Christmas Birding
White-throated Sparrow
By: Pat Coate
While visiting my sister in Delaware over the holidays, my niece, husband, father and I went for a short birding outing. We got about 20 species with a few more added at my parents’ house and had some good looks at many of the birds. Maddie, my niece, is getting quite good at identifying many species. Her dad is feeding her new interest by feeding the birds in their backyard where she has been diligently observing the hungry visitors. However, I think her highlight was sliding across a frozen pond we discovered at one of the parks.
Previously taken pictures of some of the birds we saw are shown here.
Christmas Bird Count Too
Red-tailed Hawks
By: Pat Coate
Like Tom, I participated in the Audubon Christmas Count last weekend. I tagged along with Tim, Madeline and Bill to cover Section 2. We also had 21 species, if you count the goldfinches that came to my home feeder. Madeline spotted this pair of red-tailed hawks. Our finds:
Blue Jay, Cardinal, House Sparrow, White-throated Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Crow, Raven,
Wild Turkey, Blue Bird, Red-tailed Hawk, Chickadee, Junco, Tufted Titmouse, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Mourning Dove, Rock Pigeon, White-breasted Nuthatch, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Starling, American Goldfinch
Floods in Western NY
Constitution Rd, Allegany
By: Pat Coate
These shots are from earlier in December when our area was hit with heavy rains and frozen grounds. The Allegheny River spilled over its banks and crested about 16 feet above normal. Significant flooding occurred in the towns of Allegany and Portville.
Turkey Bowl and a few Virginia Pix
The Turkey Bowl Crew
(minus Emily and my favorite brother named Tom)
The Turkey Bowl Crew
(with Emily and my favorite brother named Tom)
By: Pat Coate
Headed down to Northern Virginia and Richmond to spend the Thanksgiving break with parents, siblings, various in-laws, and nieces and nephews galore. We had a great day and turnout for the Turkey Bowl classic – a hard fought touch football game with a few classic plays and, most importantly, no injuries.
In between great eating, spirited rounds of Game of Things, watching football, shopping and debating definitions of walking versus hiking, I snuck in a couple pictures of birds and the resident white squirrels.
Know when the hunt begins…
Feeder stream into Marilla Brook
By: Pat Coate
Marilla Springs trail near Bradford, PA has been on my list to check out for a while and I got my chance November 20th. It was a nice hike but a bit of an adventure…
More from Myrtle Beach
Willet at sunset
By: Pat Coate
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Here’s a few more photos taken during sisters getaway at Myrtle Beach.
Sisters, Sun and Pelicans
Myrtle Beach with my sisters
me, Vicki, Kathy, Lynda
By: Pat Coate
I recently spent a weekend in Myrtle Beach for an annual get together with my sisters (our 10th such outing). We packed a full weekend in with lots of eating, little sleep, walks on the beach, hiking and birding at Huntington State Park and Murrells Inlet, zip lines, shopping, laughing, and just a bit of brother bashing.
The non-birding sisters were pretty tolerant with the birding sisters and we saw some good birds and bird behavior. One of the birding highlights was the brown pelicans we saw flying low over the ocean, diving down to feed, and perched on the docks at the salt marshes in Murrels Inlet.
Fungi 1
Mycena genus??
By: Pat Coate
You can’t go for a hike without seeing some variety of mushroom or other fungi. I have seen many types over the years and have been fascinated by their many shapes, sizes and colors. So I decided to start taking pictures of them in hopes of someday identifying them. A couple weeks back I went to the library and checked out a book touted as “the most comprehensive mushroom guide ever, with over 1,000 color photographs.” The lady handling the checkout didn’t so much as bat an eye, for which I was grateful.
The book immediately gets your attention with a discussion of poisonous species, like the dreaded Death Cap, and of poisoning symptoms ranging from an array of digestive nuisances to coma and death. I’ll just focus on their pretty shapes, sizes and colors and not dwell on their more sinister side.
I decided to start my ID quest with the three photos I’ve posted today, all of which were taken this last September. After spending an hour scouring 1,000 photos I think I have it narrowed down to about 5 choices for each picture. Other than being much more cooperative about getting their picture taken, I’m not sure which is easier – fungi or bird identification. I’ve taken my best shot at the IDs, but I am not sure of any of them. If any reader knows the correct ID I’d appreciate it if you’d let me know. Thanks.
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Soaring Ravens
Common Raven
By: Pat Coate
While in Canada last month I had several very fun encounters with a group of ravens. They hung out in the vicinity of the cottage where I was staying and seemed keenly aware of the comings and goings in the area. As I would head out for a walk with our dog, they would immediately make a noisy appearance. Then they would provide several minutes of entertainment, as they seemed to be just having a ball as they soared above us. They would chase each other, surf the wind currents, and ride a current seemingly to its peak like a cresting wave. The silhouette photos below capture some of their hijinks. My favorite is the second to last where I was able to catch a bit of their stunt pilot show, where they would actually do flips and briefly fly upside down.
Near the end of my visit, I heard a dog barking. Since the nearest neighbor is a couple miles away I went outside to investigate. Turns out it was one of these characters doing a very passable imitation. I had no idea ravens could be so boisterous and downright entertaining. Some internet research seems to indicate that this was a group of youngsters and the behavior I observed is not uncommon. Here’s hoping for an encore performance next year!
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Wood Ducks
Wood Duck (male)
By: Pat Coate
North Chagrin Nature Reserve in Willoughby Hills near Cleveland is supposed to be one of the premier locations to photograph wood ducks. Last weekend, along with the wood duck photo ops, they sponsored a nature photography weekend. So with the allure of the wood ducks and the added bonus of the seminar, I decided to head to Willoughby Hills to check things out.
The keynote speaker was actually not a nature photographer, but a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist – Jay Dickman. His photos were fantastic as was his presentation on how he captured his shots.
As for the wood ducks, the weather wasn’t as sunny as forecast, but there were a few breaks in the clouds that provided some good lighting to try to capture these spectacularly plumed ducks.
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Berry Good
Female Cardinal
By: Pat Coate
Over Columbus Day weekend my husband and I visited our son in Durham, NC. I snuck out early on Sunday morning and spent a couple hours enjoying the Duke Gardens. There were lots of birds to see including these cardinals chowing down on this colorful, healthy breakfast.
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Scenes from Saturday
By: Pat Coate
I drove out to Randolph this past Saturday and these are some of the scenes from my day. It was a rather dreary day but I found some sights to brighten it.
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A Very Yellowthroat
Common Yellowthroat Warbler (female)
By: Pat Coate
During my visit to Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre in Midland, Ontario I ran into a very cooperative female common yellowthroat warbler. I had seen lots of common yellowthroats – mostly males – at Tom’s bird banding stations but had not really had more than a quick look at this bird in the ‘wild’. So it was nice to have an extended look.
Puff the Magic Cedar Waxwing
Cedar Waxwing Pre-puff
By: Pat Coate
I love telecommuting and very happily spent the last two weeks on a working vacation up in the Muskoka Lakes region of Ontario. I spent a cool, rainy Labor Day visiting Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre in Midland. I had seen a tree full (~30) of cedar waxwings by Black Ash Pond early in the day but the lighting was tough for a decent picture. I checked back in the same area later in the day. This lone, inquisitive cedar waxwing landed fairly close so I decided to try a few shots despite continued tough lighting conditions. To my amusement, it “blew up” right in front of me. The pictures aren’t the greatest but it was a fun experience to see this sleek, attractive bird puff itself out in such dramatic fashion. Not sure if it was trying to warm itself or if it was a reaction to my presence but it didn’t stay puffed very long.
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Beggars
Common Grackles (2010)
By: Pat Coate
From time to time we will see parents and fledglings coming to the feeder. It is always fun to watch their interactions and see the maternal/paternal instincts in action. The young ones are quite demanding and seem to unmercifully beg for food from the parent. In these two cases, the parents were accomodating.
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Birds of Prey
Broad-winged Hawk
By: Pat Coate
Last Sunday the Canyon Camera Club sponsored its 8th Annual Photographer’s Dream Day at the Mount Morris Dam & Visitor Center. There were tours of and views from the dam and a couple of great seminars on photography in Letchworth State Park presented by Gary & Phyllis Thompson of Image City Photography (Rochester). There were many different subjects to photograph, including antique autos and bikes, and people in costume – a bagpiper, Seneca Indian, Mary Jamison, pioneers.
My favorite subjects to photograph, however, were provided by Ron Walker of Friends with Feathers. Friends with Feathers is an organization whose stated mission is to educate the public about birds of prey. Mr. Walker had on hand a broad-winged hawk, barn owl and barred owl that for various reasons cannot be released. It was fun to see these birds up close and learn more about them. Tidbits of information from the Friends with Feathers website are shown below in quotes.
Trip to Milwaukee
Marquette Golden Eagles
By: Pat Coate
We recently trekked out to Milwaukee to drop our daughter off at Marquette University. Situated on Lake Michigan, Milwaukee seems to be a vibrant city with an appealing waterfront offering biking/walking/jogging trails, parks, an art museum, Discovery World, ethnic and music festival sites. Milwaukee also offers a great variety of ethnic food and we enjoyed a Mexican restaurant, La Fuente, for dinner in the 9th (?) Ward.
The Marquette Golden Eagle was the most unique bird we saw. During our limited time along the waterfront, we only saw fairly common birds such as Canada geese, mallards, mixed flocks of swallows, ring-billed gulls, and pigeons. During our drive (near Crystal Lake, Illinois) we passed two groups of Sandhill cranes in the fields but not conveniently located for photo ops.
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Chickadees
Black-capped Chickadee
By: Pat Coate
Over the past couple of weeks, the chickadee count at our backyard feeder has increased and their busyness and calls greet me most mornings. They are the first to the feeder after a refill, often barely able to contain themselves while waiting for me to move the requisite few steps away. They don’t seem to require this distance for our dog, who is often right under the feeder while they grab a seed and retreat to the nearby maple tree.
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Fun in Bermuda
Great Kiskadee
By: Pat Coate
A couple weeks back, I had the good fortune to get together with my roommate and five other friends from college, whom I hadn’t seen in many years. We had a grand time cruising from Baltimore to Bermuda. While in Bermuda I spent a morning birding and biking. I had read that Bermuda had many of the same birds that we have in WNY and it was very true, but I did manage a couple exceptions.
Moose in Algonquin
Algonquin Moose
By: Pat Coate
Even more than birds, I really enjoy seeing moose (and catching them with my camera is an added bonus). As such, I spend some time each year ‘stalking’ them in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario. Most years I am able to at least see them along Highway 60, which cuts across the southern portion of the park, and other years I have been lucky enough to see them while canoeing or hiking. Here are some photos of this year’s moose, seen along Highway 60.
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Budding Birders Meet Tom
Logan, Maddie and Lilly with Tom (check out the Mon@rch tattoos)
By: Pat Coate
My sister and her young family recently visited and we had a wonderful morning learning more about birds and getting to see them up close at Tom’s banding site in Napoli. Tom is very knowledgeable, gracious, and a born educator.
What fun we all had – as expressed so well by Maddie: “Bird banding was awesome! You should have seen the birds that were there!” Here are some pictures from our birding experience.
Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Oriole & Fans
By: Pat Coate
My husband and sons grew up fans of the Baltimore Orioles. Over the years we’ve enjoyed games at both Memorial Stadium and Camden Yards. So it was a special pleasure to spend some time observing the team’s namesake at a nesting site near Jamestown, NY (Audubon location).
SWAT Bird Banding
Red-eyed Vireo
By: Pat Coate
I had a lot of fun spending Monday morning with Tom at his SWAT bird banding station.
To me, birding is a bit like a treasure hunt. Sometimes a frustrating treasure hunt, but a treasure hunt nonetheless. There are birds everywhere you just have to look and listen for them. There are maps, field guides, iPhone apps, etc. to help you along the way. There is always more to learn in birding – the male and female usually look different, each gender can look different at different times of the year, and the young often look different still. There are the birds’ calls to learn – and each bird has more than one. If that’s not enough challenge, the little buggers don’t stay still very long making it hard to get a good long look at them.
That is why I really enjoy visiting Tom at his bird banding station. It is really nice to get an up-close, prolonged look at the many different birds that he is able to capture, band and release.
Roger Tory Peterson Birding Festival Part 2
Swamp Sparrow
By: Pat Coate
The pictures in this post were taken during the Roger Tory Peterson Institute’s Birding Festival held in Jamestown, NY from June 10-13. It was a really fun event with some great fields trips and leaders. The Swamp Sparrow pictures were taken at the Jamestown Audubon Society site south of Jamestown. I love to catch the little guys throwing their heads back and singing their hearts out.
Mon@rch's Nature Blog 