Fernhill Wetlands Archives -

Birds of 2013: Week 43

RidgetopFarm&Garden — Sun, 27 Oct 2013 08:28:58 +0000

Another trip to a wetlands area trying to identify a few new birds for my list.

Double-crested Cormorant

I was glad to see a few pelicans were still there.

American White Pelican

I was so excited to see this bird flying around. I thought for sure it was one I hadn’t logged yet. But, dang it, it ended up being a kingfisher, which I have logged. I guess I’ve only seen them sitting in trees & never flying around in search of lunch.

Ah, but this is a new bird!
Western Grebe

The kids took pics. too.

Thousands of geese are migrating.

Many coots were at the wetlands, as well.

I often see hawks. But, I’m terrible at figuring out exactly which species they are.

Occasionally I see an American Kestrel, but I haven’t been able to get a pic this year… until now.

Northern Flicker

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Hundreds of Northern Shovelers were around that day. They aren’t the prettiest bird with their huge bill & head always hunched in the water.

Ruddy Duck

Great Blue Heron

BIRD SPECIES SEEN IN 2013:

SEEN SO FAR = 92 of 100

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Birds of 2013: Week 37

RidgetopFarm&Garden — Sun, 22 Sep 2013 07:35:31 +0000

Just a couple days after I visited the wetlands alone, I came back with my kids. This time I had the time to explore a little more. I’m so glad my kids enjoy bird watching, too. It’s a fun thing for us to do together. For the first time in many weeks, I’m able to add more birds to my year-long list.

It was a beautiful day.

Brewer’s Blackbirds

Double-crested Cormorant

House Finch

European Starlings with Geese flying in.

American Goldfinch

Great Egret

Western Sandpipers

Pectoral Sandpiper

Least Sandpiper

Greater Yellowlegs in middle of photo

American White Pelican
By far, the most exciting sight of the day

Osprey

Northern Harrier

Wowzers! Identifying the shore birds was difficult, but I think I got them correct. I’m able to add 6 more birds to my list. Plus, I’m going to add in 2 other birds I’ve seen, but haven’t been able to photograph. They are the California Quail & American Kestrel. These latest additions bring my new total to 90 bird species noted this year. 10 more to go in a little over 3 months.

BIRD SPECIES SEEN IN 2013:

SEEN SO FAR = 90 of 100

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Birds of 2013: Week 36

RidgetopFarm&Garden — Sun, 15 Sep 2013 07:35:00 +0000

I finally made it back to the wetlands. I didn’t have a lot of time to explore, but it was nice to go. I was surprised to see how far the water level dropped over the summer. There were many Great Egrets & Great Blue Herons in the water that day. There were also a number of shore birds, which are new species for the year. However, I went back to the wetlands a few days later with my kids & snapped better pics of these birds, so I’ll add them to my tally when I do that post. Other than spotting the shore birds, it was an uneventful, short walk.

Great Blue Heron

Great Egrets

Eurasian Collared Doves

Brewer’s Blackbirds

Brewer’s Blackbird

BIRD SPECIES SEEN IN 2013:

SEEN SO FAR = 82 of 100

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Birds of 2013: Week 18

RidgetopFarm&Garden — Wed, 08 May 2013 04:59:05 +0000

Like I was afraid of, it is getting difficult to spot new birds. But, I did see something just as exciting at a wetlands area – 3 groups of baby geese. Most of the thousands of geese that I had seen earlier in the year were gone. This time I saw only a small group plus these 3 families.

Goose Family #1

Goose Family #2

Goose Family #3

The kids & I spotted a bald eagle in a tree on the other side of the pond, so we walked over to get a closer peek. It just sat in the tree minding its own business. So, we moved on to finish our walk. When we arrived back at the parking lot, about to leave, my oldest hollered, “Bald eagle!” He was right, the bald eagle was flying right toward us. It was awesome! It flew a huge circle around the pond, then went back to its tree.

I didn’t see any new birds this week, but I surely enjoyed the ones I did see.

BIRD SPECIES SEEN IN 2013:

SEEN SO FAR = 62 of 100

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Birds of 2013: Week 16

RidgetopFarm&Garden — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 04:31:57 +0000

I did make it out to a wetlands area this week, which was nice. Often I have at least one of my kids with me when I go somewhere, so I probably don’t notice as many birds as I might if I were by myself. But, it is nice to go for a walk with my kids & I’m glad they enjoy it, too. This time I had my daughter & she’s a talker. There was a nice guy who didn’t want to interrupt my picture taking of a blue heron, but I told him to go ahead and start snapping away to get his own pics. If my daughter can blibber-blabber while I’m taking photos, I’m certainly not worried about somebody coming in and scaring away my prized bird.

We did notice one new duck on our walk: an Eared Grebe. It is a peculiar looking bird with red eyes.

Eared Grebe

About to go under for a swim.

Often I’d turn to catch another glance of the duck & this would be all I saw.

Catching a fish. For a little guy, he eats fairly big fish.

Great Blue Heron
We also saw a blue heron catch a fish. I’m sure it’s a similar type of fish the grebe caught, but looks much smaller in the heron’s mouth.

This duck was very interested in us. I’m guessing people have fed it.

BIRD SPECIES SEEN IN 2013:

SEEN SO FAR = 59 of 100

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Birds of 2013: Week 11

RidgetopFarm&Garden — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 04:19:43 +0000

Woo hoo! I’ve hit the half way mark for my bird species goal I hope to see this year. My goal is 100. I’ve seen 55 so far. I’m actually quite amazed that I’ve logged so many so quickly. I’m sure it will get more difficult as the year goes on.

These birds are from a wetlands area nearby.

Graylag Goose (domestic)

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Northern Shoveler

Herring Gull

Bald Eagle

Great Egret

Double-crested Cormorant

Ruddy Duck

Trumpeter Swan

BIRD SPECIES SEEN IN 2013:

SEEN SO FAR = 55 of 100

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