In mid October, my friends and I took a weekend trip to Cape May. We ended up going a month later than usual to see what warblers we could find. One species completely blew out the rest in numbers, the Yellow-rumped Warbler.
Yellow-rumped Warbler, Myrtle sub-species
Our first stop was Forsythe – we were greeted with hundreds of Yellow-rumps right near the main parking lot.
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler on cedar
They were all over the dunes of every beach we visited, hopping on the fences or foraging around the sand.
Yellow-rumped Warbler on a fence
Yellow-rumped Warbler on a fence
One of the trees that they preferred were the cedars that are abundant throughout the coast.
Yellow-rumped Warbler in cedar
Yellow-rumped Warbler off of the hawk watch
We also saw a ton of fly-byes, especially during the Higbee morning flight. In total, I am confident that we saw well over one hundred, if not two hundred thousand individual Yellow-rumped Warblers during the weekend. They were everywhere!
Yellow-rumped Warbler at Cape May Point State PArk
I’ve had a very welcome visitor in my garden since late last week. It ended up being the very first subject shot with a new lens that I purchased on Saturday.
The first photo op I had with my new lens
The bird is an Ovenbird. It looks like a thrush, it acts like a thrush, but I promise you that it is not a thrush. The Ovenbird is a larger-sized Warbler that forages on the ground and has a familiar song that echos through the forest in the summer.
I first noticed this bird on Friday while I was watering my plants. It was near the area under my feeders along with some Mourning Doves and Chipping Sparrows. I did not try to get a photo of it on that day. The bird has been seen often every day after that. I even caught him bathing in my small pond.
Bathing Ovenbird shot through my front window
He searches for food all around my garden – he must be finding some good stuff!
Ovenbird foraging around my garden
When I saw him today, he only ran under one of my shrubs, only to come right back out and continue his search. This bird is gearing up for migration to Mexico and has very little fear of me.
This Ovenbird seems to like the perch over my pond
A month ago, I went to The Biggest Week in American Birding with three of my friends. We arrived in the mid-afternoon and headed right to Magee Marsh. Unfortunately, storms were rolling in and we got in only a little bit of birding before it started to rain. That did not dampen our spirits at all – we ended up finding a good bird to chase just as the rain broke. A Henslow’s Sparrow was down the road. This was a life bird for one of my friends (the rest of us saw one last year at Magee). This time, the bird was in the perfect setting and we watched it sing.
Henslow’s Sparrow near Ottawa NWR
More rain was coming, so we decided to check into our hotel, finalize registration for the event and hang out at the evening social. We heard about one of the Maumee Bay Eastern Screech-Owls hanging out in the open, so we went out to the boardwalk to check it out before dinner.
Red-phased Eastern Screech-Owl
For the next couple of days, we birded the Magee Marsh boardwalk, Metzger Marsh, Oak Openings, Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge and other hotspots along the way. We ran into some bird and human friends alike. This year, photography was a bit slow, but we did see tons of birds! Sometimes, I decide to just enjoy them rather than photograph them. Here are some of the songbirds that I did lift my camera for.
We also saw a few more birds that you don’t normally get to admire out in the open.
Gray-phased Eastern Screech-Owl (#2)
Gray-phased Screech-Owl (#3 – yes, I photographed 3 different Screech-Owls!)
Common Nighthawk right on the trail
Yeah – that’s “slow” for the Biggest Week – as you can see, we did see tons of birds. We also reconnected with old friends and made plenty of new ones. The evening socials were hopping with great vendors and, as always, Optics Alley was a great place to hang out.
One of the many awesome vendors at the evening socials – the birder chicks (here with my friend Renee) were one of our favorites!
I have been going to The Biggest Week in American Birding with my local friends for four years now. Many things kept drawing us back to the festival – warblers foraging down low, rare bird locations getting tweeted to my phone, old friends that we’ve met through the years, new friends that we will meet, awesome vendors, socials and the chance to see one special bird who we missed year-after-year, the Kirtland’s Warbler. The Kirtland’s Warbler is one of the rarest members of the wood warbler family, listed as a threatened species. They have very selective nesting habitat in the jack pine forests of Michigan and winter in the Bahamas. It is a very rare treat to see them during migration.
During our first two years, a Kirtland’s Warbler showed up just after we left. Last year, the one seen during the festival was in an area that we could not get to. We were hoping that this would be our year. We were in the middle of doing a casual big day, trying to see as many species of birds as possible, starting at Magee Marsh and making our way to Oak Openings. We had two cars full of people and just finished looking at some newly-arrived Upland Sandpipers when one of us received a text message from a friend. Then the tweet came through to follow it up.
Kirtland’s Warbler! White Oak Area in Oak Openings. After parking lot, walk 300ft past bridge. Erik Bruhnke/Naturally Avian Birding Tours.
It was a nice coincidence that we were making our way to Oak Openings anyway. Our car went on to chase the bird as the other one continued the big day – it was a life bird for all four of us – the life bird that we all wanted badly. We anxiously made the forty-minute drive in hopes of beating the big crowd since we had a head start from those on the boardwalk. Meanwhile, the group who found the bird gave directions on where to find her in the large park.
Go to the intersection of Oak Openings Parkway and Evergreen Lake Trail, and head south along the paved trail. Good luck everyone! -Erik B
When we arrived, we saw all binoculars in the trees. We heard some “oohs” and “aahs” which reassured us that the bird was still present.
Who is looking at who here?
There she was. Mine and my friends’ lifer Kirtland’s Warbler. We watched her as she foraged down low in the same spot for over an hour, flitting from branch-to-branch with no mind of the crowd ogling her.
The star of our trip, a female Kirtland’s Warbler
A very cooperative Kirtland’s Warbler
A very respectable Kirtland’s Warbler crowd
She gave us a great show and even stopped to stretch and preen for a little while.
Kirtland’s Warbler stretching
The other car from our big day met back up with us and we continued on with our birding. Before leaving the park, however, our car decided to say one last good bye to this awesome visitor.
Another look at the Kirtland’s Warbler
It felt really good to finally see this beautiful bird. Of course, we hope to see one again next year too!
The visitor’s guide for The Biggest Week in American Birding has been revealed! The cover, as always is gorgeous – it features this year’s conservation spot light. Your carbon offset donation will help plant trees to provide wintering habitat for birds like Cerulean Warbler.
Along with information about the festival, the guide features articles about birding, binocular use, conservation, volunteer bios, area information and more! Oh… and of course, it is PACKED with gorgeous, full color bird photos.
Here it is!!
Be sure to view this beauty at full screen or pick up a copy of your own in May.
Last December, I realized that I had a lot of vacation days that I had to take – five of which could be transferred to the first quarter of 2015. With those five leftover days, I decided to plan a trip for March to the state that I have drooled over when it comes to photographing birds – Florida. Two of my friends and I took off from work during the third week of March. The original plans were to go to the Gulf Coast, however, that seemed to be where all the spring breakers wanted to go. Since we only planned two-to-three months in advanced everything was booked, and anything left was too expensive. We looked to our friends on Facebook for some help and they recommended locations that would be spring-breaker free.
Our first location was in the vicinity of Orlando where we birded both Lake and Osceola counties. Our friend, Gallus, who is doing a Lake County big year, offered to take us around and show us some birds. I made a wishlist of birds that I would possibly like to see and Gallus weeded out everything that was not possible, let me know which ones would be givens and which we would have to work for. I am pretty sure that we saw most of the birds that were possible – we just had to save some for next time – Gallus did an amazing job!!
We were on our own for the evening that we arrived (Saturday, March 14) and got our feet wet at Brinson Park off of Lake Tohopekaliga. It gave us our first good looks at a Tricolored and Little Blue Herons, White Ibises, Anhingas, a cooperative Limpkin, Wood Stork and others. It was a nice start to what Florida has to offer.
A very cooperative Wood Stork
My first Tricolored Heron close-up!
White Ibis, photographed later in the trip at Venetian Gardens
Limpkin, photographed later in the trip at Venetian Gardens
An Anhinga pops its head up from feeding
On Sunday, Gallus picked us up and we were off for some birding. Our first stop was Clearwater Lake Recreation Area where we were greeted by a singing Yellow-throated Vireo. I am not used to hearing this bird so early in the year! Our goal was to find the nesting Red-cockaded Woodpeckers. On our way to the Woodpecker cavities, we ran into small flocks of migrants and nesters and also saw Pine Siskins flying overhead – this was a great county bird for Gallus since they can be hit or miss. Red-headed Woodpeckers and Brown-headed Nuthatches stole the show – these are birds that us northerners are not used to seeing.
The beautiful forest of Clearwater Lake Recreation Area
This Pine Warbler was part of the mixed flock
Along the trails, we heard a life bird singing – the Bachman’s Sparrow – many of them, actually. One eventually showed himself so that we could officially add him to our life list.
Bachman’s Sparrow on a nice perch
We made it to the Woodpecker spot were we found three birds who gave us great views. We hung around that spot to watch them some more.
This pair of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers were photographed later in the trip
After a successful first stop, Gallus took us to Venetian Gardens for the Purple Gallinule. We easily found these birds and also got great looks at White Ibises and Limpkins, as seen in the photos earlier in my post.
The beautiful Purple Gallinule
Our next stop was Lake Apopka with small hopes of seeing a rare bird, even for Florida, the Groove-billed Ani – I say “small” hopes because the bird had not been reported for two weeks. It was mid day and the trail offered no relief from the sun. The Ani location was almost one and a half miles in. As we were walking, a Grackle-sized black bird with a blunt bill flushed out of the grasses – the Ani!! He gave us nice looks then moved deep into the shrubs. We waited him out a little and were rewarded with even better looks, out in the open.
Groove-billed Ani
All of that walking in the hot sun was totally worth it. We also tried to get looks at King Rails, which would have been another lifer, but they would not show themselves. Our next stop was the Green Mountain Scenic Overlook where we hoped to spot a Short-tailed Hawk. Here, a platform was built over the forest. The view is beautiful!
The view from the platform at Green Mountain Scenic Overlook
Our next target bird was the Florida Scrub-Jay, with the promise of some Florida oranges from a non-private grove. I think it’s safe to say that we had both.
Florida Scrub-Jay with tangerines
We also found our first Loggerhead Shrikes along the road. We ended our day of birding with attempts to find Burrowing Owls. Unfortunately, they did not return to the area we tried. We did, however, get both Least and American Bitterns in one pond. It was my first time hearing them calling.
Just throwing in a photo of a White and Glossy Ibis to end the days trip report
The first day was a huge success. Gallus added four more birds to his big year list bringing his total to 181, as of that day (he has since added even more). To read his trip report, see his blog 2015 Lake County Big Year.
Since we found most of our target birds on the first day, we spent the next day chasing other probable lifers – the Snail and Swallow-tailed Kites, Short-tailed Hawk and Burrowing Owls. Our first stop was Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area. Here, we had even better looks at the Red-cockaded Woodpecker and got some great photos of Eastern Meadowlarks. There were a ton of Vultures, some Osprey Eagles and other Hawks, but we did not get any of our target birds.
Eastern Meadowlark singing
Black Vulture in a tree
We tried another Burrowing Owl spot with no luck. We did see a ton of Cattle Egrets Crested Caracaras, Southeastern Kestrels, more Loggerhead Shrikes, Meadowlarks and Ibises.
Cattle Egret and cattle
Sandhill Crane
Leftovers from a Loggerhead Shrike
At this point, we were on a mission to find the Kites and checked out a few more hotspots. Gallus made the joke that we will see one from a parking lot without expecting it. We arrived at Brinson park and sure enough, a Swallow-tailed Kite flew by… while we were standing in the parking lot.
Swallow-tailed Kite
Gallus was pretty sure that he had a Snail Kite in the distance, but it was just too far. We tried our very last location at Lakefront Park – as we were driving, we spotted what looked like Harriers hovering over the marsh – NOPE! – they were Snail Kites! We parked and went over to where we saw the bird. Eventually, five different kites were in the area all at once. We watched as they hunted and even saw one transporting nesting material!
Snail Kite with nesting material
Snail Kite hunting
What a great way to end the first part of our trip! I have a ton more photos to share from the second part of our trip as we headed to the east coast. This part was more birding, the next will be more photography. I am extremely happy with the photo ops I had – I will post them soon!
For the past two years, I had the honor of being on the blogging team for The Biggest Week in American Birding. I am attending the festival again this year and will continue my position as a volunteer. I will also be more active on social media in general for the event, so look out for bird-filled photos and posts from me!
Are you interested in contributing to the greatest spring event around? There are currently many positions to be filled including Registration Packet Assembly, manning tables and being desk hosts, field trip leaders, trip bus drivers and more. Every effort helps make this festival a huge success. You even get some perks out of it like FREE registration, a festival t-shirt and a bag full of festival goodies. The best part is knowing that you helped an event that thousands of people from all around the world come to. More information can be found at the Biggest Week website.
Registration will open very soon – you will want to register quick because field trips fill up fast. You can go on guided bird walks and van trips, boat and canoe trips and you can also have the chance to go on trips with some of the biggest names in birding. If you need a break in the afternoon, there are various bonus presentations being offered as well as workshops and evening keynote speakers. Free with your registration are daily guided walks around Magee Marsh, evening socials, a birder’s marketplace, bird banding programs and more!
What makes birding here so different than anywhere else? Not only is the energy above the clouds, but you will see tons of birds. Magee Marsh is full of bright and colorful migrants.
The Cape May Warbler is one of many birds you will see
If a rare bird is seen in the area, you can get notified with the details on Twitter by following @BiggestWeek.
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks nearby? Relax! You will know about it.
It’s not just Magee Marsh – you can explore other parks and preserves that the area has to offer.
This Sora was foraging at Pearson Metropark, right next to our car
Cliff Swallows at the bridge to Maume Bay Lodge
If there is an owl in the area, you will know about it. Who DOESN’T like owls?
An Eastern Screech-Owl is always hanging out above the boardwalk
And, of course, you will meet some pretty great people, including some of birding’s top birders and book authors. Oh.. and did I mention the BIRDS??
Earlier this month, three of my friends and I took a trip to the New Jersey coast to look for wintering waterfowl and sandpipers. Knowing that the temperatures were going to be well below-freezing, we bundled up and prepared for a windy day. Our first stop was Barnegat Light and the jetty that I have a love/hate relationship with. I hate it because you have to be careful going from rock-to-rock and it can be slippery when wet. But at the same time I love it since it always brings us good birds. The rocks were icy, but the birding turned out to be pretty good!
My friends returning from the tip of the icy jetty
On our way down the jetty, we spotted a single Dunlin on the beach-side. It didn’t seem to want to move, though it didn’t look injured. For a moment, it seemed like it was just frozen in place.
A lone Dunlin
We found one brave songbird on the jetty. It also did not seem like it wanted to move far.
Savannah Sparrow on the rocks
Last winter, we had plenty of waterfowl close in the inlet, but both time I went to Barnegat this season it was different – there were hunters in boats close to the jetty, which kept the waterfowl distant. There was a large grouping of Eiders in the bay, but harsh light and distance made for poor photo ops. They were mostly Common Eiders, but we did spot one King. Many Common Loons and some Red-throated were also present. Scoters were even more distant with a few Black Scoters coming near the jetty. A single pair of Harlequins came in close.
The only pair of Harlequin Ducks who came in close
Harlequin Duck drake flying by
We did run into the usual flock of Dunlin and Ruddy Turnstones on the jetty. They were huddled and did not care to move as we passed by. The Purple Sandpipers were on the very tip and I did not go close enough to photograph them.
The flock of Dunlin stay warm
Ruddy Turnstones with the Dunlin
Dunlin on ice
Ruddy Turnstones using a rock to break the wind
On the way out, we walked on the sand so that we could keep our eyes on the dunes for buntings, larks and longspurs – and also to keep warm since all of us seemed to lose feeling in our fingers. We ended up seeing a ton of Yellow-rumped Warblers.
Yellow-rumped Warbler on the path
Other highlights from Barnegat included a couple of close fly-bys by a juvenile Northern Gannet, a male Northern Harrier hunting the dunes and an unexpected Bonaparte’s Gull. On our way off of the island, we checked out a few marinas for more waterfowl. We got distant looks at Bufflehead, Horned Grebes, Loons, Pintails, Black Ducks, Long-tailed Ducks, Gadwall, Goldeneyes, Red-breasted Mergansers and Ruddy Ducks.
After that, we chased reports of a Cackling and Ross’s Goose on the way to our next destination. The birds were not present, but there were some other friendly waterfowl. Sometimes, you just have to take a photo op, no matter how common the bird is.
The often-ignored Mallard Duck
Mute Swans are a beautiful bird, often overlooked by birders
Oddly enough, this is my first close photo of a Black Duck
Our final stop was Island Beach State Park. We wanted to show one of my friends the foxes and also see if we could get a glimpse of a Snowy Owl. The foxes did not disappoint.
Red Fox off the road at Island Beach
We brought our scopes out onto the beach to scan the water. We estimated around 15,000 Scoters – mostly Blacks with many Surf and White-winged mixed in. As we were leaving, we decided to check out a spot that a few cars were parked at. Sure enough, they were looking at a Snowy Owl. The bird was a bit distant, but she had a nice perch. It was a great way to end the day!
Every North American birder should try to make it to the tropics at least once in their lifetime, if finances allow it. The beautiful array of birds would be worth every penny. I took my first trip in December 2011 and stayed through New Years and the first week of January 2012. I visited four different locations: the Osa Peninsula, Monteverde Cloud Forest, Arenal Volcano and San Gerardo de Dota. Even though the trip was not based on birding, I racked up 130 life birds.
The trip was suppose to be during the beginning of the dry season, however, it rained for much of the trip. This led to mostly mediocre photos – many of which I never showed anyone else since they are not up to par with my normal work. Despite this, I wanted to share the beautiful birds that I saw, even with sub-par photos. I will also mix in some of the nicer photos – though, they were few and far between!
I’m not entirely sure where to begin, so I will jump in with some of my target birds. The bird names and locations are under each photo.
Resplendent Quetzal, San Gerardo de Dota
Blue-crowned Motmot, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Chestnut-mandibled Toucan, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Keel-billed Toucan, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Scarlet Macaw, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Note that I also wrote a post about the Quetzal early last year where you can see more photos. This was on bird that I had great photo ops with! I plan on doing the same for the Motmot.
As expected in the tropics, I saw many species of Tanagers, most of them were very colorful.
Rufous-winged Tanager, Arenal Observatory Lodge feeders, La Fortuna
Bay-headed Tanager, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Golden-hooded Tanager, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Flame-colored Tanager, San Gerardo de Dota
White-throated Shrike-Tanager, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Cherries Tanager with a Variable Seedeater, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Sooty-capped Bush-Tanager, Trogon Lodge, San Gerardo de Dota
Blue-gray Tanager, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Palm Tanager, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
These birds are also classified as Tanagers, but do not have it in their name. They are still equally as beautiful!
Green Honeycreeper, Arenal Observatory Lodge feeders, La Fortuna
Bananaquit, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Yellow-faced Grassquits, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Buff-throated Saltator, Arenal Observatory Lodge feeders, La Fortuna
I also saw some species of warblers that I do not get in the northeastern US.
Rufous-capped Warbler, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Buff-rumped Warbler, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Slate-throated Redstart, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Collared Redstart, San Gerardo de Dota
Tropical Parula, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Some of the birds were cool surprises.
I nearly jumped out of the car for the White-throated Magpie-Jays, Arenal Volcano
Common Potoo hiding in the brush, Sierpe River
White-whiskered Puffbird, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Slaty Flowerpiercer, San Gerardo de Dota
Black-throated Trogon, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
One of my favorite birds had a great mating display.
Montezuma Oropendola, Arenal Observatory Lodge feeders, La Fortuna
I saw a nice variety of different Flycatchers throughout my trip.
Great Kiskadee, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Tropical Kingbird in the rain, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Social Flycatcher, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Dusky-capped Flycatcher, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Yellowish Flycatcher, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Black-capped Flycatcher, San Gerardo de Dota
Possible Mountain Elaenia (still being identified), San Gerardo de Dota
Common Tody-Flycatcher, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Black Phoebe, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Some of the finches were pretty unique…
Large-footed Finch, San Gerardo de Dota
Thick-billed Seed Finch, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Especially, the colorful ones in the Euphonia family.
Yellow-throated Euphonia, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Tawny-capped Euphonia, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Elegant Euphonias are hidden in this photo, Monteverde Cloud Forest
I did see some nice woodpeckers, including a couple I did not get to photograph like the Pale-billed and Lineated Woodpeckers.
Acorn Woodpecker, San Gerardo de Dota
Red-crowned Woodpecker, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Black-cheeked Woodpecker, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
I also saw some birds from the Thrush family.
Clay-colored Thrush, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Sooty Robin, San Gerardo de Dota
Black-billed Nightengale-Thrush, San Gerardo de Dota
Black-headed Nightengale-Thrush, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Of course, I did see some parakeets too!
Orange-fronted Parakeets, between San Juan and Monteverde
Orange-chinned Parakeet, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
I did not see many raptors, but I was able to photograph some. Unfortunately, my Owl photos are not even good enough to show on this post and my lifer Crested Caracara is too terrible.
Common Black-Hawk, Cano Island
Yellow-headed Caracara, Sierpe River
Here are a few birds that I found by the water:
Magnificent Frigatebird, off of the Osa Peninsula
Sandwich Tern, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Bare-throated Tiger-Heron perched over a waterfall, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Like their North American relatives, some birds were very vocal.
Great-tailed Grackle, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Brown Jay, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Some of the larger birds just chilled and let me get a nice look.
Crested Guan, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Black Guan, Monteverde Cloud Forest
Gray-headed Chachalaque, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
But many of the smaller ones were hard to catch!
Band-backed Wren, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Black-cowled Oriole, Arenal Observatory Lodge property, La Fortuna
Black-hooded Antshrike, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
Ruddy Ground-Dove, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula
As you can see, this post is lacking Hummingbird photos. I will put up a post specifically about them at another time since I saw so many! For now, and to close this post, I will leave you with a photo of my target hummingbird…
I usually like to think of one word that describes migration in my yard – this fall it is “Blackpoll.” I had days where I lost count at 20 individuals in only one small section of my yard. There were a ton of them.
Blackpoll Warbler
Inbetween all of the Blackpoll Warblers, I would see other birds – usually only once or twice. Many of them came up to my windows or deck and posed nicely for me. The following are some photos of the warblers who cooperated for me.
This Chestnut-sided Warbler photo-bombed the American Redstart
Black-and-white Warblers were early migrants
Another Blackpoll Warbler
Tennessee Warblers showed up often
Black-throated Green Warbler
And another Blackpoll Warbler
Ovenbird near my feeders
I also had plenty of visits from Blue-headed Vireos. One stayed in my yard until the end of October. These birds were very cooperative!
Blue-headed Vireos like to pose nicely
My resident Hummingbirds stocked up at my flowers and feeders before they left and other migrants also stopped by.
Ruby-throated Hummingbird gearing up for migration
My biggest surprise was a bird who would often visit my garden. I was hoping that it would stick around, but I have not seen it in a couple of weeks.
A new yard bird, the Winter Wren
While Common Nighthawks were migrating through the area, I saw some flying around my house as I was driving home. I safely hurried home in time to get the yard bird from my driveway!
A Common Nighthawk during migration (not my yard bird)
I also kept my eyes in the sky for raptors and gained another new yard bird soaring with a Red-tail. This is another bird I did not have in New York.
Black Vultures migrating over my house
It was another great migration season. With the new added birds, my yard list now stands at 93. I was hoping that I could have hit 100 by the end of the year, but I guess it will have to wait until next season. Still, not bad for a very small yard!
