North River Farms and Local Birding (18-19Jan2014)

This weekend started out with some afternoon birding on Saturday.  Oleander Gardens Cemetery was the first stop.  I thought for sure I had a cackling goose among the 100 plus Canadas just based on size.  However, after looking at the pictures closely I decided it was just a really small Canada.  In fact I was so upset I deleted all the pics so unfortunately I cannot share them.  Next up was Airlie Gardens.  We have a membership and so I try and take advantage as much as possible. It's a wonderful place, but I always get frustrated with the staff driving around in the landscaping vehicles ruining the peace of the gardens.  I think I am slowly becoming my father, increasingly getting annoyed with any mechanical noises.  But if I had to pick someone to become, my father is not a bad choice.

                                  White-throated Sparrow.

                              Hooded Merganser - one of my favorites when I first started birding.

                Mute Swan - interestingly enough, he did not say a word.

              Black-crowned Night Heron - Airlie frequently has 20-30 of these in the trees.

Sunday I made the trek up to North River Farms to bird with John Fussell, Jack Fennell, Chandra Biggerstaff and friends.  The best find was right after entering, a Peregrine Falcon.  Although the light was still poor, I managed a couple recording shots.

There was a Harrier in the ditch below.  Most likely the Peregrine had been hassling him before we got there.

 I never really appreciated the birding guidebooks descriptions of wing beats as a diagnostic until I saw a Peregrine.  They really do look powerful when you see them.

Horned Larks are not easy to photograph, at least not with a hand me down 300mm.  However, these birds were fairly accommodating.    With a good camera they would have been excellent.  I saw more Horned Lark today then all year last year.

These Lark were calling to each other from across the road.  John has amazing ears and can pick out birds easily from long distances.

 This Orange-crowned Warbler's head was so gray I almost thought it was a Nashville for a sec.

Here he/she is calling.  Unfortunately this is not a frequency I can hear.  Count your blessings if you can hear high frequency bird song.  And if you go to concerts, put in ear protection.

It was a good day, we got looks at Snipe, Clay-Colored Sparrow, Sharp-shinned Hawks, Tundra Swans and a bunch of other goodies.  John tried his best to scare me up some Ammodramus Sparrows but North River has not been producing them this year.  Maybe in Feb.  Thanks for trudging through the fields and getting wet John!

On the way home, I drove through Oleander Gardens and looked for interesting geese.  Nothing unusual.  However, even Canadas look gorgeous if you don't take them for granted.

Great Times!