La Jolla Pelicans and More

It’s about time I get around to posting some of the pelican images I shot while at La Jolla Cove in December. What a lovely view….sun, seal, pelicans and happy people…..a great afternoon with son Mike, his wife Keren, grandaughter Jaiden, and nephew Dom.
The Pelicans were in breeding plumage….colorful and a beautiful contrast to the blue sea at the cove.

Cormorant

While this bird may be common in other areas, here in Clark County they are an unusual sight….especially one that allows a photo session.

Interesting Hummingbird Behavior

This young Ruby-Throated Hummingbird male was guarding his territory, when a young female decided to perch on one of his favorite snags. He quickly flew in and grasped her beak with his foot….snatching her off of the perch. That’ll teach her!

Dayton Dragons at KOA

The Dayton KOA campground has a small fishing pond which turned out to be a great spot for photographing dragonflies…..including the Eastern Amberwing playing peek-a-boo with his shadow….

Hummers

Late summer is my favorite time for hummingbird photography. Cicadia, crickets and katydids provide a lovely background for the buzz of the hummers’ wings.
A Ruby-Throated male has been around our Trumpet vines all summer, and he’s sooooo territorial. I was trying to photograph a female, but each time one came near my setup, he headed her off and sent her packing!

Colorful Birds

I was able to spend a short time at George Rogers Clark Park….was able to see Northern Parula, Blue Headed Vireo, and Indigo Bunting.

Magee Warblers

We made our annual visit to the Magee Marsh/Crane Creek area just east of Toledo last week. As usual, the boardwalks were often packed, and birders and bird photographers lined up to see the spring migration along the Lake Erie shoreline.
Although the predicted fallout never materialized, there were still plenty of birds to go around and fill up memory cards.
This year, I spent a good deal of time photographing from the observation deck at the boardwalk main entrance. Not only did it help to lessen the impact of the crowds, but the backgrounds are cleaner and the light better.
I’ll be posting some of my favorite shots, including this American Redstart:

Yellowstone Wildlife

Here’s a little video of some of our favorite Yellowstone images…..

Kirtland's Warbler

A few days ago, birders began reporting a Kirtland’s warbler at 960 Kinnear Rd in Columbus. When I checked the address and street view in Google Maps, I saw that this was a business; and located in the midst of the OSU campus traffic.

Needless to say, I wasn’t wanting to use valuable gasoline and time to head to Columbus (about 40 miles) only to find that the bird had continues north to it’s breeding grounds in Michigan.

On the third day that the bird was sighted at the same location, I couldn’t resist and talked hubby into a road trip.

For those who don’t know, the Kirtland’s Warbler is a rare bird. Here are some facts:

The Kirtlands warbler was discovered along the Au Sable River in 1903.

It spends the winter in the Bahamas. It flies 1,100 miles one-way, twice a year.

During the 2010 annual census, a total of 1,773 singing males were counted, a decrease from 1,826 in 2009.

The total count included 1,747 from Michigan with an additional 23 males observed in Wisconsin, and 3 males observed in Ontario, Canada.

The Kirtlands warbler was one of the first species to be listed on the Endangered Species List when it was enacted by Congress in 1973.

When we arrived, there were several birders observing the bird, who was in the tree (above the blue car in the photo) happily hoping about consuming seed pods. I was able to snap several images; even though directly under him, cars and trucks continually passed….with may curious questions as to what we were looking at. An emergency vehicle even passed under him, with sirens full blast….yet he stayed put and kept up with his feast.

Here are a few of my favorite images:

Garganey

The Ohio Birds Listserve was busy with postings about a sighting of a Garganey over the weekend. One of the posts stated that the last Garganey sighting was in 1994. Not having much else to do on a gray Ohio day, we decided to drive down to Harrison County, to the Fernald Preserve.
We were able to view the duck and to get a few images; though the light was poor and he stayed on the far side of the pond. Even so, it was well worth the drive to be able to see this duck!

Migrants are here!

Migrants are passing through and a beautiful spring day had them all singing! David & I had plenty to do around the house, but couldn’t miss an opportunity to be out seeing what changes the season had brought…..
A visit to Buck Creek State Park proved productive….we saw and photographed a Pine Warbler in the woods below the Overview.
 bit further on the trail, we heard Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers, and were able to call a couple of these delightful little birds in fairly close.

Down at the Prairieview area, we heard a Yellow Warbler, and were able to get a few shots