Showing posts with label Blue-winged Teal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blue-winged Teal. Show all posts
Monday, September 11, 2023
Sunday, September 25, 2022
Sunday, April 10, 2022
Saturday, January 29, 2022
Wednesday, October 13, 2021
101321 Summer and Fall 2021
052521 Green Heron Adult
060321 Green Heron Nestlings, Clutch 1
060521 Green Heron Nestlings Clutch 1, View 2
All we had was one clutch of young birds this year. If there were more, it could not be seen due to the thickness and height of the shrubbery around Heron Cove.
080321 Lark Sparrow
It was somewhat of a surprise to find a group of these sparrows, but it was a nice surprise.
091521 Franklin's Gull
091621 Mourning Dove
101021 Green-winged Teal
American Wigeon and others
Blue-Winged Teal
Blue-winged Teal
101121 American Avocets
These were the birds from the recent bad weather. The ducks were early and a big surprise was the Cinnamon Teal, though all of them weren't really expected yet. Birds are resilient and know what hazards bad weather can bring. They were safe on the water.
101221 Great Blue Heron
This heron was in the company of another, which is unusual as they are solitary birds unless they are breeding. It is very possible that the other bird was offspring, which would make sense at this time of year.
Sorry for waiting so long to post, but now everything is current.
Saturday, August 7, 2021
Saturday, April 17, 2021
Thursday, April 1, 2021
Saturday, February 6, 2021
Monday, September 21, 2020
092120 Migratory Gulls, Swallows, Waders, and Shorebirds to the Rescue in Fall
090420 Spotted Sandpiper
This is a non-breeding bird, common for this time of year. Though the Spotted Sandpiper is known for its spots, not all birds will sport them now, especially those molting just before migration into winter plumage.
090920 Blue-winged Teal
090920 Blue-winged Teal
At first appearance, it appeared that these were simply Blue-winged Teal. If one looks a little closer, te green speculum can be seen at the edge of the femoral tract.
091020 Great Blue Heron
Cattle Egret
This loner was among a group of several protective Great Egrets on Shorebird Jetty on this rainy day when many waterbirds were out of the skies.
Pectoral Sandpiper
This was a nice find among the many more common individuals.
The "Silent Sentinel" at its best.
Franklin's Gull
Least Sandpiper
This may be the smallest sandpiper, but it is still beautiful in breeding plumage.
Cliff Swallow
It is rare for these birds to be perched due to rudimentary feet, but it happens on occasion.
One could say "three on a match." Note the red tip on the bill, one of the distinguishing characteristics for this species.
Some of these were before and after the Wyoming adventure, but it is always good to return to familiar grounds, especially in the midst of migration.
Saturday, September 12, 2020
Tuesday, September 1, 2020
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
042120 Here We Are At Migrant Central
041920 Bonaparte's Gulls
042020 Orchard Oriole
First day at the lake. Baltimore Orioles were right behind, one of which was here near my residence before this oriole.
042120 Blue-winged Teal
There was a total of eleven of these at Boomer this morning.
Savannah Sparrow
There were three on Shorebird Jetty alone. There were five or six spotted.
Least Sandpiper
Two on Shorebird Jetty. Migration is quite active active with a lot to offer today.
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Six were fueling up on Shorebird Jetty, while these three took their time.
Lesser Scaup
Still coming through the area. The scaup were not far off the point of Shorebird Jetty when they took to the air. They preferred settling on the east side of the jetty and were much closer by choice.
American Avocet
This group of 35 arrived shortly before 0800 and as is their habit they made around six passes over the lake. They were flushed a few times, by both a Bald Eagle and an Osprey, which you'll see shortly.
Lesser Scaup
As can be seen, their plumage is very striking. They were only twelve feet from the shore.
Mallard Ducklings
First of the Year
This is the first group that we've observe this year, obviously some were adopted. There were eleven. Mother and father are not far.
Mallard Ducklings
View 2
Grasshopper Sparrow
It was surprising to see this sparrow up in a cottonwood tree near the water, a typical riparian area.
It must have been desperate for a rest and sustenance.
Great Blue Heron (Rear)
Double-crested Cormorants (Front)
Writer considered this a striking pose, something not seen every day. The Great Blue Heron is a second year individual.
Osprey
Pretty close, eh? This raptor was in the area the entire morning. It was spotted on the return trip.
Green Heron
"The Patriarch"
Before we called it a day, it was in order to check The Cove to see if Green Heron was here yet. It was not disappointing. Also made a swing by to see if the Summer Tanager arrived, but not quite yet.
The mulberry bush near here has berries just starting that were pollinated over the past ten days or so.
Overall this was an excellent birding day with 56 species in a four hour day.
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
033120 Migratory and Unusual Spring Photos at Boomer Lake
03-18-20
Ruddy Shelduck vs. Canada Goose
Double-crested Cormorant
03-19-20
Blue-winged Teal
Savannah Sparrow
American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus)
More American Toads
View #2
American Toad #4 out of 11
Top picture of the Ruddy Shelduck includes a Canada Goose in the shot. The shelduck had been strutting around the area seemingly in an aggressive manner. Unknown what affront occurred or with whom, but it appeared to be enticing aggression. At this point, it mixed it up with the goose. The shelduck left a few minutes later.
Most of the winter, the Double-crested Cormorant males were much darker than normal, which made me believe that they were in breeding plumage most of the time. They were much closer in the second photo, and the tufts on the head or "crests," were definitely showing. but not in that photo. I got to a better vantage point, as north as I could get from Goose Island, and snapped a photo of the head, which proved my assumption.
The Song Sparrow photo was a singing bird, and as we now know, "Singing Male" designations in eBird have been replaced with "Singing Bird," since so many female birds have been proven to sing, as well. We are now out of the "male only" norm. It took a century to prove that point.
Hanging in the lowlands at the southeast corner of Boomer Lake, it took an hour to get photos of the American Toad. I'd been hearing them for years but never photographed them until the date these shots were made.
Sunday, March 29, 2020
Sunday, March 22, 2020
Sunday, December 8, 2019
Monday, September 30, 2019
Migration Resurfaces In Higher Gear
Cattle, Egrets, View 1
Cattle Egrets, View 2
Yellow Warbler, View 1
Yellow Warbler, View 2
Yellow Warbler, View 3
092819
0726-0840/77-78 F/mostly cloudy/S-8/79% RH/29.77-29.80 Hg and rising
This was a higher migratory movement day. There were six Blue-winged Teal on the southeast corner lowlands, along with several Mallards, who were coming in the entire time there like a busy airport.
On the water, there were several Pied-billed Grebe and sixteen American Coot.
Observations were also made on a whopping forty-five Cattle Egrets, a few Snowy Egrets, the normal
six Great Egrets, and three Great Blue Herons.
Two non-breeding Forster's Terns were surveying the west side of the lake, and five Spotted Sandpipers were partaking of delectables on the shore of the southwest jetty, along with a Double-crested Cormorant on a snag not far from the jetty on the north side.
Overhead were a couple of southbound Barn Swallows over the water.
To make things interesting, the conservative number of ten Yellow Warblers are now classified as late arrivals by eBird. They were voraciously feeding between the Lakeview Road Bridge and the main path of Shorebird Jetty. There were no doubt more beyond that, as it is now a last minute dash for late birds to return south when they are in a state of Zugunruhe.
A Belted Kingfisher and a Cooper's Hawk also had words, and the size and speed of the kingfisher managed to speak volumes. The hawk had to carry on for breakfast, which was no doubt a young bird wasting time with a healthy kingfisher.
Ten Scissor-tailed Flycatchers were being sociable with each other, along with one that felt it was his duty to chase a Great Egret flying through the area several times. The flycatchers will be with us for another month or so, and if the males still have that much testosterone at this time of year, it could have something to do with all the singing males in flux like they seem to be now. The urge strikes, even though they are not quite ready to move south. It is an interesting concept.
Along with the normal birds for the season, there is no doubt that we are underway on our seasonal changes. There are still a few stragglers, like many warblers, and some likely have an added distance to deal with along with a first time journey. May they experience the best.
Sunday, September 29, 2019
Sunday, September 22, 2019
Post Rain Boomer Birding
Yellow Warbler
Female Eastern Downy Woodpecker
Blue-winged Teal
092219
1055-1217/77-78 F/variable to mostly cloudy/SSW-13/87-86% RH/29.88 Hg and steady
After an overnight rain of 2.73", a little activity was observed on Heron Cove. A male Wilson's Warbler was singing, which proves that with adult males, even though they are migrating, summer is not over yet and testosterone is still coursing in their veins. However, Zugunruhe provides migratory restlessness. A photo was not possible due to the rapid movements, even though the male was at eye level. It could have been a good shot.
The Wilson's was in the company of several Yellow Warblers, all having breakfast after a wet night. Insects were on the menu, as migration depletes the body's resources.
A resident female Eastern Downy Woodpecker was also in the area on snags, also in search of protein sustenance. An Eastern Bluebird was heard on the west side of The Cove.
The southeastern low field of Boomer Lake around the pecan trees and mulberry hosted a little over a dozen Canada Geese, 85 migratory Mallards, and a couple dozen juvenile Blue-winged Teal. A couple of Barn Swallows (migrants) and resident Mourning Doves passed overhead.
The remainder of the day remained cloudy and more rain came late afternoon. Perhaps tomorrow will prove fruitful, too.
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