2nd Summer Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Bird #2, 2nd Summer Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in Flight
Female Red-Spotted Purple
Male Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
These photos were taken over the past several days. It was quite surprising to see two
immature Yellow-crowned Night-Herons at The Southern Cove. (which I should perhaps
rename Heron Cove?) These birds were not seen together, and are clearly two different birds.
There has been no eBird record of Yellow-crowned Night-Herons since June of 2012 on Boomer Lake, which would have made that sighting in 2012 an adult bird. Since these birds are on their second summer, they could have been born at Teal Ridge, which has had adult Yellow-crowned Night-Herons every summer that I know about.
The Red-Spotted Purple Butterfly had been seen just off the Kameoka Trail near Boomer Creek, and they seem to be slightly more prevalent than usual in the tri-state area this year. For the most part, our butterfly population appears to be on yet another yearly downward spiral, due to loss of habitat,
lack of native milkweed, and too many pesticides wafting through the air.
Our Scissor-tailed Flycatchers are being seen again, soon to be heading south. They have been roosting together overnight, so chances are excellent that you'll see a good group of them at Boomer
Lake just before nightfall. Last year, they were seen on the northernmost jetty just south of Goose
Island. In previous years, they had a roost tree on the west side of the lake.
Also at dusk, you'll see more grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds at Boomer Lake, which are
nearly non-existent on the lake during the day. During the day, there have been large numbers of
Mallards, and less than the usual numbers of Killdeer.
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