Saturday, April 4, 2009

The Day of Eastern Birds

Today was a day for eastern birds. I met up with another birder who brought me to a grassy location in Sutton, MA to see my first Eastern Meadlowlark. Lifer!! When we first got there the place appeared barren but we soon heard the birds lovely call. We looked all around and couldn't see anything due to the tall grass. He used his song gadget device to draw the meadowlark a little closer to us to get a view. This song gadget is the coolest thing. You chose what song call you want played, press a button and voila, instant song!!! The call was too tempting for the meadlowlark and it found its way on the perch above to search for the invader.


Obviously, the picture does not do this lovely bird justice and out of 30 photos this was the clearest I could get. I had my ISO settings on the highest I could get them because I knew he was going to be difficult to photograph due to gray skies and his skittish behaviour and all of the pictures came out very grainy because of it.

This pretty bird would fly around us almost in a half circle and then land in the tall grass. I could have sat there and watched it for hours it was so lovely. The black spot in the center of that vivid yellow on its chest is gorgeous! Very nice way to start the day.

We then proceeded to the local cemetery in town in time to see an Eastern Phoebe. LIFER again!! And grainy photos again due to gray skies and ISO settings that were too high.



This bird is definitely not shy and it flew about in various places including tomb stones to search for a snack. Very cute bird with a tail that could hypnotize you when its wagging.


Last but not least are some pictures I took of some white mallards(?) before I headed home. I have seen them on the Blackstone River whenever I pass by but just never got out of my car for a photo. Check out the bill of the one on the immediate left. It looks as if it is damaged or something.


This mallard made me laugh the entire time I was there. He kept doing this thing with his bill that made it look as if it were smiling at me.
Finally here is the happy family of four huddling together to escape the harsh winds we had today. Very odd to see considering I have seen regular Mallards in pairs of two and not four.

It was a good day of birding despite the cool temperatures and the wind. Tomorrow its off to Bolton Flats for more!

12 comments:

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Oh Kim, I'm so jealous!!!! I'm glad you have a new 'birder' friend... Just think--you saw TWO new birds today!!!! That's just too neat!!!

Congrats.
Hugs,
Betsy

Anonymous said...

What a day for seeing new birds. You must be thrilled. After looking at your pics, I think maybe it is a Phoebe that has made a nest under our deck. They are so entertaining and I had wondered what they are. Hope you have a great day tomorrow and I'll check back to see.

Steve said...

2 lifers on the same day, well done you. Phoebe is a great name for a bird isn't it! None of ours are named after girls!

Chris said...

HI Kim,
A wonderful day for you. Great job and nice picture and story. Congrats!

Jayne said...

OK, so I saw "The Curious Birder" on my bloglines feed and thought, "Who is that?" Please tell me you did not change the name weeks ago??? :c)

I love listening to the song of the Meadowlarks. So mesmerizing. And you got to see a sweet Phoebe!

FAB said...

More lifers Kim - congrats.
The new header is most appropriate & I'm going to try to live up to mine tomorrow. Lol FAB

RuthieJ said...

We have eastern Meadowlarks around here and if I look really hard, I can sometimes find a western Meadowlark too. They look pretty much the same, but the songs are completely different. They're losing lots of habitat and their numbers are declining, so I'm glad you got to see a meadowlark Kim.

Dawn Fine said...

Yipee..you go girl! congrats on your new lifers.

Coy Hill said...

Enjoying the outdoors is what it is all about and I am thrilled that you are enjoying birding so very much. Every day outdoors brings new discoveries and to think that you managed two discoveries in one day!

BTW I like your new blog name!

Samuel said...

Great Sightings!

Mary said...

Love the meadowlarks...I'm still trying to get better photos of the ones at the park here. They tantalize you, but stay far enough away to make it hard! Lovely little phoebe, too! Isn't it great finding "lifers"...and 2 in a day is wonderful. I love your white ducks, too. It's such a great time of year for all the birds!

Heather said...

Hooray, you got to see a Phoebe!! Woot woot! The one nesting on the side of our house has been busy incubating her eggs, so hopefully we'll have some baby birds on that Nestcam soon!

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