Friday, April 2, 2010

Nothing but birds...at Shreve...part three...I think...or not...

"Honey, I think our nest is frozen..."
Killdeer or Coldeer?


Where was I? Oh yeah, Shreve Migration...so anyway, we saw a few birds while we were there, not as many as in the past. I think it was the temperatures in the low 20's that kind of slowed things down a bit. Once again, birds are smarterer than birders! They know when to stay in where it's warm and cozy!

By afternoon, things had warmed up into the fifties, much better. Before the talks and then again, after the talks, we did a little birding in the area. I'll talk about the talks in another talk...for now here's a few birdie shots for you!

Did I mention it was a little breezy too?
Black-capped Chickadees don't carry a lot of weight, though their attitude might suggest otherwise...


Here's a Canada Goose trying to lay low.
Maybe that's not her nest and she's trying not to get caught...


Oh my gosh! A normal photo of a Hairy Woodpecker.
How did THAT get in here?


Back to the normal, slightly fuzzy photos for me!
Can you spot the Hooded Merganser pair? Good.
How about the Muskrat? Good.
How about the Red-winged Blackbird? Good.
How about the Song Sparrow? Me neither.

A little bright in the marsh! And there's a Ring-necked Duck pair!

It was a great weekend for Crane spotting(obscure pun here).
We saw more than half a dozen Sand Hill Cranes while moving in and out of different wet land areas,
including this "singing"(?) fellow...and his mate didn't run away screaming.
The Doodles runs when I sing.


Monkey see, Monkey Do and Monkey...wait that's not right...
Anyway...here's a trio of Trumpeters,
Heb Alpert, Chet Baker and Arturo Sandoval showing his bad side.

Wood Ducks doing what Wood Ducks do.

This is not Andy Rooney.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Shreve Interruption!

I am SO glad we put out the hummingbird feeders today!

What a day to get a new bird in the yard...a good way to start out April! A Masked Flowerpiercer! And I even have a photo of it...

Okay, now go back to the last post on Shreve...sorry for the interruption...

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Muskrats and Sparrows and Blackbirds...oh my!...Shreve part too!

According to Mr. Musky, marsh muck tastes as good as pie.
I don't think so...


The mantra of the day at Shreve was Muskrats & Sparrows & Blackbirds, oh my! Look, another Muskrat! Look another Song Sparrow! Look another Red-winged Blackbird! Look...shut up Dave...says the Doodles. She got sick of me pointing out the same birds I guess.

There were a huge amount of Blackbirds and Sparrows about on Saturday though! And we have never spotted so many Muskrats either. I suppose they were the only ones willing to brave the below freezing temps that morning. Once again the birds are smarter than the birders...

Exit...stage right!

Exit...stage left!
They were in every marsh and pond we visited.


Song Sparrows are one of my favorite birds...even if they are the only ones out and about!

Look at those fresh feathers!
I always forget how small Song Sparrows are.


"Who's the fairest Red-wing of them all?"

"Does this reflection make my butt look big?"

Have I mentioned pies?

Okay, enough of this silliness...maybe.
Next I'll post more of the birds we spotted and the great folks we met along the way!

Monday, March 29, 2010

Shreve Sensations...part one of?...

*Please note Mr. Casual chillin' on the right side...

We had an outstanding time at the Shreve Migration Sensation this past weekend...as usual! I have quite a few photos I would like to share throughout this week...where do I start...? How about at the beginning on Saturday?

We got to Shreve about 8am...cold...frosty...cold...damp...and cold. Did I mention that it was a bit nippy out? 23 degrees to be precise when we arrived. It had snowed on Thursday, about 3-4 inches, but most had melted since then. The skies were clear and the birds were singing!

We made our first stop at Wright Marsh, a wonderful place to spot many species of duckies, geese, swans and other marsh, mucky loving birds. A few of the trails that lead to the furthest dikes were flooded so this was a good time to have a scope...which we left in the car...oh well.
Volunteers are always around with scopes to share the sights with all the birders!

This first post concerns the actions of one, questionable, Bufflehead. This guy may not have been the brightest, or maybe he just sees what he wants and won't give up easily. The moral here is, don't move in on another mans woman...

Mr. Casual on the left, checkin' out the babes.
Unfortunately, the buxom babe is a Lesser Scaup and he doesn't have a chance with her.


Please note the little "submariner" Bufflehead.
This is what happens when you get to close to a women who's spoken for.


Mr. Casual gets 'goosed' again.
The Canadians aren't impressed with his technique.


This guy just doesn't know when to quit!
It was fun watching Mr. B dive under water and come up under Mr. Casual.


This was his last warning...and it seemed to work...at least for now.

Did I mention the Amish pies?