Various Birds In The Area

Aside from the Cardinal and the Warblers (see previous posts), various other birds have graced the area where I bird-watch.  Here are many that I was happy to see during these last two months.

Chipping Sparrow, spizella passerina

Hermit Thrush, catharus guttatus

Brown Creeper, certhia americana

Eastern Phoebe, sayornis phoebe 

Brown Thrasher, toxostoma rufum 

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, sphyrapicus varius

White-throated Sparrow, zonotrichia albicollis

White-crowned Sparrow, zonotrichia leucophrys

Canada Goose, Branta canadensis

Downy Woodpecker, dryobates pubescens

Least Flycatcher, empidonax minimus

Blue-headed Vireo, vireo solitarius

Rose-breasted Grosbeak, pheucticus ludovicianus

Red-eyed Vireo, vireo olivaceus

Baltimore Oriole, icterus galbula

Spring Warblers

I feel very lucky to have seen a number of warblers this spring but, at the same time, I am disappointed with my photo opportunities.  It seems that due to a hot and dry April, the flowering trees blossomed about 10 days early which meant that by the time the warblers arrived, the apple blossoms had already finished blooming and the petals had floated down like confetti.  This gave me no opportunity to get those coveted shots of a colourful bird framed by soft, pink or white flowers.

That said, here are several of the lovely, little birds (with or without flowers)!

Palm Warbler, setophaga palmarum 

Yellow Warbler, setophaga petechia 

Black and White Warbler, mniotilta varia 

Black-throated Blue Warbler, setophaga caerulescens

Northern Parula Warbler,  setophaga americana

American Redstart, setophaga ruticilla 

Magnolia Warbler, setophaga magnolia

Cardinal Collection

Having stalked Cardinals for years and only getting rather mediocre images, I was thrilled when this beautiful male cooperated for two and one-half hours with me on a morning in April! 

He was singing and strutting and putting on a captivating show.  In honour of his performance I thought I would dedicate an entire post to showing his beauty.

(Reminder:  to enlarge a photo, just click on it.)

More Photographs Of Cooper's Hawks

The Cooper's Hawks seem to be keeping a low profile these days.  Until a couple of weeks ago, I would see and/or hear one calling while the other was almost always on the nest.  Perhaps the serious business of incubating and hatching eggs has both their attention now.

I'm not sure whether I'll be able to get any good shots of the nest since it is quite obscured by foliage now so, unlike last year, I may only get shots of the young once they are fledged and flying about.

In the meantime, I thought I would post several photos taken earlier this year while the pair was nest building.  Also, I believe one of the young from last year decided to come back to the area.  I thought I was photographing an adult and then realized it was an immature.  The adult male drove it away, so I guess that's tough love in action!

Here is the immature hawk:

And below are shots of an adult in flight (with a twig for the nest in the last one):

To be continued ...

The Cooper's Hawks Are Nesting Again This Spring

 

I was excited to find that the Cooper's Hawks are nesting again in the cemetery.  (I am assuming it is the same pair as last spring).  This time they have chosen a different tree and have been working on the nest for a couple of weeks now.  I am not sure what kind of view I will have of the nestlings once the tree has leafed out but I'm hoping to be able to get at least a glimpse of them from time to time.

In the meantime I was very lucky to get some good shots of the hawks who kindly perched on lower branches and also some "action" shots.  I hope you like them as well as a 16 second video of the female hawk calling that you can see here.

The female

The male

Flying off the nest

The male hawk on the upper branch and the female on the lower branch

The hawk has just broken off this twig and is flying to the nest. 

On the nest

More photos will be coming as time goes by and hopefully some videos too.

An Easter Rabbit

This lovely little rabbit was found on Easter Sunday which was a repeat of last year when I found two rabbits in the same area (not far from home).  I watched this one pulling up grass in bundles, carrying it, and then pushing it down into a (presumed) den.  After that exertion, the rabbit hopped over to a tree and spent time grooming and then went to sleep.  

I managed to capture the grooming session on video.  It is quite cute to watch as it washes its face like a cat and even seems to clean its teeth.  It is one minute long and you may want to mute the sound to avoid wind noises and some background human voices.

Click here for the video.

Ice Creations

While waiting for the spring, I decided to go out looking for more ice formations to photograph.  

Here is a collection of what I found (with some whimsical titles added).  

Please click on an image to enlarge it.

Tree Of Squiggles

Shards

Midnight Thicket

Evergreen Stand Under A Van Gogh Sky

Big Bang

Ice Tracks

Moonlit Trees

Oh No!

Enchanted Forest

Indigo Trees Under A Misshapen Moon

Empty Canoe On Turbulent Waters