If you would like to join me for my Feathers on Friday meme, please put the link to your blog post in the comments and I’ll add the link to my post.
I photographed this female Wilson’s Phalorope the other day as I was trying to photograph the Cinnamon Teal, but the phalaropes were more accommodating!
Nikon D610, handheld, f5.6, 1/800, ISO 100, Nikkor 200-500mm, natural light
More Feathers on Friday Posts:
Early Friday afternoon, I took my camera, scope, and binoculars with me to the slough across the road from our house. I was hoping to find some shorebirds feeding in the reeds and along the mudflats.
As I got close to the mudflats, I could see two American Avocets, three Killdeer, a flock of Long-billed Dowitchers, eight Lesser and five Greater Yellowlegs. I set up my scope and was looking closely at A large flock of Long-billed Dowitchers, when [as I was looking at them I noticed nine birds that looked different. I then realized that those nine birds were Stilt Sandpipers. I also was able to find two Willets, six Wilson’s Phalaropes, and seven Least Sandpipers.
I spent almost an hour looking at the shorebirds and the various ducks on the slough, but had to get home as my mom and I were leaving for town to deliver eggs.
Upon our return, I walked back out to the slough, but this time I walked through the woods to the east end of the slough. There were very few birds in the woods, but I saw my “first of season” Least Flycatcher feeding at the top of some poplars.
When I walked out of the woods I could see that there were more dowitchers feeding on the north side of the slough. I looked through my scope and was able to see very clearly more than 20 Red-necked Phalaropes feeding with the dowitchers, and also a pair of Cinnamon Teals. I then looked to the left and saw two avocet-sized birds with bright pink legs, and a black-and-white body — the birds were Black-necked Stilts! I’ve seen Black-necked Stilts on this slough before, but they’re not very common for this area, so I was so happy to see these beautiful birds again.
I wasn’t able to get any decent photos of the Black-necked Stilts or Red-necked Phalaropes as they were too far away and the light was very low.
In total, I was able to find 12 species of shorebirds on Friday: American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt, Killdeer, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Willet, Stilt Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson’s Phalarope, Red-necked Phalarope, Least Sandpiper, and Solitary Sandpiper.
Least Sandpipers preening,
Two Willets and a Lesser Yellowlegs,
A female Wilson’s Phalarope,
Stilt Sandpiper,
Long-billed Dowitchers and Stilt Sandpipers,
American Avocet, Lesser Yellowlegs, Long-billed Dowitchers, and Stilt Sandpipers,
I haven’t been able to go on long birding walks for quite some time because of busy days, late nights, farming, and trying to catch up on sleep on weekends, but I went on a two-hour walk early Sunday morning! Because our Spring got a late start, the shorebird migration has just beun and most of the resident passerines have arrived including the Baltimore Orioles, House Wrens, Common Yellowthroats, Yellow Warblers, and Least Flycatchers.
The view across the road, early Sunday morning,
A male Bufflehead (digiscoped),
On my walk I saw many Wilson’s Phalaropes; here is a female phalarope (digiscoped),
A White-throated Sparrow (digiscoped),
A Morel Mushroom,
I was playing hide and seek with this male Baltimore Oriole,
A female Common Goldeneye (digiscoped),
The American Goldfinches just started to arrive,
Chipping Sparrow,
The weather has been very warm here and the mosquitoes are very bad, which makes birding less fun than it could be. But it’s still great to get out and go birding. This coming week and next week I’m going to be busy with 4H beef club and getting my cattle ready for the show and sale, so I won’t be birding or posting much.
(I probably won’t have a Mammals on Monday post because I’ll be with my own mammals at our 4H beef club achievement day.)
On Tuesday afternoon on the first of two days of soaking rains, I saw this pair of Wilson’s Phalaropes,
Prairie Birder 