Back Walking Mead Garden

With migration picking up I had to head back out to Mead Botanical Garden at least for a little while. Once I stepped out of the car I noticed a bird very high in the trees and tried to track it. It suddenly took oft the south but landed on an exposed branch. It wasn't until then that I realized it was a Scarlet Tanager! Not very common this time of year.



As I reached the bend in the creek I was greeted by a large Great Blue Heron trying to nap.



Over at the pond I searched for warblers but all I could see was a Red-eyed Vireo. At least it was a passible photo for once. They fly so quickly behind leaves while feeding.



High above us, another Great Blue Heron peered out across the landscape.



I searched for the Acadian Flycatcher I saw on my last visit but instead there was only a Common Yellowthroat at the cypress trees.



Nothing else in this side of the park held my interest so I started back toward the car. When I reached the cement bridge a Wood Stork and I surprised one another. I took a photo. It sulked away into the trees.



Down along the creek, a bale of Turtles rested on a log.



I heard some loud chips up in a palm tree and after a bit of circling found a Yellow-throated Warbler racing from frond to frond in search of a meal.



A small feeding flock rushed to the nearby trees and snapped away at insects. You can hardly miss the Blue-gray Gnatcatchers as they flit about.



Tufted Titmice are usually heard first and then are rather brave about feeding close to people walking by.



A Downy Woodpecker was not grabbing bugs but caching nuts for the Winter.



I was exiting the property when I heard a lot of birds mobbing...something. Moving back inside the fence I found one of our Barred Owls just hanging around under the shade.



Numerous Yellow Warblers were yelling at the owl but hard to get in the best light.



I headed home but swung through the cemetery just for a check. Look who I found. Our Bald Eagles are returning to the nest.



A fun walk but not too many interesting things. Started and ended on high notes so I guess I can't complain.

Big Migration Push!

My neck hurts...

Here we are, at the end of April, and birds have been sparse. Until this morning! Birds everywhere. I was planning on getting more things done but that would prove difficult as every step outdoors lead to a new discovery. Bird sound was all around the house beginning at dawn when I filled the feeders and small birds were cruising from limb to limb.

It was almost hard to ID certain birds as they moved so quickly but I jotted down all of the locals and then thought of getting to the others soon. Then, my wife reported a bird she saw as she stepped out back for a minute that was very 'cute' and tried to describe it. I couldn't track it back down but then soon discovered 2 female Black-throated Blues by the back fence. Had to be them.

I later went out and photographed a male overhead.



Unfortunately, most birds were only seen for underneath as they fed high in the oaks. There were Worm-eating Warblers (that don't eat worms, BTW), Red-eyed Vireos, Palm Warblers, and very many others I was chasing from yard to yard.

Eventually, I did get some shots of the Blackpoll Warblers moving about like this male.



Then I got a shot of its launch into space searching for more food.



And what is that creeping along the branches? Why, a Black and White Warbler, of course. They are easily ID'd by this feeding behavior.



Back at the kitchen feeder, the web cam caught some other birds feeding down low. Like our bright male red variant House Finch.



Sneaking in through the shadows was one of the gregarious Titmice who only paused for a quick bite and then bolted for the trees.



Then the female House Finches showed up.



Though fairly drab, as female birds typically are, they are very nicely plumed.



Later in the day, I paused from some yard work and settled into a chair out back and began scanning the trees again. Against the blue sly and green oaks I saw a sudden flash of red. Huh? Other than Cardinals, we do not have red birds in the yard. I had a hunch but had to get a shot to be sure, the bird being so far up in the canopy.

I rushed into the house and shouted what I thought it was and it turned out to be true. A Scarlet Tanager!



A first for our yard records! Scarlet Tanagers are unmistakable with their bright red forms and black wings. I have only seen them at Fort DeSoto and Mead Garden. This was a real thrill.



Down at ground level, I paused to get a shot of the Walking Iris that are blooming like mad in the shade. They are blooming every other day in great profusion.



Over at nearby Lake Lancaster, breeding plumed White Ibis roam the lake's edge.



Up in the oaks lining the lake, Blackpoll Warblers and Palm Warblers cruise for snacks. Birds everywhere!



I won't post a full list but the remaining bird I didn't get a shot of was a Hermit Thrush which showed up in the yard just before sundown.

Whew! What a day!! I have never seen so many different species of birds moving North in our yard ever. It was a very interesting day but a sad reminder that all of these beautiful birds will soon be gone for many, many months to start a new cycle again. Now we have to settle into the approaching Summer and just our local birds.

Though I love them just as much.

Voined the Choir Invisible

Got to work and had a co-worker tell me he just saw a dead bird in the smoking area. I asked for him to describe it and as usual, non-birders tend to be unsure of what they actually saw.

"Kind of yellow," was about all I got. I asked how big. The size he showed me was bigger than what I had a theory about. Suddenly, I was now thinking Tanager instead of warbler.

I hurriedly grabbed my camera and asked him to show me where it was. He had moved it to a trash can so I dug it out as a few smokers looked on in a mixture of interest and disgust. I had to explain that I band birds and wanted a photo of whatever had met it's fate.

Sure enough, a first year Scarlet Tanager. If it would have survived it would eventually turn a brilliant scarlet red. However, these tinted windows of our complex can often seem like a straight path through the trees to some birds.

Looks almost alive, eh?



Alas, another victim of man-made illusions.