Vacation pictures! Run for your lives! Well, maybe it won't be that bad.
I paddled out to this little island, and dared to bring my camera in the canoe. Somebody upset the canoe on the same beach earlier that week and submerged the old camera, and now it flashes randomly. Not too convenient.
I saw this little gull on the way there. Pretty small, I guess it's a Bonaparte's Gull.
Made it to dry land without incident this time, camera nice and dry. Sorry, no bird in this pic, I just wanted to show off my canoe. :)
Uh oh, a shore bird. At this point I'm thinking I may never know what it is... unless it decides to hold still long enough to get some pictures so Resin or somebody can ID it.
But I got lucky and was able to get a few decent pictures, at least enough to narrow it down to a few. This bird was small and quick!
He flew to the other end of the beach
Better enlarge this one:
I guess I tried to get too close, and it flew off. I wouldn't have much of a guess at what it was without the benefit of photographing it and being able to enlarge the pictures, but I suppose it was a Spotted Sandpiper.
Guesses:
1. Agreed....Bonaparte's Gull (black head in breeding plumage)
2. Spotted Sandpiper (Big spots on breast and belly in breeding plumage)
Hi Old Ned, thanks for the input. Years ago I used to wonder where all the black-headed gulls go. Laughing gulls are fairly common up there in Maine.
Okay, enough drama, back to terra firma. Tide's out, should be some birding here
Probably a Herring Gull
A pair of Common Loons
Warning: more Loon pictures
Another
Last Loon
A Red-breasted Nuthatch in the state tree (White Pine)
Northern Flicker
Same tree, different bird. I've seen this Bald Eagle in and near this tree for about ten years. Pretty sure, anyway.
This is the first time I've seen two in that tree!
Back in the ocean, a Common Eider
A couple of Eiders
Lots of Eiders - they'll be there all winter, too. In a few weeks, the males will have a lot more white on them.
The end - unless you want to see some fuzzy pictures of nearly impossible to ID warblers? Probably not...
Beautiful work, claypa.
Great pics claypa!! Hope you had a wonderful vacation!
Thanks for posting these! Pelle
Very nice! I enjoyed the loons very much! :)
All idents mentioned correct - Blownapart Gull, Spotted Sand., Herring Gull, etc.
unless you want to see some fuzzy pictures of nearly impossible to ID warblers?
LOL, Blownapart Gull??
I know you did that on porpoise Resin! :-)
:-)))
Okay - I'll try to keep them in order, with a cropped photo of each
same pic, cropped
same bird
cropped - he's got a mouthful of fall webworm, probably
This one's a Blue-headed Vireo - note the big white specs he's wearing
Resin
still the same bird, I think
I was thinking Vireo when I saw it, but it was so yellow
?
Different - the yellow belly, fairly long white undertail coverts, and solid black tail itself points strongly to Magnolia Warbler (juv.), though I'd not like to be 100% certain on that
Resin
Posted that on just the first of these three pics - second shows a nice pale grey upper breast band, confirming juv. Magnolia Warbler
Black-throated Green?
