Days of Their Lives

                                                                  Great Blue Heron

                                                                     Snowy Egret

                                                         Double-crested Cormorants

                                                                Spotted Orbweaver

                                               2nd Summer Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

                                                                            Ditto

                                                                     Great Egret

                                                                 Clay-colored Sparrow

                                                                     Bewick's Wren

                                                                     Carolina Wren

                                                               Juvenile Eastern Phoebe

 

Red-spotted Purple

These are shots over the past several weeks, as there hasn't been a lot of migratory

movement.  Weather has a way of being a deterrent, but one also must be in the right

place at the right time.  It cooled down for a little while, long enough for a few more

ducks to come through the area, and temperatures are finally quite seasonable and 

pleasant.  May those people that had to endure Hurricane Matthew be all right and may

you recover from that ordeal as soon as possible.

As a general synopsis, our young Yellow-crowned Night-Heron stayed with us at

Heron Cove for the better part of September, and chose the best willow to rest in

during the day, the same one that the strongest Green Heron chicks were hatched in.

Both Boomer Lake and Boomer Creek hosted more different species of herons than

normally this year, including a strong possibility of the Little Blue Heron, as well.

Larger than normal woodpecker numbers stayed at the creek, and many of them

were hatched here, including one female adult red-shafted Northern Flicker as a parent.

  It is not known if there are any red-shafted offspring as a result of this uncommon union.

There were also good numbers of the Red-bellied Woodpecker young, and a few Red-

headed Woodpecker juveniles.  No Pileated Woodpecker young were observed.

The Clay-colored Sparrow spent about a week with us on Boomer Lake and there were at 

least two of them in our midst.  Good numbers of the Carolina Wren were seen over the

season, and Bewick's Wren is once again in our midst.

Sadly, butterfly numbers were down by half, but on the positive note, this was the first

year that I have noticed the Red-spotted Purple in the five years that I have been in 

Stillwater, and I only observed it on the Kameoka Trail at Boomer Creek.

Ambient water temperatures have risen two degrees F in the time that I have been in the

area.  If this continues to increase, birds and other animals are expected to remove 

themselves in a northeastern pattern.

  

Less Birds, But Good Quality Ones at Boomer Lake

                                               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.