Sunday Bird Walk

Today was the biweekly Sunday bird walk, but since only the three of us (Mark, Bob, and I) joined walk leader Jay in the parking lot at the Norman Bird Sanctuary, Jay decided to keep the walk on NBS property. [Note: The reason for the poor attendance was the weather; it had rained overnight with more rain in the forecast. It never did rain again, but the air was very wet and thhe overcast made it a fairly dark day.]

There were lots of birds to see, but not all of my shots came out well. These are the ones that did work out well. Top left, one of many Cedar Waxwings in a Juneberry tree pigging out on the berries. Top right, a baby bunny on one of the trails. Bottom, a Turkey hen with some of her poults; when they all emerged from the tall grass we counted 10. Sorry for the quality of this shot, but I couldn't pass up showing you our Wild Turkey encounter!

After the walk Mark, Bob and I headed down to Third Beach and its salt marsh. We saw a female Piping Plover sitting on her nest (well protected by a cage that lets Plovers in and out but keeps predators - and clumsy humans - at bay; these are endangered birds), a Short-billed Dowitcher, and a couple of Black-bellied Plovers, all in the salt marsh. Unfortunately, they were in binocular range but out of range of the camera. On the beach, though, a crowd of birds came flying up from over the water. There were a bunch of Sanderlings, a Semipalmated Plover, and this prize of the day, a Dunlin in breeding plumage.

And as is usual on bird walk Sunday, I finished out the day down on Gooseneck Cove, where I caught this Mallard/American Black Duck hybrid swimming serenely along in the soft light of a damp and overcast day.

© 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger