An Hour of Birding

Now that Daylight Savings Time has begun and the weather is a bit nicer, I am hoping to do more birding in the Blenheim area while my daughter swims.  Yesterday, I had about an hour of birding before the light was too low to really make anything out, so I went to the closest place, the Lagoons.  I am not a person who uses a tri-pod and the whole time I was at the Lagoons, I could hear Les (a man from the photography club I belong to) chastising me about "gluing the tri-pod to the camera".  I had some awesome opportunities to photograph a little songster and the pictures turned out nothing like I was hoping.  Maybe I will follow his advice next time.  Keeping that in mind, please enjoy the spirit in which the pictures are posted, not the actual photography.

I have learned, from previous experience, not to rush up over the berms, but instead to somewhat sneak up to the ponds.  My patience paid off...

Ring-necked Ducks

Although they are not crisp shots, they are clear enough for a positive ID, which is good since they are a lifer for me :) I had a possible ID of these ducks here, but didn't list them because I wasn't sure. Aside from quite a few of these ducks, there were many Northern Shoveler, Bufflehead and either Canvasback or Redheads (or both..can't tell from such a great distance).  Once the ducks spot you, they take off to the area farthest from you!

There were several male Red-winged Blackbirds staking out there territory too...

Red-winged Blackbird

My biggest disappointment today was photographing a little Song Sparrow who was singing up a storm!  I had a seat on a rock as it flitted about the garbage pile at the end of one of the ponds.  I was close enough to get a decent shot with my lens but my lack of steadiness greatly reduced the quality that could have been.

Song Sparrow

This picture has been sharpened, which is better than it was, but nowhere near what I was hoping for.  Lesson learned...let's hope :)

Victoria Day Weekend 2012

I had a great time this weekend visiting with family and friends, as well as sneaking in a little birding.  On Sunday, after church, we stopped by the Ambassador Bridge to see the Peregrine Falcons that have been nesting there for a number of years...it was my first time going to see them.  We were blessed with seeing both parents and glimpses of a couple of the youngsters.  They have four this year!

On Monday we went to Point Pelee with a truckload of kayaks...the kids and a friend headed out into the marsh as we walked Centennial Trail across the road.  I got fleeting glimpses of a few birds I didn`t recognize, but we did see a female Wood Duck (life bird) leave a tree cavity and saw a few Wild Turkey (life bird) in the woods.  There were a lot of Orioles, Yellow Warblers, Red-winged Blackbirds.  We then headed to the marsh to see if the kids were done...they weren`t, so we walked a bit of the boardwalk and spotted a Common Yellow-throat (life bird) in the reeds as well as some Black Terns (life bird) fishing. Afterwards, we headed to a friend`s house in Essex and were blessed with spotting a Chipping Sparrow (life bird) chipping away on the fence and tree.  Here are a few pictures from this weekend....enjoy!

Peregrine parent at nest box.

The other parent...flew here from side of bridge when the other went to the nest box.

Fleeting glimpses of a couple of young...completely out of sight until parent returned.

Barn Swallow...so beautiful!!

Black Tern

Robin on nest.

What I think of when I think of Red-winged Blackbirds...perched on a reed :)

Wild Turkey

Chipping Sparrow at dusk.

By the way...I have added a gadget on the side of the blog that shows my life list, if you are interested.  It is amazing how fast it is growing :)

Blenheim Lagoons

I went to the Blenheim Lagoons yesterday (April 19) for the first time.  These are some shots of some of the birds there.  If the Canada Geese hadn't announced my arrive so loudly and continuously, I may have been able to get some better shots, but, because they decided to cause such a raucous, all the ducks either swam to the far side of the lagoon or took off.  With the ducks being so far away, I couldn't get my camera to auto-focus on the birds I wanted, so I had to switch to manual focus....I learned something though....I am really bad at manual focus!

Male and Female Bonaparte`s Gulls

 Everytime I have seen Buffleheads, they run away.  Here is the first time I saw them...running away.

Female Bufflehead

Another female Bufflehead

And another...

 I was really surprised to see the next few photos turned out as well as they did....not only was the lens on manual, but I was panning as well.  Blurry, yes, but better than expected :)  Life bird too!

Lesser Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

Lesser Yellowlegs

 There were several Northern Shovelers in the water too...this is the best shot I got of one.  Another life bird!

Northern Shoveler in the middle

 This next bird I am not sure of its identity.  To me, it looks closest to a Meadowlark, but the position of the bird makes it tough to be certain....any ideas??


Blonde moment...female Red-winged Blackbird..thanks Karen :)

 And these ducks...there were quite a few of them in the water too, but I can't tell what they are.  I got several shots, but none any clearer than this....any ideas??

Possible Ring-necked Ducks...thanks Karen :)

I really enjoyed visiting the Lagoons....I was there all by myself for about 1.25 hours, just sitting on the edge of the lagoon (in a rare goose poop free area), watching the swallows perform their acrobatics and watching all the ducks and geese.  Very peaceful place...aside from the Canada Geese that is :)