Mountain Bluebird

This morning I set out to find the Mountain Bluebird that has been present in the Calverton area for approximately a week. There were a few other birders who were out there as well which helped because one of them located it along the fencing at the Haunted House on 25A and alerted me to it. While the bird didn't come nearly as close as I'd hoped, it was still a pleasure to photograph this rare visitor from the West.

Since I was out and about I figured I'd try and see if anything else of interest was around. Some time at EPCAL produced a flock of Eastern Meadowlarks and a handful of Savannah Sparrows - but there were some raptors as well. Two Red-tailed hawks were perched in a tree next to each other, Northern Harriers were hunting near the runways and a couple American Kestrels were seen including this one which was a bit more cooperative than usual.

In addition to the above mentioned birds were a couple male Eastern Bluebirds (which were far more attractive than the drab Mountain Bluebird).  Another Red-tailed hawk was spotted on a light pole in Aquebogue, and I had time for a brief visit to the new North Fork Preserve Suffolk County Park which yielded a Red-tailed hawk being chased by a Cooper's. All in all a nice cold winter day with some raptors and a species of bird that's new to me.

For more on birds that can be found around Long Island - check out this book by John Turner: Exploring the Other Island: A seasonal guide to nature on Long Island

Juvenile Cooper's Hawk

f/8, 1/1000s, ISO 400, Full Frame

I skipped out of work a little early to enjoy the sunshine (since it's been such a rare event this winter) and try and find a Short Eared Owl which has been seen sparingly along Dune Rd. in recent weeks.  Well surprise surprise no owl (I've yet to find one while in the act of pursuing one) but my trip was salvaged by a cooperative juvenile Cooper's Hawk perched on a telephone line directly north of the Tiana Beach parking lot.  The bird hungout for a little but when I tried to drive past it and continue east it took off into the thickets not to be seen again.  (Below is a quick video - not terribly exciting!)

I'm far from an expert on birds but it seems to me that there has been an increase in the number of Cooper's Hawks seen along Dune Rd. during non-migration times which is not their standard habitat.  Certainly during fall migration, Cooper's Hawks are seen in good numbers at places like the Robert Moses Hawk Watch but I find it interesting that these birds are frequenting the Dunes and marshes of Hampton Bays and East Quogue and competing with the likes of Northern Harriers, Merlins and Peregrines for prey.  If anyone knows more or wants to weigh in feel free to leave a comment.  In my opinion Cooper's Hawks have been expanding their range to include the barrier beaches at least on a very local scale.  Below are two images from last winter of an Adult Cooper's Hawk chasing off a Northern Harrier about 1/4 mile West of where the above bird was seen.

 Full Extension from the Cooper's:

For those looking for a good book to help you ID birds (and not just raptors) I use a few but to nail down the ID of this particular juv. Cooper's Hawk (which can be tough given their similarities to Sharp-Shinned Hawks) I used Peterson Field Guide to Birds of North America which I highly recommend (book review to come!)

 

Montauk Morning

This morning I was up at 5:20 to make it to Montauk for sunrise.  It's not an easy thing to do (especially since I'm incapable of going to bed before midnight) but it's worth it because you get lighting that you just can't get during the day... or even an hour after sunrise as evidenced by the photo above.  The sun was just a few minutes over the horizon and not yet over the southern cliffs of Montauk which created a beautiful glow.  The out-of-focus pink in the background is comprised of marshland grasses and the dune.  Any other time during the day this would be rendered as a very dull brown.  The other advantage to sunrise (especially when compared to sunset) is that you get the best lighting for the first hour or so, and can continue shooting with decent light.  The same of course isn't true for sunset... once it gets too dark, you have to pack it in for the day, thus the morning gives you more opportunities especially if you come across a patient subject (which this Cooper's Hawk was not!) While walking the trail headed toward the seal haulout site (it was too rough for seals to be lounging on the rocks unfortunately) I turned a corner and came basically face to face with this juvenile hawk and I think we were both a little surprised...

A few moments before my run-in with the hawk, this ring-necked pheasant crossed my path.  Would have liked more light so I didn't have to boost my ISO to 2000 (which would be nothing on a D3s, but is pushing it on a D300s) but I'll take it.  I rarely see these birds out in the open like this, so it was a nice opportunity.

The beautiful morning light continued to pay off with the way it lit up the breast of this ring-billed gull:

There are a few gulls in this image (if you look hard!) so I'm going to include it in this blog.... I couldn't resist a shot of the lighthouse with such an intense glow.

I like this shot of an American Robin in flight because small birds are so hard to get flying... aside from being diminutive, they are just so quick and like to tuck their wings in which makes for a weird picture of a torpedo shaped bird... so at least this bird gave me a nice little extension.

While the seas were rough, a few Common Eiders were hanging out.  I don't care much for the composition of this photo, but the colors on the sea foam are enticing

The last bird of interest I found at Montauk (it was quite slow) was this black-capped chickadee that was a little cooperative, but it wouldn't go onto a cleaner looking branch for me.  I guess it's a good representation of their habitat....

After I left 'The End' I headed to Water Mill to a spot that is always reliable for good winter waterfowl.  It's a private road, so I'm not exactly "allowed" to be there, but there is only one year-round resident who doesn't mind my presence... the year-rounder also feeds the ducks/geese which helps bring in some of the waterfowl.  Being that it's early in the season, the only bird of interest in attendance were Ruddy Ducks but I also took a head-shot of this female mallard.

And the Ruddy...

More from Jones Beach

Here are some more images from last weekend at Jones Beach.  Hopefully the weather will be good at some point this weekend and I can improve on my flight shots.  Above: Merlin in flight

 Above: A merlin feasts on a small bird for breakfast.  Below: Merlin stooping

 Adjusting its angle:

 Sharp-Shinned Hawk pursuing the Merlin:

 Done chasing and heading toward the ocean:

Coots, Ducks, Kingfishers and Dueling Hawks

Coots and a Gull to Boot:
Lake Agawan was free of Northern Shovelers, but the 3 Coots from last weekend were still hanging out along the western side.  I was able to sit down on some concrete along the Lakes edge and waited until the Coots swam by.  Since they seem to come quite close to me, I'll try the 105mm Macro + 1.7X TC next time around to try and eke out a little more detail.  One advantage to overcast skies is it really can bring out details that otherwise wouldn't be seen because of the strong glare of the sun.

The Gulls were fighting over bread that people were feeding them.  This one had lost the fight and was flying back to where the action was happening, lucky for me it was right in front of my camera:   

Lots of Ducks:
A stop Mecox Bay produced Canvasback Ducks, Greater Scaup and Hooded Mergansers, all of which were quite shy and scared easily.  The Canvasback Duck is similar to the Redheaded Duck, and at a distance it is tough to distinguish the two.  Redheads are smaller with a shorter bill and a golden eye, whereas the Canvasback Duck has a red eye.  Additionally, the male Canvasback Duck has a mostly white body, compared to the grey body of a Redhead.

The Greater Scaup is also another species which can be tough to ID at first.  It looks nearly identical to the Lesser Scaup as well as the Ring-Necked Duck and if you're really far away it could be confused with a Goldeneye.  The easiest way to tell the difference between the Greater and Lesser Scaup is by looking at the iridescence on the head which is purple in the Lesser and Green in the Greater.

Shinnecock Canal:
I've never stopped at the Shinnecock Canal to photograph birds before, but as I drove over Montauk Hwy. I noticed a lot of gulls, many of which were feeding and thought perhaps there would be an unusual species (not liek I could pick it out as they all look so similar).  Well, none of the gulls stood out to me, however I did find this female Red-breasted Merganser fighting the ripping current in the canal.

Dune Rd. produces again:
The Shinnecock Inlet seemed to have less action than the canal, however it DID have 8 surfers and body borders hoping to catch some of the wild incoming waves that poured into Shinnecock Bay.  While this isn't unheard of, it's pretty unusual to see and by the looks of it they weren't too successful.  On the other hand, it was a much easier go than surfing the ocean which was a mess from this latest storm.  (sorry for no photos of the surfers, but this is a bird photography blog!)

ALMOST the 2nd Best Photos I've Ever Taken:
As I continued along Dune Rd. though, I found a kingfisher and the sun was trying to peak out so I parked the car and tried to take some shots when it took off and landed on this log.  I was hoping for a photo akin to the female kingfisher shot I had back in early January that was calling out in the foggy air - but my autofocus  was off a little and none of the shots came out as sharp as I would have liked.  The Kingfisher eventually took off and started flying west which is where I was headed anyway so I drove along the flooded Dune Rd. keeping my eyes peeled for Harriers.  I saw one on the south side of the road and stopped as it landed on the ground.  As I took my camera out it flew into the air and I heard the kingfisher calling.

At first I thought the kingfisher had flown to the south side of the road and caught the interest of the Harrier when I saw a 2nd Hawk (which I presumed to be a harrier as well) take off and attempt to spar with the first.  I kept my finger on the trigger hoping for the best, when the first Harrier broke off and started flying west which I then put myself into a position to photography.  It's not unusual to see Northern Harriers get into these types of arguments, particularly along Dune Rd. where 3 or 4 of them spend their winter.  When I got home and looked at the shots (aside from being disappointed at the quality, deleting most of them) I realized it was not TWO Norther Harriers, but a Cooper's Hawk and a Northern Harrier.  What's more is the Cooper's Hawk was chasing off the Harrier!  Talk about unusual.  Cooper's Hawks generally hangout in the woods (or along the fringe of the woods) and are a rare sighting along the ocean like this.  Also the hawks are both about the same size (the Harrier has a slight size advantage), but I would speculate the Harrier is the better flier and certainly it was THERE territory, not the Cooper's.  Either way, an interesting interaction that I was happy to witness and photograph.  

I had to delete all but these 2 shots, which aren't that spectacular from a technical standpoint, as my focus and shutter speed were both inadequate.  This is NOT the same problem I had experienced last week, and in fact was a result of the poor lighting conditions, fast action and wrong settings (as I didn't anticipate needing a SS of 1/2500+).  Last weeks problem seems to have been solved as it appears the connection between the lenses was a little loose - hopefully it won't rear its ugly head again.  I continued to photograph the Harrier which gave me a few close ups and these are by far the sharpest photos I've gotten of this Hawk.  I can't wait to see what Dune Rd. produces next time.