Not much today really, but what's not much today is an awful lot from a month ago as spring is here and so are the birds. It's just finding the time to see them that can be tough when you work full time. So with that said, off I went to Notre Dame at lunch today to see what I would find. The first bird I would hear would be this very handsome Northern Flicker above.
The Flicker would call continuously while I was there and so engrossed at his task at hand that he let me get really close to him without flying away which is a first for me because I usually find these birds to be rather shy, hence hard to photograph.
Directly across from that was a White-breasted Nuthatch who also didn't seem afraid of the camera. Seriously, you have to love this time of the year when their hormones are raging as it makes them easier to find because they essentially advertise it to you with their song, and then when you do find them, they don't even seem to notice much which is great for taking pictures!
Not much on the river or the small pond. I did see two American Black Ducks, but it did look as though there was some Mallard mixed in there somewhere with the drake. I would also come across two ducks in thick vegetation. I put my bins on them and my gut told me Green-winged Teal, my wishful thinking told me Gadwall when I saw the female, and then two Wood Ducks flew out of that area telling me it was indeed them as I sat there confused for a moment as I was almost convinced I saw a teal. I would look at another bird for a moment and would suddenly see the Green-winged Teal come out of hiding where they were originally. I honestly think all of the ducks in Central Massachusetts have gotten the message to mess with me any chance they can get if bored and they are taking full advantage of it.
An a nemesis of mine that is hidden by some branches above. What do you think. Such a striking side profile don't you think?
This would be none other than the Belted Kingfisher I got a week or so ago while at Notre Dame. This time he was kind enough to sit still for a brief second so I could get a picture!
The weather was so nice, I had to take advantage of it after work too and headed to a couple of spots including St Philips as I like to get to that place a few times a week if I can during migrations as it always seems to get some interesting birds. Nothing out of the ordinary, but I do know of some folks I have run into at the cemetery who go there every year to get their Eastern- Bluebirds and am happy to report there are many of the there like the male above who was very absorbed in preening.
While looking at a flock of blackbirds I would hear the familiar call of the bird above as it flew around the sky in a circle as I followed it with my eyes because it appeared as if it was thinking of landing somewhere.
Sure enough the Killdeer finally landed as I inched up on it while taking some pictures. Eventually the Killdeer would continue to move closer to me as it didn't seem aware of my presence.
It was just behaving in normal Killdeer fashion as I stood there watching.
Finally it would spot me and fly away in indignation. Will be out there bright and early tomorrow to take advantage of this fantastic weather we have had and of course to see if we can get any new birds for the year.
Take care all.
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