Wood Duck at Sandy Point State Park.

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Hugh

It was not a promising morning, weather-wise. It was cloudy with threatening skies, so I didn’t leave until 6:30 or so, and I decided to checkout Sandy Point first. Graeme found a woodpecker nest there that I wanted to check out.

I never found the nest, but I did see a few birds, albeit in poor light. I’m going to try it again next week.

This Canada Goose should be hatching some goslings soon.

There’s always a lot of Great Blue Herons at Sandy Point.

This is the first Wood Duck I’ve seen at Sandy Point.

Brown Thrasher at Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center.

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Hugh

I made a short stop at Sandy Point this morning, in hope that the sunrise would improve, but it didn’t get any better.

It’s just as easy to go to the Eastern Shore as anywhere else at that point, so I headed for Terrapin. I did manage one warbler, but I’m still not seeing any large numbers.

CBEC was next, and it wasn’t bad. I found out how badly you can get stuck in the mud if you venture too far out in the marsh wearing big boots.

Sunrise at Sandy Point.

Several Wood Ducks flew across the marsh ponds.

This Lesser Yellowlegs flew right in front of me as I was watching the Egrets.

This is my second Palm Warbler of the season.

Tree Swallows will often let you get very close.

Several Mallard s flew into the marsh pond at Terrapin.

This Chickadee, like most, ignored me as he was feeding.

Snowy Egrets are starting to appear in larger numbers.

This Brown Thrasher was the last bird I photographed this morning.

Common Yellowthroat at Wooton’s Landing.

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Hugh

A migrating warbler at last! I went to Wooton’s early, and found a few birds right away. I got a look at a few nice birds who didn’t pose, but I did well enough.

The last two Spring migrations have been lousy for me, so I hope to change my luck this year.

This Cardinal was the first bird I photographed this morning.

This Blue Gray Gnatcatcher appears to be gathering nesting material.

Swamp Sparrows are numerous at Wooton, but they can be difficult to see, as they spook easily.

I don’t recall seeing a Field Sparrow at Wooton prior to this one.

My first White Eyed Vireo of the season. Their call will be heard frequently in places I visit.

This female Red Winged Blackbird was very intent on eating.

This is a male Common Yellowthroat Warbler . Cornell: “A broad black mask lends a touch of highwayman’s mystique to the male Common Yellowthroat. Look for these furtive, yellow-and-olive warblers skulking through tangled vegetation, often at the edges of marshes and wetlands. Females lack the mask and are much browner, though they usually show a hint of warm yellow at the throat. Yellowthroats are vocal birds, and both their witchety-witchety-witchety songs and distinctive call notes help reveal the presence of this, one of our most numerous warblers.”

Bald Eagle at Terrapin Nature Park

Posted on April 24, 2016 by Hugh

A brief stop at Sandy Point revealed another banal sunrise, and I went straight to Terrapin.

The morning began slowly, but picked up after an hour, but I only found one interesting migrant, who didn’t stick around long enough for a photo.

I then made a quick stop at CBEC to try for some Tree Swallows, which turned out well.

This Fox made a brief appearance while I was looking for the Eagles.

A lone Lesser Yellowlegs was foraging in the pond.

The CBEC Tree Swallows were unusually cooperative this morning.

Four Snowy Egrets were fishing in the pond.

It’s easy to find a singing Carolina Wren at this time of year.

I waited awhile for this Osprey to catch a fish, but to no avail.

This Chickadee has found an insect.

A pair of Bald Eagles soared over the marsh ponds.

Look closely and you can see the band on this Bald Eagle’s right foot. (Click to make the image larger).

Eastern Towhee at Governor Bridge Natural Area.

Posted on April 22, 2016 by Hugh

Yesterday I tried Governor Bridge again, without much luck. I know the migrants are here, but they seem to be avoiding me.

I had an early appointment this morning, so I went to Truxtun Park, just a mile from home, and found a couple of good birds.

I’m sure things will pick up soon.

Views from the bridge at Truxtun Park.

I got a good, close up look at this Hermit Thrush in the woods.

This female Red Winged Blackbird seemed to be foraging in the water.

This Mallard flew right over the bridge.

Swamp Sparrows are numerous at Truxtun Park, but they usually stay well hidden in the reeds.

Eastern Towhees towhees are fairly common, but it’s not always easy to get a decent image.

Green Heron at Wooton’s Landing.

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Hugh

After dithering a while, I decided to try Wooton this morning. It’s not always easy to choose, and sometimes I wonder if I’d have done better had I gone elsewhere.

In any case, I made a good decision this morning. I found a warbler, at last, as well as a Green Heron, which is first of the season. A couple of cooperative ducks and a muskrat were icing on the wildlife cake.

A partly obscured Muskrat is better than no Muskrat.

Wooton is a great place to find Swamp Sparrows.

Blue Gray Gnatcatchers will be mating and building nests for a while.

This Great Blue Heron flew in and surveyed the scene.

These American Coot s were in the same pond as a few days ago.

This Chickadee was feeding very busily.

I found a Wood Duck with her chicks in one of the marsh ponds.

These Blue Winged Teal were in a different pond than a few days ago.

This Green Heron was fairly close, but the lighting was poor.

Yellow Rumped Warbler at Terrapin Nature Park.

Posted on April 19, 2016 by Hugh

I met Graeme early, and we went right to Sandy Point, which gave up a decent sunrise for a change.

We then went to Terrapin, which was very quiet:virtually nothing in the marsh ponds and only the usual suspects on the trails. We spent about three hours searching, and didn’t have much luck at all.

We stopped by the fox den and got a few distant images.

Sunrise at Sandy Point.

A Mourning Dove flew over as were searching the marsh pond.

This White Throated Sparrow was deep in the bushes.

Yellow Rumped Warblers are still the only warblers I’m finding.

The fox wasn’t as cooperative as last time.

Tree Swallow at Patuxent NWR.

Posted on April 18, 2016 by Hugh

I decided to change my luck this morning and go to Patuxent South, which I haven’t visited for a year. A few friends have done well there, so I figured it was my turn.

It wasn’t bad, with plenty of birds to choose from, but still no warblers. I had the place basically to myself, and that’s always a bonus.

This Osprey was resting after a bout of fishing.

I found this Canada Goose with goslings at Patuxent North.

Several Wood Ducks were foraging in the shallow water.

Four or five Killdeer were feeding along the edge of the lake.

Four Double Crested Cormorants flew by early in the day.

This Bluebird was feeding his chicks.

Mallards flew over the lake several times.

This Lesser Yellowlegs was foraging alongside the geese.

Tree Swallows were also busy feeding their young.

Red Fox at Terrapin Nature Park.

Posted on April 17, 2016 by Hugh

Once again I drove right by Sandy Point, which featured yet another dreary sunrise. Terrapin is supposed to open at sunrise, but I arrived a good 15 minutes early, to find it was already open. Kudos to the gate guy.

There’s still no warblers to be found, but there was enough variety to make for a good day. The Fox was a really nice find, and she had kits!

This Bald Eagle was watching the Ospreys closely, in hopes of stealing a meal.

Ospreys will be easy to find until the Fall.

Yellow Rumped Warblers are molting into breeding plumage.

Snowy Egrets are arriving from Central America.

Entrance to the den.

My friend Diana spotted this Fox and her two kits. She appears to have caught a Muskrat.

Swamp Sparrow at Governor Bridge Natural Area.

Posted on April 16, 2016 by Hugh

A few warblers are being reported in the area, so I decided to give Governor Bridge at try. I’ve done well there in past years, but today wasn’t my day.

A large group of birders was in the park, which may or may not have affected the birds. I tried for two hours with limited success, then headed to Quiet Waters. I spent an hour at Quiet Waters without getting a single usable image.

Better luck tomorrow.