Birdathon: Part Two

Moving on to part two of the Birdathon posts.  After looking for birds at the landfill I stopped by my parent's to see what they had moving in the trees.  I had been hearing several species of birds singing on their property like Northern Parula, Yellow-throated Warbler, Common Yellowthroat and many more.  By Friday night things had slowed down some and not as many birds were singing.  Perhaps the best bird to be seen was the male Cape May Warbler below.

Cape May Warbler

There were other more common birds making themselves obvious.  This Brown Thrasher was doing just that, thrashing around in the leaves under the neighbors evergreen tree.  I watched him for a while and observed that he was collecting dead sticks and branches.  He was either building or redecorating his nest as he kept coming back for more and more.  He took a break and hopped up on the fence where I was waiting with my camera.

Brown Thrasher

The House Finches were any and everywhere as usual.  There are several pairs breeding on the porch and in the gutters.  They go about their day flying to and from the nest, feeding chicks, and seemingly talking back and forth.  They really come together when the cat is sitting on the porch.  They land within a couple feet of her and scold her for being so close to their nest.

House Finch

Saturday wasn't quite as good a day for birding as I was hoping it would be.  I went on the Beckham Bird Club field trip to Floyds Fork Park because it is usually a great trip for seeing warblers and migrants.  Not so much on Saturday.  We heard several species of common birds but seeing them was a different story.  The overcast sky made it almost impossible to take a picture.  Nevertheless we tried anyway.

At the onset we were hearing Eastern Wood Peewee, Prairie Warbler, and White-eyed Vireo from the parking lot.  We had very little luck finding any of them however.  We got a brief glimpse of a Yellow-breasted Chat by the soccer fields.  There used to be a lot of habitat for these birds but it all got mowed several years ago and now there are only a few chats around.  We made it to Floyds Fork and walked down the road that goes along it.  Again we heard much but saw very little.  A Warbling Vireo was singing, as were Alder Flycatcher and Scarlet Tanager.  Towards the end of the road we saw two Great-crested Flycatchers that most likely have a nest in the Sycamore tree.

Finally I had had enough of not seeing any birds so we played back the song of a Prairie Warbler.  The one that was singing nearby zoomed right toward us.  He got real close and gave us good looks, but with the gray sky the picture below was the best I could do.

Prairie Warbler

On the way back to the car, this Eastern Kingbird was flying around the parking lot.  These guys are becoming my favorite birds because they are so photogenic.

Eastern Kingbird

And at McNeely Lake the Eastern Kingbirds were even more cooperative.  There is a pair nesting in a tree that is standing in the middle of an un-mowed field.  The sun had come out finally and lit this bird up perfectly, making one of the best bird photos I think I have ever taken!

Eastern Kingbird

Before leaving I had to check the lake.  There were several pairs of Mallards and farm ducks.  A beautiful pair of Wood Ducks approached from across the lake and offered some great views (check back tomorrow for pics of those guys).  They didn't have any ducklings following them yet.  Dark clouds were approaching so I did my best trying to capture the swallows flying across the lake snatching up insects.

Barn Swallow

All in all i think it was a successful birdathon. Check out the video below to see some of the footage I got of the various birds. Thanks for stopping by and thanks to those that donated!

Posted in: Barn Swallow,Brown Thrasher,Cape May Warbler,Eastern Kingbird,House Finch,Prairie Warbler