Watching the Bird Channel at the beach

My beach lounge chair was basically a front-row seat for the shorebirds.  A bunch of green herons were skulking about, like this one.

Green Heron

 The egret decided to fly its catch to a better spot 10 feet to the left before eating it.

Great Egret

 The green herons were shameless, edging closer and closer, posing for the camera.

Green Heron

 This little blue heron decided to check out the in-water gazebo.

Little Blue Heron

 This guy was extremely confusing.

Little Blue Heron, molting juvenile

 Pictures of butterflies are much more difficult than pictures of birds.  This guy was much prettier in person!

Mystery Butterfly

 A common ground dove, it's fun to see a dove to tiny.

Common Ground Dove

 This kestrel hung out for a while, watching us watching it.

American Kestrel

 A black-necked stilt showed up!

Black-necked Stilt

 A study in contrasts.  Whoever stands next to a black-necked stilt looks like an awkward doofus automatically.  They are the supermodels of birds.

Black-necked Stilt, Green Heron, and Little Blue Heron

And true to form, this one flew off when the pretty yellow butterfly photo-bombed it.

Black-necked Stilt, Green Heron, Little Blue Heron, and mystery yellow butterfly

 This little blue heron wanted a turn at being a supermodel.  Hello gorgeous!

Little Blue Heron

 Another group shot.

Great Egret and Little Blue Heron

I could get to like this place

Up and out for a walk around the grounds, not early exactly, but still morning at least. There were of course about a zillion pearly-eyed thrashers, but I took a few pictures because it's embarrassing to forget to take pictures of the common birds when I travel.  :-)  They were quite cheeky!

Pearly-eyed thrasher

A frigate preening in flight.  I never get tired of watching these guys fly!

Magnificent Frigatebird

My frist troupial!  They look like a somewhat fancier Baltimore oriole.

Troupial

There were a few common ground doves milling about on the ground.

Common ground dove

A hummingbird!  I saw something small and interesting fly into a bush that was a bit hidden from where I was, and I never did find it, but this guy came over to console me.  This was a thrilling sight!

Antillean mango

This lizard posed prettily in the sunlight and green leaves.  There were several of these around the grounds, but they were quick!

Mystery Lizard

The killdeer from the other side of their field.  It's amazing how well they blend.  Looking at a picture you would think they'd stick out quite plainly in a field of green grass, but that is not the case in real life!

Killdeer

There were loads of these flycatchers.

Mystery Flycatcher

Back on the beach after breakfast, watching the shorebirds from the comfort of a chaise lounge.  Talk about cushy birdwatching!  :-)

Great Egret

There were several green herons, hanging out quite close to each other.  I think they might be a family, although I am not skilled enough yet to pick out the juveniles and the adults.

Green Heron

Things take a tern for the better!   Hahahaha, yes, it's definitely not a new joke, but there it is nonetheless.

Mystery Tern

The mighty hunter!

Green heron

A little blue heron showing us why it's that color.

Little blue heron

Welcome to Puerto Rico!

I was up way too early, but the plane ride was smooth and easy.  As we were coming in to land in Puerto Rico, I saw a great egret and then a whole bunch of egrets (maybe snowy?) in a tree.  As we taxied I saw some swallows dancing around the tree line, and the trip was off to a great start!

My bag eventually emerged from the mysterious underworld of Checked Luggage and I picked up some Diet Coke for my sister, and we were off!  A long drive and a short grocery trip later we were on the beautiful beach we would call home for the next few days.  And what a beach it was!  Gorgeous, not at all crowded, plenty of chairs with shade, and a bar nearby that was only to happy to make mango daiquiris.

Our first new friend was this great egret, which I tried to make into a white-morph great blue heron, but I couldn't quite pull it off.

Great Egret

 A pair of killdeer testing out nest locations.  They somehow recruited about a zillion little burrs to protect them, as whenever we tried to stray from the sand to get a teeny bit closer we were attacked without mercy.  

Killdeer

 Then a nice visit by this tricolored heron, the only time we saw one this trip, so although it was late afternoon these are the best pictures I got.  

Tricolored Heron

 Look at that neck!  

Tricolored Heron

There was also a brief landing of a green heron on the beach, but sadly I was too slow to get pictures.  What a great start!  

Feels like Spring, Looks like Summer

The weather today felt like spring, but the birds know better - migrants are pretty much outta here!  It was a wonderful walk but not very birdy.  This titmouse was hilarious, he has obviously been fed many times.  He spotted me, came right over, checked me out, got closer, checked again, and then started scolding me for not having brought him a snack.  Looked at me with as much disdain as a titmouse can muster, scolded me again, and off he went.

Tufted Titmouse

At the oven this black-crowned night heron was hanging out, and another one flew in and preened in a nearby tree.  They are so gorgeous!

Black-crowned Night Heron

A pair of house finches flitted about, chasing each other all around.  I was lucky to get a picture in focus!  At least I had better luck with them than with the orioles - I saw several but always on the move, and not taking their time about it either.  Oh well, I do love to watch them fly, that bright orange streak across the sky.

House Finch

Mystery bird!  Anyone wanna play Guess The Bird?  :-)

 Another shot of the mystery bird.

Magical Rain in the Park

I'm so sad that this post has no pictures.  I went to the gym on 76th this morning, walking up through a drizzle and doing Pilates after a brief accidental foray into an inappropriate locker room.  The signs there are ~really~ confusing!  Oh well, no harm done......

I walked back through the park, and the drizzle had slightly increased to more of a light rain.  I was fine inside my rain jacket with my cap on and my hood up, and after entering the park I went over towards the lake to take a look.  As I approached the edge of the bridge, 2 black crowned night herons flew off!  They were just beautiful.  I watched them circle the lake and they landed somewhere outside of my view.

Feeling elated I walked down along the edge of the lake, it was just gorgeous in this particular combination of water and light.  And the park was nearly empty!  There was a wedding at the ladies pavilion.  It was to me the perfect day for it - just enough rain to keep the crowds away, not enough to actually harm much of anything.  And there's something poetic about the stuff of life gently falling all around you, bathing you as you start your life together.

Anyway, I stopped and sat for a little while at the covered bench / not quite gazebo thing and watched barn swallows dancing above the water.  I was mostly alone, and they swerved quite close to me several times, it was wonderful!  And a Baltimore oriole was zooming back and forth and sometimes posing nearby for me.  A brilliant streak across a backlit slate-grey sky...... Gorgeous!

It felt like a magical time, and I was sad to not have my binocs and camera with me.  I wish I could have gotten a few images to remember those moments.  Hopefully these words will do.

AMNH Trip to the Catskills

Today was the AMNH trip to the Catskills. I lvoe getting in the bus and going to new places, usually places I didn't know existed, and learning so much.  It was a little damp and none too sunny, but that didn't seem to affect us much.  The place was gorgeous.  Just filled wit red-winged blackbirds, the males showing off for.......

Red-winged Blackbird

.....the lovely ladies!  :-)

Red-winged Blackbird, female

Most of our walk was overseen by this beautiful eagle.  If things slowed down, we could always just glance up and take another look at the eagle, who was excellent at ignoring us.

Bald Eagle

This kingbird and a few swallows (both tree and barn) occasionally flew over the marsh.  I thought I saw a spotted sandpiper flying away, but my id skills cannot be relied upon in this case.  Later some others reported seeing one, so maybe I was right!  We also saw a pair of wood ducks, mostly flying away.  We did get a brief look at them swimming in a little bit of clear water, but they soon disappeared in the vegetation.  So different than the ones at the pond in the park!

Eastern Kingbird

There were a few warblers about, including many yellow warblers like this guy.  We also saw common yellow-throat, a few redstarts, and a few others.

Yellow Warbler

Hello turtles!

Painted Turtles

A least flycatcher, which we heard calling many times.

Least Flycatcher

A great blue heron, strutting around like it owned the place.  For about 5-10 minutes, then flying off to an undisclosed location.

Great Blue Heron

A green heron was hanging out in this tree, looking smaller than is reasonable.  And also more beautiful than is reasonable, but that's quite common for green herons.

Green Heron 

Paul loves snakes.  I cannot explain it.

Snake

At the end of the walk the reserve had set up a scope viewing this bald eagle nest!  Oh, I was wishing for a better camera for sure.  Anyway, in this picture is the nest and a young bald eagle showing off its wings.

Bald Eagle Chick

Bluebirds!  That's one bird with a name that does not disappoint.

Eastern Bluebird

One of the tree swallows landed right above us on a wire.

Tree Swallow

We had lunch at a little winery/bistro, they were very kind to let us use their tables.  We saw a few more birds there, including these brown-headed cowbirds.

Brown-headed Cowbirds

On to the next stop!  We didn't have very long here, but it was just gorgeous.  Yes, I know, I've used that word already, but it's still appropriate!  A pair of pine warblers chased each other around various pine trees, entertaining us.

Pine Warbler

This black and white warbler was a treat to see.  There were others, but the light and the birds conspired against my camera.  The trip was great, and each place we visited has so much more to explore.  It would be a great place to rent a car and revisit.

Black and White Warbler