A Month of Sights

    As spring kicks in, daylight overflows my cup and it is hard to keep up with this thing. I get the time to look at birds, but then it's also an ideal time to dig in the garden, look for worms, and ride our bikes. I love that my daughter likes to go outside so keeping up with this has been put on the back burner, so here's a whole helping of a month...

Very excited that I got the chance to see some (alive) woodcocks. When one of my friends alerted a bunch of us that it was a good woodcock day, I immediately jumped out the door.

Enjoyed the sight of this one from my car. Cars oddly are really decent bird blinds.

Probably my last look at a fox sparrow until next winter.
This one was extra foxy, getting a wind swept Marilyn Monroe look.

A second woodcock settled behind a fallen headstone.

A third woodcock under a tangle of fallen twigs.

A Brown creeper using its beak as a lever, to open up and lift bark to peer underneath it.

This robin was doing something very cool, like it was whispering its song, repetitively to itself. And while there is a "whisper song" behavior, this seemed to be it. And being that it performed this behavior means it's probably a pretty hormone-ridden male bird.
Happy spring!

And look who else is back!

I'll be back on my plover shit again this season!
While out on a beach rove I got to see this pair work on some scrapes together, it was lovely! 

A scrape is a depression n the ground where a piping plover will then lay its eggs. So it's their nest.

The male is standing ove the feamle while she tries out this location.

This guy is really into her, she keeps it a little more cool.

She is a lovely thing, looks exhausted and the crazy summer hasn't even started yet. I empathize.

Love seeing them stretch and spread those feathers apart.

My daughter came out with me for one beach rove and we got to see this guy-- Clark Kent! Most famous is he!

I got some time out today and headed to Shirley Chisholm State Park. This killdeer was trying to make his move, but his potential mate didn't let him get it that easily.

He'll have to figure out his next move, maybe not make his move so fast.

Was delighted to see a muskrat eating away at the marsh vegetation. Almost looks like it's smiling! I love how high set their eyes are on their head, to help them when they swim alligator style at the waters surface.

Spring signs, buds on trees, extra red breasted American Robin, and mud on their bill.

Best part of today, this little gang of glossy ibis!

Shirley Chisholm State Park is my favorite place to see them, because unlike Jamaica Bay, they tend to be quite close. And on a wet summer, they cover the Fountain Avenue mound.

Got in a nice little bath!

When you see that gloss tho... 👀

LOVE having them back!

This is a good one to end on. Happy birding, hope it won't be another month till my next!

Everything but woodcocks.

     I went to Green-Wood Cemetery in hopes of seeing at least one woodcock, but alas, today was not my day. But there were still plenty of things to see and probably the highlight was some very interesting behavior from a wood duck on the Dell Water. We saw a lot of cool behaviors from birds, heard the amazing blue jays array of calls, including their rattle call, which is only made by the females, heard a blue jay do a dang good red-shouldered hawk, and enjoyed the cardinal pairs singing in unison. I was joined by my friend Jim and it was nice to have their company for our nearly 4 hours out covering a good chunk of the cemetery.

As usual, the welcoming committee included 25 monk parakeets, many of which were basking in the morning sun.

As we were watching a slew of birds, primarily tufted titmice (there were a lot today), drink from a knot in a tree, Jim spied this raccoon who was settling in for their daytime slumber.

Got to see its little raccoon hand before it backed fully into its tree hollow and out of view.

We saw this lone wood duck male on the Dell Water. Just casually swimming about, very un-shy. And then I saw it with something brght orange in its mouth, I was convinced it was trying to eat plastic.

Closer inspection revealed it to be a goldfish!

As young, wood ducks will eat insects and small fish. But as adults, they primary are herbivores. So this duck had some kind of craving!

The duck carried the fish across the water and began picking at it and even manipulating the whole fish in its bill.

It seemed to be trashing the fish to rip off small bites. As it did seem to be trying to find its inner cormorant, looking like a few times it was about to just toss the whole thing back, but it couldn't make that happen.

After having its fill, it carried the fish and placed it in the shallows next to some rocks. A snack for later perhaps? Also tapping in to its inner nuthatch, stashing away some food for later?

Perhaps fish oil is the key to his good looks, who knows.
But he left his fish and swam back across towards us, knowing how good he looks.

Just a protein-seeking wood duck.

Any feeder in the cemetery had birds on it. This downy played a bit of peek-a-boo from behind a small tree before hopping onto this suet feeder.

I was today years old when I learned that paired cardinals sing a duet together, matching their notes in unison. And I got to see it and I thought it was just so sweet to sing you union in unison.

Left on a good note, a male and female Eastern Towhee. Ain't she lovely?

Florida Birding: Smyrna Dunes Park (pt. 2)

     On our last day in Florida, we decided to keep it low key, pool and beach. All right outside the door. I decided I'd start the day with a bike ride down to Smyrna Dunes Park, hoping to see a Loggerhead Shrike. The park truly delivered. Birds were very photogenic and this was probably my favorite day out. I even got my husband to come down with the kiddo to see some of the gopher tortoises which was lovely to share with her. I just really loved this morning and what it shared.

The rails of the boardwalk had morning dew on them which the songbirds gathered along to grab a freshwater drink. Genius!

This gray catbird along with another and two cardinals dipped and drank between each passerby.

Is this going to turn into a loggerhead shrike photoshoot?
YES.

The first time we visited our family here, I remember stepping out of their door and seeing one of these birds on the wire and was just totally wowed! I had never seen a shrike of any kind before. So I was determined to find one of these birds and happy I returned to this park!

Surfers, dog walkers, and casual morning striders walked right by and this bird had no cares to give.

These little songbirds have a hooked beak, they are little birds of prey as they hunt not only insects but also lizards, rodents, even other birds. It's what makes shrikes strikingly badass.

For small prey like they, they just gulp it on down, once they get it in just the right position.

Bleb.

A good thorny bush or barbed wire helps this bird when it catches something larger. It will impale it on the thorn or barb and then proceed to use its hooked bill to pull apart its food into more manageable pieces. So it's no surprise the mockingbird pair nearby took offense to these birds in the same area that they were.

And speaking of pairs, this loggerhead shrike is part of a pair!
They even did some calling and wing flapping at each other. I think they liked each other.

This bird made me so happy. I love birds of prey and so therefore, I love songbirds who take on that role.

And just when I thought, that was the best, the birds just kept being extra photogenic.

Brown Pelican in the surf.

A lovely little wing flap...

And taking a higher vantage point among the fishermen on the jetty.

Ruddy turnstones looking picturesque in front of the Ponce de Leon Inlet and Lighthouse.

This snowy egret was a bit of an antagonist amongst its peers. There was a lot going on by the jetty near the inlet.

Look up and you have pelicans, osprey, and terns overhead.

Look down and ruddy turnstones dipped in and out between the rocks in the sand.

This turnstone came u lucky itself, with a small crab that it ran off with and gobbled down.

And just when I thought mother nature laid it all out for me, on my last day...

A gopher tortoise yawn was the icing on the cake.
Until next time, Florida.