Fall Photos of Our Best Time of Year For Some

                                                            Eurasian Collared-Doves

American

                                                               Eurasian Collared-Dove

                                                                    Blue-winged Teal

                                                               American White Pelican

                                                                   Male Carolina Wren

                                                            American Kestrel in Flight

                                                                      Carolina Wren
                                             

                                                            American White Pelican


10-19 through 11-09-16

This was when the weather was quite mild in the fall.  The Eurasian Collared-Doves were seen
for the first time not on the ground or on the power lines.  This was a rarer shot, so I did my best
to get out of the line of fire of the rising sun so that I could see them well enough in order to get
that beautiful photograph of them in the tree.  Fortunately, they trusted me enough to get away from a
large oak tree in order to have a clear shot.

The Blue-winged Teal, our smallest duck made a couple of turns around the lake, so I was as ready
as I could be to get a picture of several of them.  Even though they were quite a distance away, Lady Luck was with me, as was the sun.

The first Carolina Wren, an acquaintance, knows me better than the second one, who is generally
across the lake in a residential area.  By far, I believe the second shot to be the best one, but how could I refuse the first one?

The American Kestrel male has returned for the winter to his stomping grounds and this picture in
flight was a little sun washed, yet it was necessary to try it.

This American White Pelican was the first of a total of three arrivals.  He arrived on October 22 and
rested at Boomer Creek where there is a natural blind.  It was advantageous, as this waterbird had no
inkling that I was waiting silently in the wings.  There were a few shots of the birds flipping its gullet,
so these are representatives of this first meeting.

012917 SNP Edition, Life at Boomer Lake

http://www.stwnewspress.com/news/lifestyles/life-at-boomer-lake-a-top-notch-birding-getaway/article_badac028-f622-5992-849a-22a118ae5cc0.html

012317 SNP Edition, Life at Boomer Lake

http://www.stwnewspress.com/news/lifestyles/life-at-boomer-lake-some-old-feathered-friends-some-new/article_2b71db14-1511-55da-be1f-98243c3071b7.html

011517 SNP Edition, Life at Boomer Lake

http://www.stwnewspress.com/news/lifestyles/life-at-boomer-lake-some-tips-for-identifying-birds/article_b5e0ce8f-c2b5-5266-9112-8152bf933eec.html

Joys of Grebes

                                                                     Horned Grebe

                                                               Male Northern Cardinal

                           
                                                                     Horned Grebe

                                                                       Ditto, View 2

                                                                       Ditto, View 3


12-04-16

0935-1243/48-54 degrees F/6 mph NNW winds/partly cloudy/64-66% RH/29.86 Hg and steady


I have never noticed the Horned Grebe on the lake on such a mild day, even though the time of
year is correct.  This bird can be differentiated from the Earned Grebe, as it has a white-tipped bill and a rounded head.  The Eared Grebe usually comes to this area in the summer and has a peaked head.

In times of El Nino, it is possible that birds will arrive at unusual times.

010817 SNP Edition, Life at Boomer Lake

http://www.stwnewspress.com/news/lifestyles/life-at-boomer-lake-it-may-be-an-early-spring/article_889017f9-71fa-58dc-bb5a-b733a1114e81.html

Winter Birds Bring Good Fortune to Boomer Lake

                                                                 American Goldfinch

                                                              Red-bellied Woodpecker

                                                                      Herring Gull

                                                          Dark-eyed Junco (slate colored)
                                                     

                                                                     American Robin

                                                           Female Downy Woodpecker

                                                               Northern Mockingbird

                                                             Lesser Black-backed Gull

                                                   Ditto, Surrounded by Ring-billed Gulls

                                                American Kestrel at Magruder Plots, OSU

                                                                  Warbling Vireo Nest

                                                       Adult (RIGHT) and Juvenile (LEFT)
                                                             Herring Gulls in Rear

                                                           Herring Gull (FRONT)


12-28-16 through 01-01-17

Temperatures during this period of time were relatively warm for this time of year, unlike what
had just rudely dominated our early mornings.

There were standard birds in our midst, like the American Goldfinch, Dark-eyed Juncos, the
Carolina Chickadee and Wrens, Bewick's Wren, Song Sparrows, and other winter sparrows.

As luck had it, there were other gulls among the mix at Boomer Lake, like the more common Herring Gull, adults having a red spot on the lower bill, and are larger than the yellow-legged Ring-billed Gulls, which really do have a black ring around the front of the bill.

A European gull that is getting to be more common in the area, was willing to be photographed, the Lesser Black-backed Gull.

While a friend and I went to Magruder experimental wheat fields at OSU, we had high hopes to see
a couple of different longspurs, but there were none.  There were plenty of Eastern and Western Meadowlarks on New Year's Day, as well as Eastern Bluebirds, and a gorgeous male American Kestrel.

This is the time of year for al the woodpeckers to make nest cavities, choose a mate, and think about
laying eggs.  A couple of representatives are shown here, the Downy and Red-bellied Woodpeckers.
There are several yellow-shafted Northern Flickers, including the rarer Red-shafted.  We had a female last year and she has returned to us.  I don't believe any of her young from last year were red-shafted, but just because I didn't see any, doesn't mean that there were none elsewhere.

Even though the Brown Pelican caught a southern tailwind after two weeks of reigning over Boomer Lake, all good things do come to an end.  A Brown Pelican is a coastal bird used to salt water fish and warmer temperatures, so it was a rare fluke, but not totally out of the question during the tail end of an El Nino year.

We'll continue to seek out more uncommon birds this winter, and chances are good that more will be visiting with us.

010117 SNP Edition, Life at Boomer Lake

http://www.stwnewspress.com/news/lifestyles/life-at-boomer-lake-winter-taking-form-at-boomer-lake/article_5891646c-d131-11e6-99f7-9ff99a814f1e.html

Janu Janwar, Birding in Karachi, Pakistan

Birding is the only sport that has no borders.  Those that participate are focused on wildlife and how to protect it.  We are horrified by those that hunt birds and other wildlife simply for sport, and we will do everything in our power to combat it.

Please view Janu Janwar, featuring the World Wildlife Federation and learn that there are other flyway zones throughout Europe and Asia.  Flamingos are the national bird here, and you will see a concentration of over three hundred represented.

For those interested in birding in Asia and have no information, allow this to be a nice introduction, for there are many wonderful birds there, too, as well as birds that we all share.  The Birdwatcher's Club of Pakistan gives you an actual view of birds on the waterway.

Pakistan also has pollution and other problems that harm birds, just like us.  If nothing else, know that every birder in this world has a common goal--to eradicate poaching, and to improve habitat for birds.


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