Showing posts with label American goldfinch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label American goldfinch. Show all posts
Sunday, August 13, 2023
Monday, November 7, 2022
Saturday, February 12, 2022
Sunday, February 28, 2021
Monday, November 9, 2020
110920 November's Heartthrobs
110220 Pine Siskins
One of the usual irruptives for the winter, the regal Pine Siskin has a colorful suit jacket. Usually in the company of the American Goldfinch (below), these beauties are well remembered at many feeders. An uncommon song was coming from the male, which is usually quiet this late in the season.
110720 American Goldfinch
This female American Goldfinch was one of several in the area.
Sunday, December 15, 2019
Saturday, November 9, 2019
Water Birds On the Wing and on the Lake with White-tailed Deer Upon the Supple Land
Franklin's Gull
Juvenile Bald Eagle
Female Bufflehead
110319
0915-1033/50-58 F (wind chill 54)/clear/S-15/63-54% RH/30.0-29.99 Hg and falling
Today the Franklin's Gulls were at 480 strong, with 21 Ring-billed Gulls, and a single Herring Gull.
Five Killdeer flew from Shorebird Jetty and set up in the area of the lowlands on the southeast corner, never letting us forget who and where they were. A single Great Blue Heron croaked its location from where it was to where it was going until its engine purred in a more subdued manner.
The gulls few into the air several times, the only times being blamed upon the juvenile Bald Eagle, which was followed twenty minutes late by the adult Bald Eagle.
In the meantime, we enjoyed a lone Myrtle Yellow-rumped Warbler, Carolina Wren, American Goldfinch, red-winged Blackbird upon a light post, and Downy Woodpecker patrolling a snag.
Four Ruddy Ducks made appearances to prove that winter was really coming, while two Great-tailed Grackles were hard pressed to give up their summer residences.
Canada Goose
White-tailed Deer, View 1
White-tailed Deer, View 2
110519
0704-0818/43-48 (wind chill 39)/clear/NE-8/66% RH/30.13-30.17 Hg and rising
The wind chill was a little biting with the scant wind, but being greeted by Northern Shovelers, Ruddy Ducks, a Canvasback, and Buffleheads made it worthwhile. Southbound Double-crested Cormorants proved that fall was imminent, while 14 Killdeer showed that they were still southbound.
Canada Geese still flew our friendly skies while we looked on.
The House Finch and American Goldfinch were the final prizes of the day after two white-tailed deer came bounding through the southeast corner of the lake and stopped for a final still photo before continuing on. After the Blue Jays and American Crow made their locations known, the Carolina Wren uttered a final call before all was done.
American Goldfinch
Red-breasted Merganser, View 1
Red-breasted Merganser, View 2
110619
0710-0819/56-57 F clear/SSE-2/70-72% RH/30.03-30.08 Hg and steady
Water denizens, a Bald Eagle, and the Red-breasted Merganser who surveyed the center of the lake came within twenty feet of the privacy of the western end of Heron Cove in order to show itself off.
Chipping, White-crowned, and two Song Sparrows searched for the grass and fallen sunflower seeds at the Cove in the midst of all that was not lost.
The Northern Mockingbird and Eastern Meadowlark both announced themselves before going their own way, but not until the Pied-billed Grebes and American Coot directed themselves to their personal plans for the morning.
The Bald Eagle lazily made its way south while we drank in the beauty of the mildness of the day.
Saturday, January 26, 2019
December Melds Into January with New Year's More Recent Bird Trappings
Northern Harrier
Pied-billed Grebes
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Bonaparte's Gull
Red-shouldered Hawk
Ruddy Ducks
American Goldfinch
Northern Shoveler
Bonaparte's Gull
mid-December 2018 - mid-January 2019
The only photo worth getting at Christmas Bird Count on northwest Payne County was the distant Northern Harrier shot. It beautifully shows the white uppertail coverts so characteristic of the species.
The remainder are all from Boomer Lake Park, some mornings of which were on the colder side for ducks and other water birds.
The Ruby-crowned Kinglet seems to be coming less often, but as can be noted, it was a fairly good photo. These birds constantly tail flick and are on the move, rarely still for any appreciable amount of time.
The Bonaparte's Gulls were on the lake much more frequently this winter. We have had mostly light freezes but those have been few and far between. Today was more of a medium freeze found closer to the edges f the water, but spread out toward the inner part of the lake. Heron Cove was once again iced over.
We seem to be down to one Ruddy Duck now and winter's hawks make an occasional appearance.
The American Goldfinches are steady visitors this winter. Ducks have been visiting more during the cold, and fortunately this Northern Shoveler provided a nice in flight photo op. Pied-billed Grebes vary in numbers, but there is usually at least one most days and up to six have been observed.
Sunday, January 6, 2019
Sunday, October 28, 2018
Thursday, October 25, 2018
Fall Migration Still Waiting to Top Out or World of Birds On the Rise
Dark-eyed Junco (slate-colored)
Field Sparrow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Field Sparrow
Field Sparrow, View 2
Lincoln's Sparrow
American Goldfinch
American Goldfinch, View 2
Eastern Phoebe
Yellow-rumped Warbler
American Goldfinch, View 3
American Goldfinch, View 4
10-20 - 10-23-18
Last weekend and the first couple of weekdays brought two expected fallouts to Boomer Lake. This turned into the sparrow capital of the world, as well as songbird numbers increased. Being conservative, my opinion was in the neighborhood of a dozen winter Yellow-rumped warblers, but I believe it was close to twenty-five.
Also visiting were Orange-crowned and Nashville Warblers. Making attempts to get from one habitat change to another proved interesting, but just listening to the sounds of the birds that came in together, it was easy to tell what was near. However, finding each species was definitely another story.
After the Palm Warbler find, which was Boomer Lake's first recorded sighting, my spirits were high, and we did manage either a late migrating Gray Catbird, or the breeding catbird from these parts just decided to stay longer.
The Dark-eyed Juncos only stayed for a day, but the American Goldfinches and sparrows were eating every seed in sight.
After a brief sighting of about sixty Franklin's Gulls, Lady Luck asked me to settle down and enjoy the sights. So I did.
What I bring to you was just a basic representation of what I was able to find or at least be in view. The sounds of the Spotted Towhee rang through, it was briefly spotted once, but it has been staying put.
After a couple of days rain, it will be time to see what else flew in. Stand by for more information as soon as possible.
Sunday, August 12, 2018
Sunday, June 17, 2018
Friday, May 26, 2017
The Beauty of Boomer Lake, Starring the Migratory Black Tern
Black Tern
Black Tern
Ruddy Shelduck x Domestic Variant
Black Tern
Brown Thrasher
Prothonotary Warbler
American Goldfinch
Least Flycatcher
05-20 (Saturday) and 05-21-17 (Sunday)
Last weekend provided a small push of migratory birds with a minor low pressure system coming through. With it, came the largest amounts of Black Terns that have graced Boomer Lake. I believe the high count was thirty-five terns. It was no easy task, but I managed a few decent shots. These terns were a lot faster than the usual local birds, which provided some good practice on how to photograph them.
These terns tend to migrate through the North American interior. In summer, they tend to become marsh birds and in winter, graces both Central and South America as coastal seabirds. These birds forage for insects on the wing, dipping to the water to also glean fish from the surface.
Also in the background was another Ruddy Shelduck, much more of a mixed domestic than the last one. This bird was also a wild bird that had reverted from its original domestic state, as can be observed above.
Birds are with young at various stages. The first parent birds are the Canada Geese and Mallards, followed by the American Robin and Mourning Dove, then the grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds.
Our Green Heron family is sitting on a nest or two.
Boomer Creek should soon have young Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, Eastern Phoebes, assorted Woodpeckers, and Prothonotary Warblers, to name just a sampling.
Saturday, January 7, 2017
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
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.
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