Cedar Grove Commercial Park

I went on a Beckham Bird Club field trip this week to Cedar Grove Commercial Park in Shepherdsville, KY. It was led by our own Ryan Ankeny!

It was a good trip, and we saw several different species of birds. Although, Ryan said that when he usually leads this field trip during the month of march, it is much cooler and they usually see more of the wintering birds. I suppose a lot of them may have left a little early to head back north.

I got to see my very first Savannah Sparrows!

Savannah Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow

There were lots of Killdeer running around. I just happened to catch this one in flight.

Killdeer

A lot of trees are in bloom! I don't know what type this one is, but I thought it was so pretty!

This Brown Thrasher is the first one I have seen this season. He just popped in long enough for me to capture a sketchy picture, but I had to include it! I love their eyes!

Brown Thrasher

Song Sparrows aplenty, they are always fun to see and hear!

Song Sparrow

This next photo of a Field Sparrow is my favorite! I think they are so cute with their little pink beaks!

Field Sparrow

These were the only birds I got decent pictures of, but we also saw, Pileated Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Bluebirds and White-Crowned Sparrows, just to name a few. All in all a good birding trip!

I also wanted to mention that our (Louisville's) male Osprey arrived to the nest on Shippingport Island around last Saturday. It seemed like he took a few days to recuperate from his long trip from South America, but I stopped by this morning and saw him carrying a few sticks to the nest. The female Osprey should be arriving any time. Last year she arrived approximately two weeks after the male.

Osprey

I would also like to give you an update on the Lake Barkley Osprey Cam sponsered by KEEP. Since my blog entry last week, the male Osprey arrived and they have been busy tidying up the nest, and were even observed mating. Once they lay an egg, the cam will be real time video, with sound! I'm really looking forward to watching them throughout the season. It will give me a glimpse of what may be happpening in our Osprey nest!

Last but not least, I want to update everyone on the Bald Eagle nest on Shippingport Island. Several times that I have been there to check on them, I have observed the mate nearby, and watched them exchange places at the nest. This is very good news, since the last two years, their attempts at nesting were unsuccessful, mainly because Papa Eagle wasn't around enough, and Mama Eagle had to leave the nest to search for food! I have heard that sometimes it takes years for Eagles to "get the hang" of nesting. Everyone keep your fingers crossed, but we just might get to have a family this year! I'll keep you updated!

Bald Eagle

Posted in: Bald Eagle,Brown Thrasher,Cedar Grove Industrial Park,Field Sparrow,KEEP,Kentucky Environmental Education Projects,Killdeer,Osprey,Savannah Sparrow,Shippingport Island,Song Sparrow

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

Garvin Brown: Sunset and a Loon

After the "storm" yesterday, my wife and I made a trip to Garvin Brown in the evening.  There were a lot of birds and critters about, making it an exciting evening.  We will start with our cold-blooded friends first.

I found this Black Racer relaxing all tangled up in a tree.  These guys get pretty big, up to six feet long.  I've seen more of these guys in the last few days than I have ever before.  They love to bask on roads and sunny paths, which is where I've seen most of them lately.  This guy caught my eye as we were walking by and seemed fine with our presence.  Only when I got too close for a head shot did he slither away.

The trees are in full bloom, and Garvin Brown is full of what I'm calling naturalized Bradford Pears.  They appeared to be the only tree in bloom but the sight of several of them lined up along both sides of the path was beautiful.  Spring Azures, a species of small bluish-gray butterfly, were flitting back and forth between the violas and the Bradford Pear flowers.  They would only stay for a second before erratically taking off and flying high in circles, only to land on the flower directly adjacent to the one they were just on.

The very tops of the Bradford Pears made a great spot to advertise your fitness and ability to breed...if you are a Red-winged Blackbird.  Their lovely songs providing a background chorus to the evening.

Red-winged Blackbird

Initially I wanted to go to Garvin Brown because I was hoping to see some Tree Swallows back at the nest boxes, bickering back and forth and fighting over real estate.  I observed at several boxes but was not lucky enough to find any Tree Swallows.  Looks like I will have to come back again soon.

I did manage to find and photograph several other birds however.  The most numerous being Brown Thrashers, most numerous except the grackles and starlings.  Brown Thrashers are in the same family as mockingbirds (Mimidae) and have a similar song.  They both mimic other birds, but Brown Thrashers repeat their song in sets of two phrases, while Northern Mockingbirds repeat the same phrase three times or more.  Check out the other birds I found below.

Brown Thrasher

Northern Cardinal

White-throated Sparrow

This Northern Mockingbird wasn't as vocal as the thrashers, but he did let me get a lot closer for some pictures.

Perhaps the most exciting thing to happen last night was the eerie sound coming from the river.  I've been wanting to hear this haunting call for some time and was in the right place at the right time last night.  The call was that of the Common Loon.  They are fairly common on the Ohio River but this was the first time I had ever heard one.  Watch the video below, the call is at the very end. 

Posted in: Black Racer,Bradford Pear,Brown Thrasher,Common Loon,Garvin Brown,Northern Cardinal,Northern Mockingbird,Red-winged Blackbird,video,White-throated Sparrow