Moments in between

We're at a moment in between seasons, where mother nature hasn't quite let go of summer yet. I went on a little walk today and found a little bit of summer, a little bit of fall...

A wild flower still giving food to beautiful green bees (Halictid Bees):


Black Walnuts all over the ground:


Leaves still changing colors:


Hedge apples all dropped from the trees:


And Goldenrods that have lost their color. Which many of us are grateful for so we can stop sneezing.

Sabine's Gull

A few weeks ago, one of my flickr friends, nsxbirder, discovered a rare gull in south east Ohio! Looking for a new adventure, I decided to drive up there on Oct. 22, 2011.

The Sabine’s Gull is a small gull, discovered by Sir Edward Sabine, an explorer & astronomer, while on an arctic expedition in 1818. This bird breeds along the northern coast of Alaska. They are also known to nest in Greenland, Norway & even Russia. So you can see why this gull is such a rare sighting in South east Ohio! Here is a link to an awesome map, courtesy of natureserve.org that shows the normal migratory pattern of this gull to South America.

They have a black, white & gray triangular pattern on their wings, apparent in flight, that helps give a definitive ID.

This particular visiting gull is a juvenile. The adult breeding Sabine’s Gull has a charcoal-gray hood ringed with a thin black line at the base. They are also only one of two gull species with a yellow-tipped, black bill & a notched tail. Click here to see further information about Sabine’s Gull on Whatbird.com

While visiting East Fork State Park, I also got to observe several other gull species, including, Bonaparte’s, Ring-billed, and Laughing gull. Another birder mentioned that there were two loons out in the middle of the lake, but they were too far for me to get a good look.

Bonaparte's Gull

Juvenile Ring-Billed and Adult Laughing Gull

Juvenile Laughing Gull

Adult Ring-Billed Gull

Posted in: Bonaparte's Gull,East Fork State Park,Laughing Gull,Ring-Billed Gull,Sabine's Gull

American Crow

Happy Halloween from Louisville Naturally!

Posted in: American Crow

Louisville Birds

The weather is starting to change and I've been seeing a few different types of birds around Louisville, but I've only been able to get pictures of the most common birds!  Oh well.  In the last week I've seen several species of sparrows, such as: White-throated, White-crowned, Swamp, Vesper, Lincoln's, and Chipping, along with several Dark-eyed Juncos.  Also saw a Northern Harrier for the first time this season.  So lots of movement lately, especially with the sparrows.  Here are a few of the most common birds in Kentucky I've seen this past week.

Song Sparrow

Mourning Dove

Northern Cardinal

It is getting that time of year when the berries are becoming ripe on the exotic honeysuckle.  I've read where the berries offer very little nutrition for the birds but they sure seem to devour it and defend their honeysuckle patches with determination.  The two Northern Mockingbirds below were fighting over a small patch of honeysuckle berries.

A Northern Mockingbird on his territory...

...a rival is eying his honeysuckle patch...

...they take turns signaling to each other by flashing their tails...

...and when that doesn't resolve the problem they take to the air and battle it out.  These two birds were fighting for some time before the challenger decided it wasn't worth it and flew off. 

Posted in: Mourning Dove,Northern Cardinal,Northern Mockingbird,Song Sparrow

Common Sunflower

Most of the Common Sunflowers have shriveled up and been devoured by American Goldfinches by now, but there are just a few that continue to bloom as if it was the middle of the summer.  This Common Sunflower in particular was going strong despite the cold and the wind, ignoring the fact it is almost November.  Look closely and you can see there are still buds getting ready to bloom.

Posted in: Common Sunflower

Shepherdsville Birds

I took a trip to Shephardsville to visit the Cedar Grove Industrial Park a couple weekends ago to scout for birds for my upcoming field trip this Sunday.  I found a few birds that were nice enough to come close for photographs.  It looks like the weather is going to be colder this weekend so I don't expect to see too many warblers on this trip.  Usually I can count on a couple Palm Warblers or Common Yellowthroats on the trip, but this year it is later than usual and the cold weather will likely encourage any remaining birds to flee south in search of warmer climes.  There should be plenty of sparrows as usual.  Last year we saw dozens of White-crowned Sparrows and in years before we have logged White-throated, Savannah, Swamp, Vesper, and more.  We could encounter some Dark-eyed Juncos as well.  Some come on out and get your FOS sparrows with me and the Beckham Bird Club.  Without any further ado, a couple birds from my scouting trip.

American Crow

Northern Mockingbird

Common Yellowthroat

Posted in: American Crow,Cedar Grove Industrial Park,Common Yellowthroat,Northern Mockingbird

Immature Horned Lark

 

Posted in: Horned Lark