View allAll Photos Tagged FallMigration
It's crappy, but it's my first Yellow-rumped Warbler of the season. The number 19th of the fall. I thought I got number 20 as well, but I'm pretty sure that it is a female Black-throated Blue.
Project: Backyard Pishing; Private Residence, Talking Rock, Pickens County, North Georgia, USA
Date: 2012.10.04; Pleasant day with some Sun
Camera: Kodak Z740 Zoom
In this second of 3 pics taken in a series, a male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis, NOCA) is now in a secondary stage of reacting to a Fall migrating juvenile male Rose-breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus, RBGR) that is eating on HIS PLATFORM FEEDER. The Cardinal has leaned away now and dropped his wings some. Resembles where I've repeatedly seen at least one male Cardinal crouch (drop) down and flutter his wings at another platform feeder. Best as I can tell, darn thing is BAITING in other birds so he can whomp them and chase them away. By fluttering his wings, it looks like he assumes the body language behavior of fledglings. Doing so would give any wary birds a false sense of security about landing on the feeder near him. Have seen it time and again in the last two years, just not sure if it's only one male that does it or if others do, too.. Little bugger.. :))
Pretty funny to see the male Cardinal choose to sit this one out this time and wait for the Grosbeak to finish. In a similar looking 4 image series a few months back, a male Cardinal presented similar body language on a different feeder as he stood his ground and ate while an immature Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis, GRCA) pondered from about a foot away.
When I embarked on a mid-afternoon hike up Kennesaw Mt to try out my new binoculars, the farthest thing from my mind was what I would encounter on the top of the mountain. You don't see much in the heat of the afternoon but my morning was consumed with work and I wanted to walk the Mountain...And in the midst of fall migration, well you just never know. I reached the top, having seen only a Scarlet Tanager, and a Red-eyed Vireo. Then I saw movement in the tops of some tall trees in the distance. I raised my new glasses and I saw a Vireo in the distance. It looked like another Red-eyed at first, but wait. Such a vibrant yellow throat and breast. Turns out there were 2 Philadelphia Vireos and they came quite close. Thankfully I had my camera. This series of 4 shots is handheld. I believe both birds are represented in these pictures. This Vireo is a uncommon fall migrant here in Georgia. It closely resembles the Red-eyed Vireo but is smaller (more warbler size) and has a lot more yellow especially the fall bird.
Miquelon Lake Provincial Park, AB, Canada
September 10, 2011
Initially I thought it was a Marbled Godwit. After confirming with my Sibley guide, it is a Hudsonian. This guy wasn't shy at all, and I managed to get some decent shots before it was chased away by a Merlin.
This is a young (hatch-year) Chestnut-sided Warbler, so his feathers are still growing in. Not only does he have pinfeathers, but his plumage is quite wet from the constant rain we were having - this certainly makes him look quite disheveled.
Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
August 2014
This one is a lot of guess....young Blackburian? I had no idea how confusing the young fall warblers are...so please feel free to correct my tentative id.
As you can see....a rainy day contributed to loss of detail. Nothing like a rainy day in the woods spotting and photographing tiny birds.....lol
This BW Warbler appeared long enough to capture a few photos. Unfavorable conditions for good quality photo. Very cloudy, misting with SW winds late in the afternoon when the bird was seen briefly.
Cool Fact - The Blue-winged Warbler continues to expand its range and may be responsible for the decrease in Golden-winged Warbler populations in some areas.
URL for more cool facts and map range www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue-winged_Warbler/lifehistory
Backyard Birding
A Philadelphia Vireo in Central Park yesterday. It was bathing by diving into a stream and then returning to this branch to preen.
The number of birds in NYC is on the decline and I am trying to document and see as many as I can.
All pictures shot with Sony a6700 + Sony 200-600G Lens in NYC.
Chestnut-sided Warbler is a good example that how confusion it can be during fall migration. Breeding adult has a bright yellow crown, black mustache stripe , yellowish wingbars and the chestnut strips on both sides just under the wings. Female is duller overall. In fall, males lose most of facial pattern and sometimes you would only see very light rufous on the sides. Immature Female (photo shown here), as you can see in this image, would be easily considered to another species for a novice birder.
www.wingsspirit.com/2012/09/fall-migration.html
Thanks for viewing and commenting my work :)
The Sandhill Cranes are on the move. This is a collage of 4 shots I took last weekend at one of their nightly staging areas. For 15-20 minutes prior and after sunset the Cranes congregate by the hundreds (and in some parts of the country thousands) in wetland staging areas where they rest and refuel before continuing south. It is a breathtaking sight and deafening sound experience. How they all know where to go is one of the wonders of nature that I find amazing!
Large gatherings of the snow geese during late fall 2017, just before heading farther south for the winter.