Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Rutland State Park-May 19th

Today was my last day on vacation and my last day of birding as sadly I have to go back to work. We got out to Hubbarston at about 9am and while we were surveying the landscape this Broad-winged Hawk flew silently to a branch to perch and look around. Alan was doing some pishing to get some warblers at a lower branch for closer view and we think the hawk heard it and decided to check it out himself! I am counting this as a lifer even though I have seen it before while in flight. I am very picky about when I get a lifer because I am so new and if I can't get a picture of it, it doesn't count. I do this because I don't want to become too dependent on other birders so I can learn for myself. I take the photos put them on my computer and then look at the field marks compared to my guide. If they match, they count! So that means one more check on the list this week
We continued to walk down the road when suddenly we saw an Ovenbird that was actually quiet and sitting still!!!! Out came my camera for a photo. While it come out clear, the Ovenbird was in the shade and I in the sun so it came out washed out. Such a cute bird though and no longer my nemesis.

The picture above is of a Chestnut-sided Warbler flying away from a branch.
We found an area full of shrubs and brush that was filled with warblers. Everywhere we looked we saw warblers flying in and out of the bushes and the air was filled with a diverse melody of various calls. The Chestnut-sided Warblers were everywhere.

As well as the Common Yellowthroat. I just love the mask on this warbler.


Of course no birding trip would be complete without the extremely photogenic Prairie Warbler shown above.
After spending some time there we heard a Veery and wanted to see if we could flush it out. This super smart bird knew our game and didn't want to play so we never saw it. We did get a pretty good luck at a Blackburnian Warbler that Alan was able to locate high up on a tree. I little pishing and a quick play of the Ipod brought it down for us to gawk at.


Here he is calling back to us!


While continuing to walk along the road we spotted a Blue-headed Vireo doing something strange in a tree. Upon further inspection we noticed it was inhaling a moth-the breakfast of champions!!

Finally we made out way around a small river where we could hear the Louisiana Waterthrush which was one of my target birds for the year that I have been unable to get a good look at. LIFER! Not today though. The picture above is of this sweet little bird who is part of the warbler family.

Once it started getting close to noon, the once music filled woods died down and everything grew silent. It was off to find some easier birds including this pair of Common Ravens over near the Barre Falls Dam. The sun was hitting them in such a way that they almost looked purple at times.

I was able to see my first Indigo Bunting of the year toward the end of the day as well. Here he is perched upon the highest branch of a tree.

Whew, I survived my first marathon of birding with 5 straight days of it. You would think I would be sick of it by now but that could never be the case. I have a day off from it tomorrow but will be right back at it on Thursday night to look for Whip-poor-wills. My goal for the end of may is around 130 and I have about 125 year birds so far this year. That means more birding and less housework. Now I am off to wash my floors and bake cinamon rolls. Take care all!

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm just stunned with the quality of the warblers you are getting. It gladdens my heart.

Kelly said...

...the Blue-headed Vireo is gorgeous! I've not seen one yet. So many nice photos and lucky you with the Oven bird. I wish one would come out and say hello to me like that!! Sounds like you had great birding on your vacation!

Rick (Ratty) said...

I love the picture of the bird with its mouth wide open. I always like seeing that kind of thing. I like when I get pictures like that. It seems special for some reason.

MaineBirder said...

Warblers everywhere, sounds like the two of you had a great day.

We spend our vacations the same way, birding from sunrise to sunset.

Chris said...

Hi,
Wow, these are great shots. i like the blue-headed vireo! It is a wonderful bird, but this whole series is fantastic. Well done!

Richard said...

Can't believe the number of warblers and lifers you have been able to see. Soon things will be settling down and you will be out in the woods mumbling "Just one more bird" over and over again.

Tina said...

Kim,
Such a variety of birds!! How wonderful that you are seeing so many and getting pictures of them to boot!!
We, hubby and I, have been getting up early and heading out to bird each morning..such a neat way to start the day..
Good luck on getting some great pictures of the whip-poor-wills!

NCmountainwoman said...

Great photographs. Too bad you have to go back to work. But then, you always find some city birds for us.

Deborah Godin said...

You know what they say, a bad of birding beats a good day of housework!!

Rene said...

Wow. That was warbler central! Nice work spotting all those birds. I know what you mean about photographing the birds and then checking out their field markings later. I do the same thing and find it extremely helpful.

Chris Petrak said...

Terrific collection of warblers and small birds - nice work!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

I know how you feel---the more new birds you see, the more you WANT to see. Right????? That's a 'real' birder!!!!

You got some great photos of the warblers. I love that virio.. Blue-headed, huh???? Wow!!!!

And ---using the iPod to get the birds to come closer????? Wow---that is neat!

Have a great and wonderful day.
Hugs,
Betsy

FAB said...

Hi Kim. You must definitely be on a high with all these new birds you are seeing plus the FAB photos you are showing us. I'm lucky if I see one 'new' species in a year unless I travel abroad, of course.

Shelley said...

Great photos of the hawk and warblers! You are seeing such a good variety! I use the same logic as you - I don't "count" the bird unless I have a photo of it! :-)

Ginnymo said...

You sure do see lots of birds!! I'm hoping to see a bird on one of these blogs someday like the one I saw today. And I didn't have my camera next to me. Boy, was I mad. It was such a pretty bird with a greenish head and white chest. It was slim and tall with real pretty eyes. I would guess it was about 8 inches. I can't find anything like it in my book. It sort of looks like a flycatcher except I can't find any with a green head. Or a Kingfisher type body. I sure hope it comes back. You might know that when I see something new, my camera is in the other room. Darn! LOL Great shots of all those birds Kim!!

Larry said...

You are seeing great warblers. Excellent photos of the vireo and yellowthroat.I've seen some good birds but don't usually get the looks that you are getting on some of these birds.

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