Yesterday may have been the Vernal Equinox, but today was the first full day of Spring. We had our biweekly Sunday bird walk today, and again we stayed on the Norman Bird Sanctuary property rather than go a-visiting elsewhere. Lots of bird song going on; the woods and fields were noisy with it. We saw lots of Song Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbirds, and Cardinals, along with a few White-throated Sparrows, and heard (but couldn't quite spot) quite a few Carolina Wrens. Down by the old flooded quarry we spotted a bunch of Yellow-rumped Warblers and Gold-crowned Kinglets busily feeding on the newly-hatched bugs by the stagnant water. Plus we got a big surprise: down at the Red Maple Pond we spotted 5 Wood Ducks and 2 Green-winged Teal. Unfortunately they got wind of us before we could get in camera range and took off, and I wasn't fast enough on the trigger to get shots of them in flight. Oh well... And of course all the rest of the birds we spotted were either out of camera range or moving too fast to get a good shot.
As is usual for me, after the bird walk I wandered down to Ballard Park and Gooseneck Cove. The Cove was practically deserted except for some stray Mallards and American Black Ducks, but in Ballard Park I was hearing lots of Red-winged Blackbirds and seeing lots of Robins. But most prolific and noisy were the Song Sparrows and the Tufted Titmice. And yes, here I got pictures - Song Sparrow below left, Tufted Titmouse below right.
And just to finish this post off in seasonal style. let's have a rousing chorus of George Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun". I even found a video with the lyrics for those of you young'uns who weren't around when the Beatles walked the Earth along with the dinosaurs and us old hippies.
As is usual for me, after the bird walk I wandered down to Ballard Park and Gooseneck Cove. The Cove was practically deserted except for some stray Mallards and American Black Ducks, but in Ballard Park I was hearing lots of Red-winged Blackbirds and seeing lots of Robins. But most prolific and noisy were the Song Sparrows and the Tufted Titmice. And yes, here I got pictures - Song Sparrow below left, Tufted Titmouse below right.
And just to finish this post off in seasonal style. let's have a rousing chorus of George Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun". I even found a video with the lyrics for those of you young'uns who weren't around when the Beatles walked the Earth along with the dinosaurs and us old hippies.
Photos & text © 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger
Oh, Roy....your photos are SO wonderful....thank you for posting those delicious birds. (no, no, I am NOT going to bake them in a pie).I hope you will tell me what kind of camera you use to get these fantastic shots.....again not that I am going to buy one, but I would like to know. And please......more fabulous photos.
ReplyDeletewonderful photos!!!
ReplyDeleteand thanks for the video, I enjoy that too... :-)
....ohhhh.....loved this post and this song. (I just returned from Florida where there was lots and lots of sun, but back in Cincy, it's once again overcast. I hope our sun comes out and stays out soon!)
ReplyDeletep.s. I like your new photo.
ReplyDeleteDo do do do indeed! Believe it or not, tonight we pulled out Abbey Road and gave it a listen!
ReplyDeleteI would love to come to your park. I haven't taken the camera out for over a week for a variety of reasons and really would love to have the time to sit, with a tripod if necessary and capture pretty birds.
ReplyDeleteI do like the tuft on that titmouse!
ReplyDelete