Thursday, May 14, 2009

And now the Rest of the story...

"Hey! I'm tryin' to sleep here! Morons with cameras and flashes!" This Eastern Screech Owl had more paparazzi than Paris Hilton.

There was so much to see at Magee Marsh on Friday in addition to the gorgeous warblers that seemed to decorate every tree and shrub. We saw quite a few Thrush, Gray-cheeked, Swainson's and Veery, Baltimore Orioles, American Robins, Tree Swallows, and House Wrens busy everywhere including the old Downy homestead. So I thought I would you show a few of the birds we spotted and some without spots...Sorry, I'm still sleepy...
You never know what you may find at Magee! This Black-crowned Night-Heron was spotted in the marsh...in the day...not the night...really...you can tell by the light.

Another angry bird. Blue-headed Vireos could use an attitude adjustment, or maybe a cookie.


Love them little buggies, buggies what I eat. Bite their little heads off and nibble on their feet. I heard this Eastern Phoebe reciting that.

How'd this Garter Snake get in here?

I love it when we can find hidden sparrows. This Lincoln's Sparrow thought "If I don't move, he won't see me."

I'm sure you remember the Sora from a few posts ago. They're still "busy" shall we say? A Muskrat ruined their first nest and they have since moved and rebuilt. Seems like there's a lot of home wreckers out there!

The Tree Swallows have been very busy also. With the marsh comes LOTS and LOTS of insects to eat!

I was wondering how to mention Black Swamp Bird Observatory again! Well, we stopped there and saw this pair of Rose-breasted Grosbeaks at their feeders behind the shop. Hi Kimmay and Kenn! There, I did it, ha.

I didn't want this Northern Leopard Frog to get jealous of the snake...

Now don't worry, I'll post more warbling things very soon! You just have to learn to enjoy the common birdies too!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Friday on my mind...

This is THE closest my lens will focus! Little Magnolia here wanted to see if I was a Canon or a Nikon shooter.

Here's a few of my fav-o-rite warbly things that I photographically captured this past Friday when Miss Doodles and I walked the boardwalk at Magee Marsh.


An American Redstart, from behind, yes! Are you ready for Loopy Dave's Field Guide to the Bird Butts of North America?

I am finally getting close enough to be able to shoot a Common Yellowthroat. How do they know they're common? It may be the same one you hear all day long. I think they should be called "Raccoon Warbler."


I like Maggies! They may seem to be plentiful, but Magnolia Warblers are such gorgeous birds to view none the less!

This Mourning Warbler was a difficult bird to get. There were only a few spotted and I showed up at just the right time. Once again being the skinny guy in the crowd paid off!


Some consider the Nashville Warbler "plain." Do you really think a warbler can be plain? Nah.


Let's see...it's on the north side of the boardwalk, it's in the water and it looks like a thrush. Hmmm, it must be a Northern Waterthrush. Gosh, I'm good...

Another "common" warbler, the Yellow-rumped Warbler. Except ya' can't see it's rump, can ya?! How often do you get a chance to see the yellow stripe on the crown? A Yellow-crowned-Yellow-rumped-Black-masked-Yellow-sided Warbler. So there.




I'd type something clever here, but it's past midnight and I am the sleeeeepy boy... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Monday, May 11, 2009

The LEAST of my problems...

The LEAST amount of a bird behind I've seen in a long time! It's a life booty, baby!
So, As I've mentioned before, me and the Doodles spent the past four days at the Magee Marsh Wildlife Area. We went for the International Migratory Bird Day festivities which included LOTS of birding, junk food and meeting a lot of great birders.
On Saturday, we had a canopy set up near the west end of the boardwalk to sell my prints, note cards and postcards of birds to help raise money and awareness for the Black Swamp Bird Observatory (Hi Kimmay!) I think we did a pretty good job on both counts.

My first day, Friday, Laurie-doodles left me to go birding by myself, silly girl! Along the boardwalk, in between talking to old and new friends and seeing a ba-jillion warbly things, I heard the call of a certain marsh bird. I wasn't positive of who it was until someone let me know exactly what its secret identity was. I looked for the crowd with the seriously concentrated binos pointed towards the reeds and squeezed my skinny self into an area of about four square inches. Boy was that rough on the lens!

Oohs and aahs and life bird dances were plentiful! And there it was, that special booty, the LEAST likely bird you'd expect to see that close. At first I got a glimpse of its eye, then its bill, and finally that glorious little booty! Woo-hoo! Life Booty!!

Have you guessed yet?

I must admit, I was rather excited and the pics aren't the greatest, but you try shooting between someone's legs and not get slapped!

I was a happy boy, until the Wrath of Doodle came down upon my sparsely vegetated head. Not a happy girl, nope. Not that we're competitive, it just seems like any time she lets me out of her sight, I get a life bird. We went back three times and could hear him calling, "Yoo-Hoo!", but Laurie-Doodles never saw him...aaawwww, so sad.

So, I'll bet you guessed LEAST BITTERN, didn't you?

But, enough of the jibber-jabber, SHOW ME THE BIRDS!

I have about 900 photos to go through, so every night, I'll try to post a few with more silly information for your perusal. Now I must take a nap...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Where am I ?!!!

A Black-throated Green Warbler givin' me that crazy eye again!


Hello again! Well, it was International Migratory Bird Day out here at Magee Marsh Wildlife Area, and this place has been JUMPIN'! There's been almost as many birders as birds over the past three days. We've met many old friends and made plenty of new friends, including a few new feathery types! Oh, there's gonna be some hot bloggin' this week!!





So, I just wanted to let you wacky kids know that I didn't fall in a ditch...yet...I'll update you on the events of the past three days, birding, fund raising for Black Swamp, birder's feeding habits (poor) and much more...


So Stay Tuned!