On Monday two fellow birders found a great treasure in Ballard Park - a Great Crested Flycatcher pair ferrying tasty, buggy munchies to their babies in a nest in a hole high up in an old Black Cherry tree. Credit where credit is due - Dan Cinotti (who I don't know) noticed the activity and discovered the nest, and my old friend Bob Weaver has been taking pictures and sending them to the daily RI birding newsletter ever since. So today I decided I really needed to get down there and get some pictures of my own.
I knew exactly which tree I was looking for; Bob's pictures and his description of the location of the tree pretty much told me which one I was looking for. I needn't have worried about not finding it, though; I got down to the spot and there was Bob, cigarette perched in the corner of his mouth and his camera set up on his tripod and aimed at the tree in question, the image of the complete professional. He'd been there for hours snapping away, and we were both there together for a good hour more before he had to move along. I stayed another half hour, snapping away. The whole time the adult birds were flying to the nest, one coming in as the other was leaving, with beaks full of crunchy goodies. Those have to be some seriously chubby chicks!
In any case, I got about 97 shots of the Great Crested Flycatchers. These are the best of the lot.
I knew exactly which tree I was looking for; Bob's pictures and his description of the location of the tree pretty much told me which one I was looking for. I needn't have worried about not finding it, though; I got down to the spot and there was Bob, cigarette perched in the corner of his mouth and his camera set up on his tripod and aimed at the tree in question, the image of the complete professional. He'd been there for hours snapping away, and we were both there together for a good hour more before he had to move along. I stayed another half hour, snapping away. The whole time the adult birds were flying to the nest, one coming in as the other was leaving, with beaks full of crunchy goodies. Those have to be some seriously chubby chicks!
In any case, I got about 97 shots of the Great Crested Flycatchers. These are the best of the lot.
© 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger
OOps....that last offering looks a bit prickly .......hope the babies have good digestions.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous pictures.
Ummm I'm hungry & about to have my Saturday morning "Full English Breakfast"!
ReplyDeleteRoy, I love this post! What a fantastic sight. It's always fun catching sight of a bird with a bill full of bugs heading to a nest. You must have enjoyed watching them hard at work.
ReplyDeleteFascinating. I've seen so few birds with food in their beaks--and you've captured them on camera...
ReplyDeleteBusy little things. Great shots, too.
These guys are tough on bugs!
ReplyDelete