Strutting and dust baths

As promised, here is the video of the tom and his hens doing there thing, enjoy!!

Share with your friends, give them the link to my blog!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks!

I live for days like this!!

This past Monday, May 21, I had an opportunity to help a graduate student conduct bird surveys in the area. I was asked to keep location information confidential to help protect her sites, so unfortunately I cannot give locations on my sightings or new ticks. What I can tell you, the species that we observed and heard, and that I am really excited to get back out there! We met at 06:00 Monday morning, and drove for a ways to a parking area. We then parked, packed up our gear, and began our hike towards her study plots. We got to the plots a little after 07:00, and she went through the survey sheets, protocol, etc. She told me that we needed to be spaced out a little bit, and we would let everything settle for a little while before starting the stop watch for our survey. The stop watch is set for 3 minutes, and any bird that you see or hear, you tally. So I am sitting with my back to the woods line, about 30 yards away, and she was about 40 yards in front of me. I heard something in the woods behind me, and thought that maybe it was a small mammal. As it got closer, it got louder, and louder, and louder. I thought maybe an elk....? Then a gorgeous big black head came out from around a pine tree. I have been this close to bears, but they have never walked up on me within this range. My first thought, why don't I have my camera! Second thought, I hope that's not a sow with cubs... I turned and looked at Andie, and this is what I saw...

Edvard Munch's "The Scream"

The bear lifted his nose into the air, and started taking in deep breaths. He knew we were there. Andie asked what to do and I figured just hold still. The bear walked way out around us, and I tried for some pictures with my iPhone, but this is all I could get.

Look closely

Here you see his back and rump

this is the only shot that I got of the head of the bear, he was every bit of 400 pounds!

I carried my camera for the rest of the surveys, I also told Andie, that next time I was also going to carry my gun.. Anyhow, at the first two plots we did well. Within the three minutes of the first survey I tallied a blue jay, song sparrow, american crow, american robin, gray catbird, two common yellow throats, and an eastern towhee. At the second plot, about 150 meters away, I tallied a song sparrow, american robin, eastern towhee, and a black and white warbler, which Andie pointed out. She heard chestnut sided warblers and red-eyed vireos at both plots along with all species that i tallied. We then moved to the second site. I tallied a song sparrow, red winged blackbirds, a male mallard, family of canada geese chestnut sided warbler, and eastern towhee at the first plot, and a mallard, american crow, red winged blackbird, wild turkey, eastern towhee, field sparrow, common yellow throat, and song sparrow at the second plot. I had allot of fun birding with Andie, we saw allot of cool things, and everything went very smoothly. I'm really excited to get back out there to conduct another survey!!

 As I said, I cannot give detailed information of locations, so I was really trying to pick up these species where I could give that information. So when Andie dropped me off at my jeep, I headed for the DuBois Reservoir. On the way, I stopped at the wetlands along Platt Road to snap a few pictures at a Great Blue Heron perched in a tree.

Great Blue Heron

While shooting the heron, a Gray Catbird calling behind me caught my attention, I never got a shot of the bird, but I got a few good shots of Yellow Warblers. Such a brilliant bird!

Male Yellow Warbler

Male Yellow Warbler

I saw an Eastern Kingbird, and wanted to get some photos of him. But he flew just as I snapped the shot. Leaving me with this...

Eastern Kingbird

There were tons of green frogs, bull frogs and peepers in the wetlands.

Green Frog

I heard some killdeer on the rail road just up the road from where I parked, so I went in! It's amazing the camouflage that these birds have!! I have found that the best way to get looks at these guys is to crotch as low to the ground as possible, and wait for movement. How many can you find?

Killdeer

Killdeer, there are three in each photo

After spending about an hour at the Platt Road wetlands, I made my way to the reservoir. When I got there, I didn't see or hear to much from the causeway. So I went up Anderson Creek road to the other end, where I shot this Great Blue Heron.

Great Blue Heron

I parked my jeep and began to walk real slow, stopping every ten feet or so to listen. I am trying to do my best to hear birds and identify them before I see them to work on my birding by ear skills. As soon as I got out of my car, meeeeeew. Gray Catbird, day one stuff.

Gray Catbird

I took a few photos of the gray catbird, and proceeded on my slow walk. I heard allot of calls, most I was familiar with. But one caught my attention, I have heard it, I should know this. I waited for the bird to come from the thick shrubs and trees, but it never did. So I walked a little closer, and waited. I was catching quick glimpses of the bird, and concluded that it was a species of vireo. So, I pulled out my trusty iPod touch, and opened my Audubon Birds App.

The mystery bird catching some kind of larvae

Finally, the Vireo showed itself. Red-Eyed Vireo. One of the birds from the survey that is a new tick for my year list! I watched the bird hunt and pick insects from leaves and shrubs, while listening to the vocals.

Red-Eyed Vireo with an insect

While I was watching the Vireo, I heard the familiar zeeee zeeee of a group of Cedar Waxwings, another bird from the survey that morning, which was also a new tick for my year.

Cedar Waxwings

Then, almost immediately after spotting and shooting a single shot of the waxwings, I heard the witchity witchity witchity of the Common Yellowthroat, yet another new tick from the mourning survey! Yellowthroats are another brilliant looking bird, the way the yellow contrasts with the black mask, definitely a favorite of mine to see. This is the first common yellowthroat that I have ever photographed, other than the two males that were trapped in my garage last summer!

Common Yellowthroat

Common Yellowthroat

While I was shooting the yellowthroat, the vireo must have gotten jealous. He landed in a sapling within ten feet from me, and starting calling!

Red-eyed Vireo

Red-eyed Vireo

Red-eyed Vireo

Red-eyed Vireo

Other birds that were nice to see and hear on my walk were the redwinged blackbird, northern flicker, belted kingfisher, and the yellow warbler, to name a few. I left the reservoir after about an hour, and headed to Kyle Lake to try and pick up the shorebirds I spotted a few days prior while fishing, but didn't have my bins to get a look. I parked the jeep, and when I got to the spillway the birds flushed. So I set up shop in the high grass, and waited. Within a few minutes the birds came back to forage on the spillway, spotted sandpipers. As I was waiting for the birds to come a little closer, a good sized watersnake glided RIGHT past one of the sandpipers.

Watersnake and Spotted Sandpiper

Watersnake

 The watersnake hung out in the weeds for a few minutes, and then slid back down the spillway and into the stone piles.

Watersnake

By this time, one of the sandpipers was a little closer.

Spotted Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpiper

Spotted Sandpiper

Some highlights while sitting near the spillway were common yellowthroats, redwinged blackbirds, and some great shots of a song sparrow.

Redwinged Blackbird

Song Sparrow

Song Sparrow

Please excuse the fabulous graffiti on the rocks in the background

I'm PRETTY sure that this is a dragonfly

After about an hour of hanging out at the spillway, I decided to walk out onto the Pier to glass for other waterbirds and waterfowl. I heard a redwinged blackbird, and a red-eyed vireo. It was extremely windy out though, so it was hard to hear much of anything. After about ten minutes of trying to make ducks and loons out of stumps and waves, I decided that my list was fair for the day, even though I didn't get another chestnut sided warbler to add to eBird. I did run into some turkey on the way home dust bathing and strutting though!!

Nice male wild turkey

I haven't seen a turkey dust bathe in years, probably since I was in elementary school. My dad would spread scratch feed outside my bedroom window so I would wake up in the morning for school. I have said it before, is it a wonder why I have chosen this life path?

Turkey dust bathing

I had an absolute BLAST last Monday. It was so relaxing, and exciting at the same time! Its days like this that i live for. I really looking forward to getting back out there with Andie to conduct more surveys. But, before we do that, I am going to spend my Memorial Day trapping and banding Northern Goshawks in the Allegheny National Forest!!!!!! So excited!! I also took a short video of this big old tom and his two hens, so stay tuned!!!!!!!!!!!

Pymatuning State Park: Day Two!

Well, the glass factory that I  worked at last summer called me back on May 8th, and this has been my first day off. So I haven't really had the time to finish my Pymatuning trip post. And today it was gorgeous outside and my buddy just got his first boat, so we did ourselves a little bass fishin'!! Did pretty well too, saw an osprey, a green heron, lots of song birds, and some shore birds that I didn't get a real good look at. ANYWAY! Day two of my trip to Pymatuning went pretty well. The Northern Flickers building their cavity woke me up before the coffee pot, Dad laughed when he saw me utilizing the pillow + quilt = ear plugs technology. The fishing was not great that day, and the birds weren't too active either. Mostly swallows, herons, gulls, terns, and cormorants.

Three Great Blue Herons

Adult Common Loons

Didn't see them until they were right over the boat..

Adult Bonaparte's Gull

Adult Bonaparte's Gull

Adult Bonaparte's Gull

Non-breeding Bonaparte's Gull

Non-breeding Bonaparte's Gull

2nd year Herring Gull

Canada geese and Gulls on the spillway

Check out all the carp on the left side!

Mixed Gulls

Mixed Gulls

Non-breeding Bonaparte's Gull

Non-breeding Bonaparte's Gull

Non-breeding Bonaparte's Gull

Non-breeding Bonaparte's Gull

Non-breeding Bonaparte's Gull

Non-breeding Bonaparte's Gull

As I said, the fishing wasn't great. So I felt like we should take a few shots of the big perch that I caught to make it look like we knew what we were doing. Yes dad, I said it. MY perch!! See how good of a son I am, even when I put the biggest fish in the livewell, I let my dad hold it!

My old man

Allot of people that I talk to think that cormorants are an ugly bird, which they kinda are. But when they are breeding, they have really pretty coloration on their face. I did my best to get a photo, but the only ones that got real close were juveniles! That will happen.

Adult Breeding Double-crested Cormorants

Juvenile Double-crested Cormorant

Juvenile Double-crested Cormorant

Non-breeding Bonaparte's Gull

We didn't fish much Sunday because we had to drive back home. We were on the lake around 8:30 am, and started packing it in about 3:00 pm. When we got back to the marina, I got a few photos of a Tree Swallow preening. Swallows are such a slick, pretty bird.

Tree Swallow

Tree Swallow

Tree Swallow

Tree Swallow

Tree Swallow

It's always hard to come back home after spending time up there. Even during "walleye week" when the walleye are hitting really good in June and we spend 2 weeks at camp, Dad gets to spend 2 weeks anyway. There are way to many memories on that lake and the camp ground to be able to up and leave without feeling a little bummed. When we were younger, dad would have a really hard time getting us to get in the truck. So he bribed us with ice cream. He says that we would sob the entire time we ate our sundaes, and be asleep before we hit the interstate. It was a great way to celebrate my birthday. Thanks Dad!!! Although the following weekend when he went up he hammered the walleyes... Since I'm back at the plant this summer working swing shift, I really doubt I will be able to do much photography or birding. But tomorrow I think I am going to try and get some looks at the shore birds that I saw today at Kyle Lake, maybe even get some photos!