Persistance and Luck

I'll try to be short on words right now.  It has been a long day and I have a lot of good photo results to edit.  Yesterday, I got a little smarter on the habits of the Eastern Bluebirds around the nest boxes.

Eastern Bluebird, male

So, this male has some favorite perches to watch the grass areas for insects. It just takes hours to learn which branches are the chosen ones.  I expect even better results soon.

 Began today at the Mundy Wildflower Garden on the Cornell campus.  I was thinking birds  until two very prime wildflowers caught my interest. To my delight, I met a new photographer friend, David, and we explored the area together.

Marsh Marigolds are actually in the buttercup family, but obviously someone thought they reminded them of marigolds.  Well, they got the marsh part pretty much right. They love the wet, squishy places.

I guess the Virginia Bluebells fare a little better in the name department.  They are blue, and they are found in Virginia.  Sounds better than New York Bluebells, eh?

This crazy spring weather  has been rough on some blooming plants, but it has been good to the Bluebells.  Can't recall them lasting so long or being so lush. On the negative side, I found the buds on some plants frozen into a mush.  No May Apple blooms in many cases.

Now, back to the birds.  After some unfavorable weather, a shift in the patterns has open the door for many small birds to come north, and on top of that, I just got lucky today. To be honest, we roamed the wildflower garden for at least two hours with no bird photos to show for it.  Heard them, saw them, but never got close. As we returned to the horticulture building with zero birds, we spotted activity in a flowering  apple tree. Then, I heard the piping calls of the Baltimore Orioles.  Not sure if they are eating the flowers or bugs on the flowers, but it was some sort of feast. This male put on a concert of his songs. Nice.

 

That pretty much made the efforts of the morning justified.  But, there was more, as a beautiful Northern Cardinal took a perch nearby.

The male Cardinal also showed interest in the flowering apple.

I would be fully satisfied with these results, but the apple tree also attracted a very small warbler that stayed high in the tree, nearly always hidden by branches.

I could not match the little bird's white eye ring with any warbler that I knew, and when I got home to study my bird guide, I discovered it is a Nashville Warbler, and a first for me.  (Birders get excited for firsts.) There are just so many warblers and sometimes the smallest detail is needed to separate the choices.  What a nice end to the outing.  The birding weatherman has predicted another big wave of warblers for tonight, and I am debating whether I have the energy to get up very early again.  Don't know right now.

Hope you enjoy my story and that it moves you to look outside your windows just a little tomorrow. Never know what will entertain you with a song or some bright color.

Paul



Note: I have loaded a wider set of high resolution photos for the Baltimore Oriole and Northern Cardinal on my SmugMug web galleries at:

http://pschmitt.smugmug.com/Birds/Perching-Birds/18761402_G84qx9#!i=1826082241&k=SZn9n7w

Ever Vigilant for Us

You rightly might wonder at the title for a blog on bird photography. ( I will explain.)  I remember when as a child, it was not worrisome to parents when their child went off alone to spend some time exploring the woods.  But, that was then and now it is different.  There are issues including the low lifes who brew illegal drugs in isolated places such as birders, hikers and photographers visit. They are not above any sort of violence.

This  morning, my chore list suggested to me that it was best to stay close to home for my photo outing.  I picked an abandoned road nearby, that tragically was the site where a New York trooper lost  his life to some drug-addict bank robbers. It has been transformed into a park to honor him, and all those who serve the public safety.  It was, and still is a haven for wildlife.

This  morning, I had found mostly Northern Cardinals, American Robins, and very vocal Song Sparrows. It was going slowly.  I heard many birds but they were not giving me many clear compositions.  Still, it was a great way to begin the day.  This one Northern Cardinal did peer at me through a very narrow opening. 

I had parked my car at an angle in the middle of the road to  face face a nice bit of bird cover and the Song Sparrows were there, but always inside the bushy cover. The road, being dead end now, is a favorite for the casual walker and the occasional fisherman who drives to the end to access the large pond that parallels the road. So, I keep an eye in my rear view mirror to be sure I  can pull over if anyone needs to pass.  I caught sight of a car close behind me and so I  pulled over to the side.  As I did, I saw that the driver, nicely dressed in a business suit, was getting out.  As he approached, he identified himself as New York State Police.  So, they keep watch on this special place, ever vigilant.  Reassuring to me.  We had a nice conversation and I noted that this place held special meaning to a lot of people who will never forget that tragic day in March.

The morning passed quickly with no spectacular results. There were many American Robins along the road, some even right next to the car, but only once did a Robin perch nicely for me.

Yes,  the Robin was that close.  Sometimes I realize that the most commonplace birds are missing in my files, so I am glad to get this image.  And, I am glad that the troopers keep a special watch on this park now.  The future of this park should be as a safe place to remember those who serve.

Paul