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 :)

Erieau

This past Saturday, during one of my daughter's swim practices, my husband and I made a quick visit to the piers at Erieau, then we walked along the marsh trail just outside Erieau.  We saw some birds that I have seen before, like Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Herring Gulls, an Osprey with a fish in its talons (couldn't get a decent picture...the sun was in the wrong place), Yellow-rumped Warbler, Ring-billed Gulls, Double-crested Cormorants.  As usual, there were several birds that completly eluded me...not only do I not recoginize many songs and calls, but fall leaves crunch underfoot, drowning out the rustling about of little birds.  That said, I did see two life birds.... :)




Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher!! Life Bird!  Got to watch it eating a bug of some kind :)



Yellow-rumped Warbler...not a life bird, but first time I've seen one in this plumage.

I think this is a Bonaparte's Gull (life bird!!)...there were at least two flying around.  At first I thought it was a Black-headed Gull, but the bill on this bird is all black.  It has orange/red feet and one of them has a black tail band...reading about it, it seems that the one with the tail band is a juvenile.  As usual, if I have misidentified this bird, please let me know.