Campground Birds

Back in the middle of July, my husband and I went camping.  We stayed at Taylor`s Beach Campground in Howell, Michigan.  We saw several birds at the campground....many at our site, and a few throughout the rest of the campground.  Here are a few of the favourite pictures I managed to capture :)

Chickadee

Robin

Eastern Kingbird pair

A Blue Jay with a wary eye to the sky...it eventually flew off.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Cedar Waxwing...Juvenile, I believe as it was missing the red waxy tips on its wings.

White-breasted Nuthatch

Tufted Titmouse

Robin eating a grub...I have a whole sequence of this "capture".

Juvenile Robin

Not only was there a good variety of birds (saw others not included above, such as House Finch, Goldfinch, Cardinals....), there was a good variety of dragon flies!  Here are a few pics of them...

I am very proud of this picture :)

There was also an absolutely adorable Eastern Fox Squirrel that hung out near our site...

It was itchy ;)

I have a couple more posts to put up from this trip, highlighting a couple life birds...those were so special (to me at least), they deserve their own post!  I saw three life birds in total...one of which, Eastern Bluebird, I was unable to capture on "film"...when will I learn not to go outside without my camera??

Owl Mobbing and Other Birds

Today. Was. Awesome!!!!!!  I dropped the girls off at the pool in Blenheim and headed to Erieau.  I was debating between stopping at the Lagoons or the Erieau Marsh, but I am sooooooo glad I went to the Marsh!  I got to witness what looked like a Great Horned Owl (not 100% of the ID) get mobbed by lots of Red-winged Blackbirds and Killdeer!  I heard all kinds of racket, looked and saw an owl being chased by a large flock!  I instantly put my bins down and grabbed my camera to capture the action...not the sharpest pictures, but show the scene quite well.

Just after I first heard the racket and saw the owl.  He ducked down below the reeds for a bit.

When he took off...the racket continued and many more birds than pictured were chasing him...

If you look closely, you can see a Red-winged Blackbird right on his tail!



The owl, now perched, got dive-bombed constantly, until he took off.

Just before the owl mobbing, this poor duck (Mallard female...I think), was being chased too!  The bird has his legs out like he was grabbing at the duck!

More harrassment!

The trees were dripping with Cedar Waxwings!  This is a life bird for me...they are probably the most elegant looking bird I have laid eyes on.

Cedar Waxwing

Three on one branch...there were TONNES!

Here are a few other shots I got today that I liked...

Killdeer cruising over the marsh.

Eastern Kingbird

Great Blue Heron

What an exciting day! 

Holiday Beach Conservation Area, Canada Day Weekend

For Canada Day, we decided to camp out at Holiday Beach.  I was happy because I knew I would get to see herons and cranes.  I certainly was not disappointed.  While I didn't do any serious bird watching, I did make sure to check out the marsh each day.  Here are some pictures I managed to get.....

Great Blue Heron :)



In flight.....

Truth be told, I'm a little bit sad that I didn't just watch him (or her) through my binoculars...what a spectacular bird!

I'm not sure what this bird is....there were four of them sitting up in this tree.  When they left the tree, they dove for fish! They didn't fully submerge (that I recall).  Any idea?  Update...I am pretty sure these are Eastern Kingbirds :) 
 

This is a new bird for me!  I am pretty sure it is a Common Moorhen :)

I think this is a Great Egret.  The bill is more orange than yellow and the lores are more black than greenish.

 



Ok...not birds, but still cute :)

 

Love the action shot, even though it is blurry :)

As always, if I have misidentified a bird, please correct me!