Opportunistic Birding

Not much birding this week but despite that, it is amazing how much you can see when you least expect it. I went to the dump (politically correct word today is transfer station), this morning and on my way back I saw two Green Herons at a very small pond where a family of Mallards live. This was the first time I saw Green Herons there so naturally I pulled over despite knowing it would make me late for work.

The Green Heron above was busy eating breakfast and his choice this morning appeared to have been some kind of frog as you can see!!! I basically got these shots by unrolling my window and somewhat standing in my car and getting the rest of me out the window in order to get a good angle on it. I knew it would take off if I got out of my car so I had to resort to desperate measures! The things I do for a decent photo. ;o)

Check out the frog legs!

And down the hatch it goes!!! Seriously, I always thought of Green Herons as fish eaters so it was amazing to watch the bird be able to swallow an entire frog. Proof that birds are indeed opportunistic eaters and I am sure the frog was much more filling than a measly little pond fish anyhow!

Work was crazy this week with nothing but constant conference calls with consultants so I wasn't able to spend any quality time with Mr. Peregrine so imagine the joy I had when I saw him at City Hall while on conference call number 6 of the day. The phone went on mute and out came the camera!!

Doing what he likes to do best which is preen.

It is funny to watch him when he is around City Hall because usually there are quite a few Rock Pigeons that hang around here. There were no pigeons to be seen while he was there for an entire hour, but right the minute he left, about a half dozen pigeons went back to their favorite hang out places which is to the left of where you see the Peregrine.

And lastly, a couple of Turkey Vultures I saw while at EMS this week. I have noticed during the past three weeks or so, that the TV's are forming large kettles as of late. I even counted one that had approx 25 of them soaring around 146. A sure sign that mating is indeed over and the summer is slowly drawing to an end.

I have been getting outside a couple of mornings each weekday at about 5:45 am to run and have noticed that I am up before the birds are. I am sure they up, but they are not announcing it. Even the Northern Cardinals and American Robins seem much more subdued than even a month ago. The one thing I can be sure of though is hearing my first Eastern-wood Peewee every morning at approximately 6:05 every morning even if I am running different trails and totally different locations. Very interesting.

Take care everyone