World Bird Wednesday XXVII - different locations

I went to several local Northern Virginia birding spots this week after I got back from a business trip. I am really blessed to have so many different spots to go to and be able to see birds. Each different spot has its own unique natural features and of course attracts different kinds of birds. I am even able to sit in my backyard and have many different species of birds come in to eat. Today's entry will be about different locations.

Dykes Marsh:

This is one of my favorite river areas and has the Osprey nest that I love to view. When I was down there this time, I talked with a young gentleman that was fishing nearby. He told me that he has been coming to that spot for 12 years and that the Ospreys have had a nest in the same spot for all of them. Although I didn't see it, he showed me a picture he took of the 1 baby Osprey in the nest this year. 

If you look really close that this picture, you will see a Sparrow in the front of the nest as well.

Dykes Marsh

The Lake:

There was a Spotted Sandpiper family out at the lake this week.

The Lake

My Backyard:

I have been watching both a male and female Brown-headed Cowbird that have been munching at my feeders and then in the grass. 

The male in my Backyard

The female in my Backyard

 

Is it a boy or a girl?

According to the June - July 2011 issue of Birds and Blooms, there are 7 species of birds that the females look exactly like the males. They are all very common birds.

1. Blue Jays
2. Black-capped Chickadees
3. Tufted Titmouse
4. American Crows
5. Mourning Doves
6. Bald Eagles
7. House Wrens

This is a boy... no a girl... a boy...

World Bird Wednesday XXV

This is a post about color. It is spring after all. There just seems to be a lot of birds out there sporting their mating spring colors.

A little Gray catbird:

Gray

Green Heron

Green

Yellow-Rumped Warbler

Yellow

Red-Winged Blackbird

Red

Common Yellow-throat

Yellow

Common Grackle

You pick the color... blue.. purple..

2 new birds

I had to get up extra early on this fine Saturday morning, so I decided to make the most of it. After running my errand, I headed over to Dykes Marsh. Talk about a gorgeous morning! I was the only one out there this morning and I had the place to myself. I walked out to the point and found 2 new bird species for me, and got a male and female of one. Cute little birds that are both summer residents to Northern Virginia. The first is the Common Yellow-throat.

Male Common Yellow-throat

Male Common Yellow-throat

The other new bird is the Orchard Oriole. I got a picture of both the male and female.

Male Orchard Oriole

Female Orchard Oriole

All these birds and some more that I will put for World Bird Wednesday were all out on a little point of land, flying back and forth between trees.

World Bird Wednesday - XXIV

Many times as I am walking and taking bird pictures, I have no idea exactly what bird I haven't taken a picture of until I am able to get back home and review the photos. Today was another day like that. I took a picture of a small brown striped bird. It's not like every bird is small, brown or striped, right? I leafed through the sparrows but couldn't find one that was close. Then it dawned on me, female Red-winged Blackbird. For whatever reason, that bird continues to confuse me. I also bite off on a different bird type until I remember the Blackbird family. Maybe it should be called a Red-winged Brownbird.

Tough bird to call

I had to add this picture since the Tree Swallow was so colorful.

A Darn good picture.

This little Eastern Phoebe seems a little shy.

A little camera shy.

I am not a turtle guy. Someone on the trail told me that this was a Snapping Turtle. Ok... sounds good to me. In 5 years I had not seen this turtle in the lake. The thing that struck me was the massive size of it. Trust me, it was huge. I wonder if this started out in some child's bowl on their desk.

Snapping Turtle?

Time to go get something to eat. See ya next week.

Yummy

Want some?

Giving props

It is great to be able to read other peoples' blogs about birds and it is exciting when they teach you something. I have been taking pictures of Warblers and just calling them Yellow-rumped Warblers. I was reading a blog today from I used to hate birds (one of my links that I follow) and she had posted a picture of a Myrtle Warbler. I thought "wow, pretty and lots like a Yellow-rumped Warbler." I opened up my field guide to look at it closer and read about it when I realized that the Myrtle and Audubon Warblers are a subspecies of the Yellow-rumped Warbler. I had no idea. Ya learn something new everyday about birds. Props to I used to hate birds. 

I would now say that this is a Female Adult Myrtle Warbler. 

Call me by my real name