It was chilly and blustery, albeit sunny, in northern New Mexico this weekend. On Saturday afternoon we visited the Randall Davey Audubon Center just outside of Santa Fe. There were several Townsend’s Solitaires flying around the parking lot as we pulled up. Many of the other regular stuff, such as Black-capped Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon and Pink-sided), etc.
Townsend’s Solitaire
On Sunday we decided to make the 2.5 hour trek northward to Maxwell National Wildlife Refuge which was only 25 or so miles from the Colorado border. Within a few moments I immediately found a Northern Shrike. Lots of other winter raptor specialties included Ferruginous Hawk, Golden Eagle along with 2 adult Bald Eagles and 1 juvenile. And I must say, at least 200+ Mountain Bluebirds!! I guess this is *THE* place and time to go if you want to see them.
Northern Shrike
Golden Eagle
Golden Eagle
Northern Harrier
Ferruginous Hawk
Mountain Bluebird
Mountain Bluebird
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Tags: bald eagle, black-capped chickadee, dark-eyed junco, ferruginous hawk, golden eagle, mountain bluebird, new mexico, northern harrier, northern shrike, randall davey audubon center, santa fe, townsend's solitaire
The stormy weather subsided just long enough Sunday afternoon for me to get a little photography time in. I headed to Bolsa Chica in Huntington Beach to seek out the White-winged Scoter that had been observed there for the past month. I walked the entire loop around the wetlands (about 2 mi.) and was never able to find the Scoter – although the last report was from at least two weeks ago. A treat was a juvenile Peregrine Falcon attempting to capture and kill a Willet. Although he was unsuccessful it was still fun to watch. Lots of the normal waterfowl including many Lesser Scaup but just as I was leaving I found a small group of Greater Scaup all by their lonesome. This inspired me to post the following photos as many have trouble in identifying the differences of Greater vs. Lesser Scaup.
You’ll notice the rounder head of the Greater Scaup with the peak of the head being farther forward. The color of the head is greener in the Greater and more purple in the Lesser, although this is not a difference that can be relied upon as lighting conditions can play a major factor. The sides and back of the Greater are lighter and there’s a larger black nail on the tip of the bill (not easy to see). The Lesser Scaup has a narrower, taller head and, as the name indicates, is smaller in size averaging 16.5 inches in length as opposed to 18 inches for the Greater Scaup.
Greater Scaup
Lesser Scaup
Northern Pintail
Eared Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe
White-crowned Sparrow
Peregrine Falcon
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Tags: bols chica, eared grebe, greater scaup, lesser scaup, northern pintail, peregrine falcon, pied-billed grebe, white-crowned sparrow, white-winged scoter, willet
I just returned from a weekend of photographing along the Upper Texas coast with friends from Houston. Saturday morning we chartered a boat to take us out to a chain of islands where wintering Whooping Cranes could be found. We were very fortunate to find at least 8 Whooping Cranes including one juvenile bird. There are fewer than 250 pairs of Whooping Cranes left in the wild due to habitat loss but rehabilitation efforts are having great success and numbers are quickly rebounding. Most of the Whooping Crane population winters along the Texas coast while a smaller population also winters in Florida.
Spent the rest of the weekend trying to work on other Texas specialties, such as Nine-banded Armadillo, White-tailed Hawk, Mottled Duck, Tropical Parula, Neotropic Cormorant and others. Lots of photos follow:
Whooping Crane
Whooping Crane (juv.)
Whooping Crane
Whooping Crane
White-tailed Hawk
White-tailed Hawk
White-tailed Hawk
Nine-banded Armadillo
Tropical Parula
Eastern Phoebe
Roseate Spoonbill
Tricolored Heron
White Ibis
Rusty Blackbird
Mottled Duck
Forster’s Tern
American White Pelican
American Oystercatcher
Neotropic Cormorant
Turkey Vulture
Crested Caracara
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Tags: american oystercatcher, american white pelican, brazos bend, crested caracara, eastern phoebe, forster's tern, goose island, little blue heron, mottled duck, neotropic cormorant, nine-banded armadillo, northern parula, rockport, roseate spoonbill, rusty blackbird, texas, tricolored heron, tropical parula, turkey vulture, white ibis, white-tailed hawk, whooping crane
We spent President’s Day weekend in Napa and Sonoma Counties. The weather was absolutely gorgeous with sunny skies and unseasonably warm temperatures. Although I didn’t find any Barrow’s Goldeneye or the Northern Shrike hanging around in Marin County, I did photograph a nice Red-shouldered Hawk and a Rufous morph Red-tailed.
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk (Rufous)
California Towhee
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Tags: california towhee, napa, red-shouldered hawk, red-tailed hawk, sonoma
Spent the morning at North Chagrin Nature Center near Willoughby Hills, OH. Although my intention for going there was to locate and photograph the 3-5 Common Redpolls that were recently reported there, I never did find them. I did get a lot better photos of some of the more “common” backyard birds for our friends in the Eastern United States so the effort wasn’t completely in vain.
I scored, what I consider A+, photos of Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Tufted Titmouse and Downy Woodpecker among many others. See for yourself!
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Tufted Titmouse
Downy Woodpecker
Blue Jay
Northern Cardinal
Northern Cardinal
Red-shouldered Hawk
Pine Siskin
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored)
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Tags: black-capped chickadee, blue jay, chagrin nature center, dark-eyed junco, downy woodpecker, northern cardinal, ohio, pine siskin, red-shouldered hawk, tufted titmouse, white-breasted nuthatch, willoughby hills