Today was Easter morning and I arrived at the park just before 7:30am. The temperature was still on the cooler side but with no clouds it started warming up quickly. I counted roughly 20 species of birds today in my short visit and that is a stellar day of birding in my book. Especially when for a few of these birds, it was the first time I'd either spotted or photographed them at the park!
The first birds I spotted were a small group of Brown-headed Cowbirds who are now returning to the park. I thought I saw one the other day but he was against the sun and I couldn't say for sure but it made a very high pitched sound that I didn't recognize. Today I could hear that same sound coming from these guys way up in the tree. They reminded me of "class clowns" as they would fluff up, flap their wings and shriek noisily. In the duck pond on the southwest side I was very surprised to see a Blue-winged Teal float right by. I've seen them at the park before but have never been able to catch a photo of one as they are quite easily scared away.
I only saw the male and no female but I didn't look very hard for her as I didn't want to scare this one off. I'm happy to see some new waterfowl returning to the park now as well. On the northeast side I spotted more than one Bluebird flitting from tree to tree just inside the paved trail. They were very active and I was determined to get a better photo than I'd gotten before so I walked in a ways trying to get closer. Bluebirds don't seem quite as skittish as other birds and will allow you to get fairly close, but it still wasn't close enough. I watched for a while and picked out a few of the trees or bushes they seemed to perch in most often and then looked for a good place to sit. I found a nice, wild old brushy tree with a good spot to sit right in the middle.
I cleared a few dead branches for a better view and just waited. It paid off almost immediately as both a female and Male landed on the big dead tree about 50 feet from me. It was a lot easier to ID the female when right next to the male as she appears pretty much the same only duller. I could see the female with a small twig in her beak and assumed they must be building a nest somewhere nearby. Then a short time later the male landed even closer to me -about 30 feet away on a dead branch. I thought to myself I ought to have tried this method before! On my way back on the north side, I noticed what I thought was a Song Sparrow bouncing around on the paved trail in front of me. It was already pretty close so I took some photos and then walked ahead.
Surprisingly it stayed put, only moving ahead or to the side just slightly. I wondered if it was sick or injured as I was able to get within just a few feet of it. That is when I noticed it had a noticeable patch of light grey coloring on it's head and shoulders which didn't look like a Song Sparrow. I took some more photos at this close distance, not really knowing what it was at the time. Eventually the bird did move along more quickly and even flew for a bit, staying near the ground. Later, using this and other photos of it's backside, I was able to identify it as a Fox Sparrow -another new ID for me! The name comes from it's rusty red-brown coloring on its tail and wings.
Shortly after when I was nearly back to my vehicle, I noticed a very large bird soaring overhead and assumed it was an Eagle. It was very high up and I was having trouble finding its white head. Then as it turned I caught a glimpse of pink on its head and realized it was not an Eagle but a Turkey Vulture. I've never seen these anywhere near the park so I thought it was a pretty interesting sighting.
The first birds I spotted were a small group of Brown-headed Cowbirds who are now returning to the park. I thought I saw one the other day but he was against the sun and I couldn't say for sure but it made a very high pitched sound that I didn't recognize. Today I could hear that same sound coming from these guys way up in the tree. They reminded me of "class clowns" as they would fluff up, flap their wings and shriek noisily. In the duck pond on the southwest side I was very surprised to see a Blue-winged Teal float right by. I've seen them at the park before but have never been able to catch a photo of one as they are quite easily scared away.
I only saw the male and no female but I didn't look very hard for her as I didn't want to scare this one off. I'm happy to see some new waterfowl returning to the park now as well. On the northeast side I spotted more than one Bluebird flitting from tree to tree just inside the paved trail. They were very active and I was determined to get a better photo than I'd gotten before so I walked in a ways trying to get closer. Bluebirds don't seem quite as skittish as other birds and will allow you to get fairly close, but it still wasn't close enough. I watched for a while and picked out a few of the trees or bushes they seemed to perch in most often and then looked for a good place to sit. I found a nice, wild old brushy tree with a good spot to sit right in the middle.
I cleared a few dead branches for a better view and just waited. It paid off almost immediately as both a female and Male landed on the big dead tree about 50 feet from me. It was a lot easier to ID the female when right next to the male as she appears pretty much the same only duller. I could see the female with a small twig in her beak and assumed they must be building a nest somewhere nearby. Then a short time later the male landed even closer to me -about 30 feet away on a dead branch. I thought to myself I ought to have tried this method before! On my way back on the north side, I noticed what I thought was a Song Sparrow bouncing around on the paved trail in front of me. It was already pretty close so I took some photos and then walked ahead.
Surprisingly it stayed put, only moving ahead or to the side just slightly. I wondered if it was sick or injured as I was able to get within just a few feet of it. That is when I noticed it had a noticeable patch of light grey coloring on it's head and shoulders which didn't look like a Song Sparrow. I took some more photos at this close distance, not really knowing what it was at the time. Eventually the bird did move along more quickly and even flew for a bit, staying near the ground. Later, using this and other photos of it's backside, I was able to identify it as a Fox Sparrow -another new ID for me! The name comes from it's rusty red-brown coloring on its tail and wings.
Shortly after when I was nearly back to my vehicle, I noticed a very large bird soaring overhead and assumed it was an Eagle. It was very high up and I was having trouble finding its white head. Then as it turned I caught a glimpse of pink on its head and realized it was not an Eagle but a Turkey Vulture. I've never seen these anywhere near the park so I thought it was a pretty interesting sighting.
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