Canada Geese at Jonas Green Park

It’s been a couple pf very slow days on the bird watching front.

I went to the Eastern shore yesterday without getting a single decent shot. Today wasn’t much better, with only some squabbling geese to watch. Where are the ducks?

Lesser Scaup 171

This poorly lit Lesser Scaup was the only shot I got at Possum Point.

Song Sparrow 121

This Song Sparrow took pity on me at Jonas Green Park.

Canada Goose 97 Canada Goose 96 Canada Goose 99

Canada Goose 98

Canada Geese get quite raucous at mating timne

 

Tundra Swan at Thomas Point

It was cloudy and warming this morning, so I canceled my plan for the Eastern Shore and went to Sandy Point. Ducks were scarce, but the Sanderlings were still around.

I stopped at Quiet Waters also, but there was too much ice and no water birds at all.

Thomas Point had a lot of ducks and swans, as well as a cooperative eagle.

Bay Bridge 101

Dawn at Sandy Point.

Sandy Point Light house 2

Sandy Point Lighthouse

Canvasback 99

This large flock of Canvasbacks and Scaup was at Thomas Point.

Bald Eagle 378

This juvenile Bald Eagle greeted me at Thomas Point.

Sanderling 12 Sanderling 11

Sanderling 10

Sanderlings seem to be regulars at Sandy Point.

Herring Gull 11

There are many Herring Gulls on the beach.

Ring Biiled Gull 87

This seems to be a juvenile Ring Billed Gull.

Tundra Swan 94 Tundra Swan 96

 

Tundra Swan 97

Tundra Swan 98

 

Tundra Swan 99

Tundra Swan 95

Tundra Swans are beautiful in flight.

 

 

Lesser Scaup at Sandy Point

I managed to get out yesterday, but it wan’t much of a day, with few images.

Today I started at Sandy Point, which was slow, then Jonas Green, which remains barren. Ducks have been very scarce this year.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge from Sandy Point beach.

Sandy Point Light house 1

Sandy Point Light house

 

Mallard 117

Mallard 116

Mallards were present in small numbers.

 

Sanderling 9

Sanderling 8

A few more feet, and I might have stepped on these Sanderlings.

Downy Woodpecker 022

I found this Downy Woodpecker at Possum point yesterday.

Crow 104

Another Crow in the sand.

Great Blue Heron 255

This Great Blue Heron flew right over me.

Lesser Scaup 170

Lesser Scaup 169

There was a large raft of Lesser Scaup not far from shore.

 

American Kestrel at Blackwater NWR.

Graeme and I journeyed to Blackwater this morning. And found lots of good birds.  We were surrounded by eagles at one point, and found a number smaller birds.

A quick trip to Oakley Street in Cambridge was well rewarded with close up ducks.

Lesser Scaup 167

Cornell:Two scaup species live in North America: the Greater Scaup prefers salt water and is found in America and Eurasia, while the Lesser Scaup prefers freshwater and is found only in North America. The Lesser Scaup is one of the most abundant and widespread of the diving ducks in North America

Canvasback 97

Canvasbacks will winter here, then migrate to the mid west.

Redhead 16

Cornell:An aptly named diving duck, the Redhead can be easily identified by its bright red head and gray back. Many female Redheads make no nests of their own, but instead lay their eggs in the nests of other ducks.

American Wigeon 6

American Wigeon 7

American Wigeon. Hen in front.

 

Brown Headed Nuthatch 15

Brown Headed Nuthatch 16

Brown Headed Nuthatch 14

Cornell:One of the few birds found almost exclusively in the United States, the Brown-headed Nuthatch is restricted to the pine forests of the southeastern states. A small but declining population is also found in the Bahamas.

Great Blue Heron 249 Great Blue Heron 248 Great Blue Heron 253 Great Blue Heron 252 Great Blue Heron 251

Great Blue Heron 250

Some Great Blue Herons will let you get very close.

Bald Eagle 364 Bald Eagle 363 Bald Eagle 362 Bald Eagle 361

 

Bald Eagle 376 Bald Eagle 375 Bald Eagle 374 Bald Eagle 373 Bald Eagle 372 Bald Eagle 371 Bald Eagle 370 Bald Eagle 369 Bald Eagle 368 Bald Eagle 367 Bald Eagle 366 Bald Eagle 365

Bald Eagle 360

Cornell:The Bald Eagle has been the national emblem of the United States since 1782 and a spiritual symbol for native people for far longer than that. These regal birds aren’t really bald, but their white-feathered heads gleam in contrast to their chocolate-brown body and wings. Look for them soaring in solitude, chasing other birds for their food, or gathering by the hundreds in winter. Once endangered by hunting and pesticides, Bald Eagles have flourished under protection.

Northern Shoveler 33 Northern Shoveler 32 Northern Shoveler 35

Northern Shoveler 36 Northern Shoveler 37

Northern Shoveler 34

We found one small flock of Northern Shovelers

Song Sparrow 120

There were lots of Song Sparrows in the grass.

Red Bellied Woodpecker 167

Red Bellied Woodpeckers seem to like this tree.

Bluebird 196

We saw a lot of Bluebirds.

American Kestrel 13

American Kestrel 15

American Kestrel 14

Cornell:North America’s littlest falcon, the American Kestrel packs a predator’s fierce intensity into its small body. It’s one of the most colorful of all raptors: the male’s slate-blue head and wings contrast elegantly with his rusty-red back and tail; the female has the same warm reddish on her wings, back, and tail. Hunting for insects and other small prey in open territory, kestrels perch on wires or poles, or hover facing into the wind, flapping and adjusting their long tails to stay in place. Kestrels are declining in parts of their range; you can help them by putting up nest boxes.