Spring bird ID thread

[mjs1973]

A House Wren, and a Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Not the best pics, but good enuf for an ID.

[mjs1973]

I found these this weekend, but I have no idea what they are...

[paulnj]

That's a pair of cliff swallows

[Mike T]

Here's a bird I shot on sunday. I was thinking some sort of sparrow but I just can't narrow it down.
Mike

[Mike T]

Here's one more from sunday. I set out on sunday to find some warblers, I had read of a few places where people had reported seeing over 15 different birds. I stopped by my favorite spot for a quick walk and staid there over four hours. I did get some nice shots ( I don't include these two among them ) but they were of birds I've already seen.
Mike

[paulnj]

The top one is a female rose breasted grosbeak ;) That second one seems to be a female redstart, but it could be an odd warbling vireo too.

Birds are a bit tough this year with bad winds for noctural migration. Between my cousin and I on friday we had 19 species locally in a few hours. Thursday I did a watergap to high point run and we found roughly 13 species of warblers stopping here and there briefly. We were more scouting than birding though.

[Mike T]

Here's another bird from this past sunday. I think I may have posted one of these birds before but since this bird was nice enough to let me take about 60 pictures of it I'm putting it on.
Mike

[paulnj]

Yeah, you have posted the louisiana waterthrush before, but they are a great bird. Was it calling, because the call is so loud !

All my time in the field is scouting birds, so the camera doesn't come out much. I did try to get some bluewinged warblers fighting over territory today to no avail though. Actually I think one was a hybrid(lawrences) because it had alot of black in the face so it appeared from the brief look I got of him. No fear, because they are obviously on territory and are 3 miles from my house. As Arnold says" I'll be back"

[Mike T]

at the time I was taking this birds picture it wasn't calling. A while before I took these I ran into one on a different part of the stream that was calling out, could have been the same bird.
A week ago I was down near Watergate and watched two American Redstarts going at each other for over a half an hour. They almost flew into me a few times as I stood there. They were still at it when I left them. I thought it was pretty funny they were fighting over that one spot when there is all kinds of land there.
Mike

[paulnj]

Watergate huh... I was there last week scouting for the WSB and found tons of cool birds.

I will be there tomorrow. I'll be easy to find too, because I will have my head out the window as we drive saying " hooded, redstart, ovenbird, flicker, cerulean, black and white, yellow rump, titmouse, yellow throat, blue headed, least fly, nashville, cooper's, great blue, green heron, purple finch, house wren, carolina, blackburnian, grey cheek, goldenwinged, blue winged..............."

I know that road like the back of my hand

[Mike T]

I didn't see much the day I was there ( 4/30 ). Somebody told me a good spot for warblers was the dirt road that goes from Millbrook Village to Watergate. I saw some Yellow Warblers the Redstarts and this bird but that was about it. When is the World Series ?
Mike

[paulnj]

Bald eagle... yes! They haven't nested on the island off poxano(sp?) boat launch this year that I am aware of(and I get the inside scoup from fish and game on eagles)

The WSB is in 2 hours and 15 minutes midnight to midnight saturday may 13 ;) My cousin's team will be in the great swamp at midnight then up north by day break. From there wind down to cape may. I am going from my area up to old mine by 6:30, then wind over to high point and down to my house again.

BTW... just past the enterance to watergate is a small pulloff with a chain across the gravel road that goes to the trail you speak of. least fly, blue winged, golden winged are pretty much a given there in late may as nesters. I had a nashville there last week and purple finches usually are in the village at the end of that trail. The road down into wurthington is usually hot and the camp grounds to the left of the building are too. Hooded warblers are vermon in that area, as are parulas. CERULEANS are hear and there before wurthington about a mile after the light in the big parking lot on the left. I can go on for days ;)

[mjs1973]

A blue jay and a baltimore oriole from my backyard this morning, and a turkey vulture from a morning drive.

[mjs1973]

I found these turkeys while out driving around this morning. The female seems to be playing hard to get. There was another tom strutting in the same too.

[paulnj]

Not too shabby there!

Funny story...

There I am this morning birding hard. We are cruising 30 miles an hour and I yell "STOP"
We get out and try to find the cerulean warbler I heard. I am scanning the trees(mind you it's 6AM), when I hear this noise. I turn around thinking a bike is going by me and realise a turkey just jumped roost and is coming at me. I instantly dunk as it goes 2 feet over my head.

I was awake after that ;)

[Mike T]

Found this bird this evening right before I got rained on. The light was getting bad I guess I should have gone out right after work instead of watching the hockey game. I think I know what this bird is ( one of the Warblers on my want list ) but I just want to hear it from the expert. How did you do in the World Series ?
Mike

[paulnj]

That is a male canada warbler. high piched wispy whistling sound(best way I can discribe it's song) . I found one today by ear at 35 mph and it was hundreds of feet away ;) They are a late migrating warbler and don't stay here to often. I bet yours came in last night ;) That is a very good find BTW.

We do the WSB blindly and for fun. We don't actually enter and we would need 2 more to be a team anyway. 19 species of confirmedwarbler(3 unconfirmed) with a total of 86 species. Man I wish I had my camera with me all the time(it was packed away in the back) because we found a woodcock with 4 babies right at the enterance to watergate. I walked up to them and the babies were dancing at my feet.

We could have easily doubled that number had we done some coastal birding too or actually scouted our route. I was scouting for others and local nesters all week ;) I hope my cousin's team makes atleast 210 and places top 3 in the state.

Oh, just though I'd let you know that a hybrid bluewinged/goldenwinged is on the gravel road just past watergate and hooded warblers number in the HUNDREDS on old mine rd. If you go up there, I found a northern waterthrush and hooded on territory right behind the mill. At the end of old mine make a right and go 300 feet up the hill and park at ther mill. They are right behind it screaming. Least flycatcher, orchard oriole , yellowthroated vireo and a bunch of other average birds are in the parkinglot at watergate near the pond side. REDEYED VIREO is nesting in a maple? on the hill and can be seen(with keen eyes) right from the parking lot full frame with your camera with ease!

[mjs1973]

Not too shabby there!

Funny story...

There I am this morning birding hard. We are cruising 30 miles an hour and I yell "STOP"
We get out and try to find the cerulean warbler I heard. I am scanning the trees(mind you it's 6AM), when I hear this noise. I turn around thinking a bike is going by me and realise a turkey just jumped roost and is coming at me. I instantly dunk as it goes 2 feet over my head.

I was awake after that ;)

That is a good story Paul. Maybe you should start wearing a helmet when you go birding.

I went out and sat in my blind this afternoon for about an hour in a light drizzle, but nothing was moving. I wasn't at all surprised, but with all the turkey activity I saw this morning, I was hoping to call something in. Maybe tomorrow, if the weather lets up a bit.

[Knight]

Wilson Snipe i believe And could there be something else in that tree that i did not C when i took the pictures ? seems to be some eyes in the hole in the trunk of the tree

[paulnj]

Yes that's a snipe and there is what appears to be an owl in there. Most owls are not cavity nesters in your area, so I think it's a screech owl. Then again... wood ducks and mergansers are cavity nesters too.

[mjs1973]

One from today.

[paulnj]

nice job at getting close to a perched gold finch. They always bail out before I can get a close shot.

[mjs1973]

Thanks Paul,

She did sit still long enough for me to get a couple dozen shots. I would have gotten more but the 4 shot burst on my DRebel was killing me yesterday. This shot is a pretty tight crop of the original. Maybe about 10-15% of the original. I was close, but it's never close enough.

[Knight]

Broad Winged or Red Shouldered Hawk ? 100% sure its not a Redtail Hawk

[paulnj]

Not an easy ID for beginners, but I am very good with eastern raptors. It's a broudwinged hawk, notice the think white band in the tail. that's an easy ID mark.