Warm day for some Spring Birds

One of the advantages  of my job is being able to get out "in the field" every now and then.  Today I had to walk a very large site which may potentially be developed as a solar farm as well as check out a piece of Open Space to ensure no dumping has occurred, check on the status of the vegetation and see if I could spot any new species for that location.  As a bonus, I was able to go visit the Bald Eagle nest at lunch - though it was probably 10 degrees cooler down by the water!


The first site wasn't too thrilling - very thick woods.  I wasn't expecting to see anything, especially this early in spring but there's always the potential for nesting owls or a fox den, however the habitat isn't quite right for fox (at least where I walked).  I did hear one distinct call - a very notable trill but couldn't figure it out.  As luck would have it, a friend of mine posted a video on facebook later in the day with audio of the same call, and with the help of others we determined it to be the aptly named Pine Warbler.  Reading this blurb from Cornell's website certainly confirms this is the bird I was hearing:

The best way to find Pine Warblers is to narrow them down by habitat and voice. Head for a pine forest in the eastern United States (check a range map for specifics), and then listen for a clear, steady, trilling song. Chipping Sparrows and 

Dark-eyed Juncos sound very similar and can occur in the same habitats, so be aware you might find these birds instead. Pine Warblers tend to stay high in pines and can be obscured by tufts of needles, but a bit of patience is likely to be rewarded.

When I got to the second site (AKA lunch spot) I enjoyed a sandwich waterside while observing the osprey on their still shabby looking nest.  One of the birds brought some nesting material before disappearing and I could see an Eagle on the nest in the distance.  After lunch I observed the Osprey fiddling with some twigs in the nest, adjusting their position.  It's really incredible to look at the construction of these things and imagine them being put together by talons and beaks.  I spent quite a bit of time scanning the surroundings my new Nikon binoculars - but couldn't locate the "Adult" Eagle anywhere.  It was confirmed that it wasn't anywhere near me when another pair of osprey (I believe nesting to the west of the Eagles) soared high in the sky chirping very loudly.  If the Adult BE was around it probably would have made its presence known.

Since the tide was low, I was able to take advantage of a spit of sand that juts out into the creek which was covered with just a couple inches of water.  My new waterproof Salamon hiking shoes (which I bought for an upcoming trip) worked as advertised - submerged in about 3 inches of water and not a drop on the inside.  So much better than lugging some overshoes or wading boots around... As I scanned the marsh again (where I saw the Eagle on Friday) I watched as 4 Great Blue Herons landed.  I thought this to be odd, because aside from maybe seeing two together in a marsh, I'd never seen these birds together (especially not flying together).  A quick check of Cornell's website shows that
these birds are solitary except when on migration - so there you have it!

I re-located the two Osprey - busy preening on a snag across the creek, near the Eagle nest.  Not sure if this was intentional or not, but likely making their continual presence and "ownership" of the area known.  With my lunch break over, I headed out to a property known as "Pheasant Meadow" which Brookhaven Town purchased in conjunction with Suffolk County and preserves as a meadow habitat. The property has a wide variety of wildlife (I'll include the list I've made later if I can remember to find it) and is a unique habitat worth talking a walk through if you're in the area.  I wouldn't be surprised if Eagle's began nesting on the southern tip (known as Haven's Estate) within the next 5 years due to the habitat and location.  While wildlife wasn't terribly abundant here - I did see one raptor though couldn't ID it and spent a few minutes photographing the very active Tree Swallows, including 1 who was very curious about a nest box that the Eastern Long Island Audubon Society (ELIAS) had erected.

I love when an opportunity like this presents itself.  With more time and my tripod I could have gotten the "perfect shot" but I'll take what I got considering.  Whenever a bird returns to a perch consistently, and you have good lighting behind you - you pre-focus your camera and wait until the bird approaches before firing off shots.  Sure, 9 out of 10 will be terrible, but sometimes you get lucky!  With at tripod and a remote trigger, this is really easy because you don't have to hold the camera and have both eyes available to see when the bird comes back to the perch.  I hope to try this again sometime soon with even better results.

As my time int he field would down I got two new birds for the property on my way out - a Northern Flicker and a Purple Finch.  And lastly I heard a rustling that I knew I wasn't responsible for and looked down to find this little guy:

Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge

I've been spending quite a bit of time at Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge lately because of a fox den that is located in an area of grasslands that's easily accessible.  I'd never photographed a fox until this week so it's quite exciting for me.  As an added bonus, I've been able to photograph some birds in a new setting (since this area is not a place I've frequented much in the past).  As you can see above, I was lucky enough to photograph a Peregrine Falcon this past thursday (a female, based on size) at the mouth of the Carmans river via boat.  Today I spent a little time waiting for the fox (only 1 kit showed) so I spent the rest of the time photographing the birds that were hanging around.  Enjoy.

Osprey (part of a nesting pair):

A Snowy Egret flew over against the overcast sky:

Lastly, a Tree Swallow sat patiently near a nesting box:

To learn more about the birds and mammals you can find on Long IslandI highly recommend John Turner's Exploring the Other Island: A seasonal guide to nature on Long Island

Sunrise at EPCAL

Harriers and Meadowlarks:
I woke up ridiculously early this morning to get to EPCAL in hopes of seeing a good variety of birds in addition to a skunk that was seen recently.  Unfortunately the weather is going through a bit of a cold spell and it was about 25* this morning - likely spoiling my chances for seeing a skunk ambling around but it didn't prevent the birds from putting on quite a show.

The first thing I saw when I arrived was a Northern Harrier perched on some vegetation all the way on the South end of the runway.  Would have been nice to get closer but the lighting makes up for it a bit:

Back at the entrance to the taxiway on the northern end of the property was an Eastern Meadowlark which I found to be quite scarce today in contrast with my first visit:

Back to the South end and the Harrier was annoyed by a murder of American Crows that were hanging out - the Harrier (a juvenile) tried out several perches perhaps trying to figure out what to do about these annoying raucous birds:

It didn't take long for the Harrier to decide to give the Crows a run for their money and chase off the most annoying of the bunch:

... it wasn't long before the Crow tried to turn the tables:

Bluebirds and more:
After driving around a bit I noticed some movement to the West of the end of the tarmac and spotted an Eastern Bluebird checking out the many nesting boxes setup.  I went for a walk and was surprised to not only find a few handsome male Bluebirds but a cooperative American Robin, and even better, 2 Tree Swallows who were probably far to cold to think about wasting energy flying.

and the 2nd Swallow. . .

As I took a few more loops around the runway/taxiway I spotted a female Northern Harrier perched on the ground and thought for sure it would bolt as soon as I stopped but it surprisingly stayed still.  I got into a better position - assuring I could get catchlight if I got the proper head turn.  I wasn't worried about getting closer so it would fill the frame as I knew it would take off eventually (the wind seemed to be bothering it) and had to leave room for the wings to move around in the frame.  The results are the best Harrier shots I have taken (after about 2 years of frustrating "practice" along Dune Rd" but still lack the catchlight on the eye:

Ready....

Takeoff!

And soar...

An American Kestrel was hunting in its "usual" place but was quite a distance away.  The auto-focus was struggling to keep focus because of the small size of the subject so I had to rely on manual focus for this shot - which I must say I'm pretty proud of.  Too bad the background isn't more pleasing.

More Swallows:

I was just about to leave when I saw a flock of Tree Swallows flying above the pond at the entrance to EPCAL and thought I'd see what I could get.  To my surprise, 3 Barn Swallows were mixed in the flock.  The lighting was getting a bit harsh at this point and I couldn't get the angle I wanted for most shots but still the best ones I have of this species together.

One of the Tree Swallows was checking out the nesting box to see if it was suitable.  Tree Swallows and Eastern Bluebirds will nest adjacent to one another - but once a Tree Swallow has occupied a nesting box, it won't let another couple of the same species nest nearby, thus allowing the Eastern Bluebirds (who nest later in the spring than many birds) a chance to move in.  

Phragmites may be annoying and "ugly" but it creates a perfect perch for these light birds: