After a week of not birding I hit the jackpot today at Plum Island. We started the day bright and early and when we got there the wind was unbearable. We didn't let that bother us though as we had a lot of birds we wanted to get for the day.First bird is the Ruby Crowned Kinglet!! LIFER!!! Some of you may remember my stalking of the Golden Crowned Kinglets this fall and winter so I was eager to get this one on my list. Check out the ruby on its crown!! So cute! This is my new favorite little bird for the month of April.
And this picture has a Longtailed Duck in it. LIFER! (the one on the top). I am starting to get confused with all of the waterfowl I saw. I thought I had a picture of the Scoter, but can't find it. I guess this is what happens on a good day of birding! ;o)
Not a lifer but here is a Kestrel perching itself on a shack. The Kestrels were fascinating to watch today because they would hover in the wind or as my birding buddy calls it, kiting.
The picture above is of a Gadwall. LIFER!! Such funny waterfowl. They spent most of the time with their butts in the air as they found food down below the water.
A butt shot of a Blue-Gray Gnatcather. LIFER! It was too quick to get a decent face shot but I noticed this adorable little bird right away because it was so tiny and cute! This is my favorite gnatcatcher for the month of April. I look forward to seeing it again further into the year and hope I can get a better photo.
A Northern Harrier! LIFER! Very interesting hawk to watch because it hovered near the ground to search for prey.
Red Breasted Mergansers! LIFER!! and I now have all of the mergansers on my check list. Such beautiful birds who look as if they are having a bad hair day as a birding friend of mine calls it.
A lousy digiscope of the Great Egret. LIFER!! Very hyper bird vs the Great Blue Heron. Fun to watch though.
Another lousy photo of the Snowy Egret. LIFER!! This bird is very small but has breath taking plumage. So different looking vs. the Great Egret.
And finally a lousy photo of the Winter Wren. LIFER!! This bird is so tiny that keeping your eye on it was close to impossible. It has one of the prettiest songs I have ever heard though. Very cute bird and it is my favorite wren for the month of April. Sorry Carolina Wrens. ;o)Anyhow, I will catch up on all of your blogs in the next day or so. My life has been insane lately and I have missed my blogging and catching up will all of you. Enjoy the weekend and the birds!
Here is our list for today
Plum Island Bird List
1. House Sparrow
2. American Robin
3. Great Black Backed Gull
4. Northern Harrier
5. Gadwall
6. Common Grackle
7. Mallard
8. Northern Pintail
9. Tree Swallow
10. American Kestrel
11. Mute Swan
12. Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher
13. Pine Warbler
14. Killdeer
15. Greater Yellowlegs.
16. Eastern Phoebe
17. Merlin. Only saw this at a glance so am not going to count it as a lifer. :o(
18. Northern Cardinal
19. Great Egret
20. Purple Finch
21. Ruby Crowned Kinglet
22. Savannah Sparrow
23. Brown Headed Cowbird
24. Red Breasted Merganser
25. Snowy Egret
26. Green Winged Teal
27. Osprey
28. Great Blue Heron
29. American Goldfinch
30. Herring Gull
31. Long Tailed Duck
32. Black Scoter
33. Double-Crested Cormorant-Only saw a glimpse of it so will not count it as a lifer
34. Winter Wren at another location.
16 comments:
OMGoodness...You sure had a great birdie lifer day.
Good to see you back ..I was wondering what happened to you.
I had missed your posts - glad you had such a great day of birding today. I love all your pictures and you must be thrilled with all the birds you checked off your list today. Hope you have a great weekend.
Lots of great birds. I find the difference in the two types of Egrets very interesting. I still have trouble even getting bad pictures of most birds.
Gee Kim, You did hit the jackpot today. Congrats... I'm so happy for you---and jealous!!!!!
Have a great day tomorrow also.
Hugs,
Betsy
Hey, hey, hey what a list. You've just had a 'purple' day in my book with so many new sightings & I recognised them! Have a good weekend. Lol FAB
Wow, I was bumming around Plum Island yesterday! I only spend a couple of hours. (Can you believe I forgot my binoculars? DOH!) You did well and saw a couple of things I didn't see. I walked about Hellcat for a bit then had to get back to town. Funny, I handed a couple my blog card and she said, "hey, I've been here!" Sorry id didn't bumb into you.
What a birding day! Your life list keeps on growing and growing.
wow..34 birds in one day! Your life list must be really getting checked off. I can feel your excitement when I read your post :-)
Congratulations on a terrific birding day. I haven't seen a ruby-crowned kinglet yet - can't wait!
Nice to see you back Kim!! What a great day you had with all these photos!! Have a nice weekend!! It's real warm here today. Too soon for me..LOL
You hit the jackpot!
Good for you :)
Well done you, and some great names as well! I like Gnatcatcher, fantastic name for a bird. A glimpse is all it takes so you can count the Merlin and the Cormorant. Keep it up.
Wow! What a great day!! I say a Ruby-crowned Kinglet on Thursday as a lifer too!
Wow - great day on PI!!! And all those 'lifers' too - good job. And you got a photo of the ruby crown on the kinglet. That's not easy to even see, much less photograph - excellent!
Kim, how on earth did you get a shot of a Ruby-crowned?! With crown showing!? They never stay in place long enough for me to get any kind of shot, let alone a look at the hidden crown. Wow!
Great to see your long list for the day - so many lifers! Hope you get a better look at a cormorant, they have crazy head plumes during breeding season!
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