasantly surprised when he flew in with two other American Wigeons, right in front of us. Life bird! Finally- I would always go to where they were reported and never get them, today it just came down from the sky right to where we were standing!

Across the water, the Eurasian (left) side-by-side with the American Wigeon (right). Both are beautiful birds, but the Eurasian is not a common bird to the states. Most Atlantic Coast individuals are birds from Iceland. On the Pacific Coast, they come from Siberia.

A female house finch, perches above the cove where the metal green bridge takes you onto the trails- where the Eurasian Wigeon has been continuously reported over the last week or so.

Also, bonus, a Green wing teal (front), female American wigeon (center), and male American Wigeon (back).

Eurasian in the late morning light...

Swamp Sparrow, just behind the green bridge- we also got a savannah sparrow in this area too.

We spent a lot of time on the green bridge, the longer we stayed, the more we saw... like a great blue heron who flew in, greater yellowlegs foraging in the falling tide, and sparrows darting in and out of the shrubs and grasses.

And the Eurasian wigeon made some nice close passes in the light, what a nice guy.

And a great egret came in and just as quickly left for a better fishing spot.

Lots of squabbling downy woodpeckers near the tree they have been excavating in recent times.

Not a bird, a mantid hangs out - insects were active as temperatures climbed in the the low 60's.

Almost snubbed this off as a starling as it flew towards us, but then peered at it as it flew past and noticed the tail was not starling, with white edges.... another lifer and great surprise-- and Eastern Meadowlark- who perched high for us to get some looks, through the tops of the grasses before diving down low, out of sight.

These birds will spend most of their time foraging on the ground, probing for insects, but also feeding on seed and grain.

A nice look to see some of the yellow on the belly, chest, and throat.

On our way out, a last look at a modest but beautiful female American Wigeon.

Was bummed to be left with 39 species when leaving-- lacking some pretty common birds like N. Cardinal, blue jay, or any corvid-- walked to the picnic tables to find 40 in the plantings of flowers, a common yellow throat. Yay!

Yay for a successful (and fruitful) first walk-- looking forward to the next!

Edits made: When you throw together a blog post fast... house finch and swamp sparrow corrections made, sheesh. ;)