Bashakill Nature Watch, 5/22/16

 

 

 

 

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~This was very exciting to me! Common Gallinule out in the open, Bashakill WMA, 5/22/16.~

This afternoon I joined Karen Miller as we took our first shift of the season volunteering for the Bashakill Area Association sponsored Nature Watch Program. I believe it is my fourth year volunteering for the program, which monitors the Bald Eagle and Osprey nests at the Bashakill. On Saturdays and Sundays from late April until the end of June, spotting scopes are set up to view both of the nests and volunteers are on hand to answer questions. You can click here to read more about the program which I featured in a blog post a few years back.

When we arrived, there was an adult Bald Eagle near the nest with the two very large eaglets. And, we learned from the morning shift that the adult Osprey appeared to have been feeding young in the nest before we arrived. While we were there, the young eagles were hopping around and really giving their wings a workout, flapping like mad!

It was a pair of Common Gallinules, however, that stole the show for me. We got absolutely fantastic looks at the birds out in front of the boat launch. Typically (in my experience) much more secretive, we enjoyed good looks of the birds throughout our 3 hour shift. I had my scope out and kept it on one of the birds for folks to get a look, and I also shot some video through it using my iPhone, which I’ll include at the bottom of this post. What a super bird and so great to get such amazing looks.

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Wow! I finally got a decent Pileated Woodpecker shot! Bashakill Wildlife Management Area, 5/22/16.~
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~Blue-gray Gnatcatcher at the Bashakill, 5/22/16.~ 
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~I finally caught up with a male Common Yellowthroat, a bird that I haven’t seen many of this year so far. Bashakill, 5/22/16.~ 

10 thoughts on “Bashakill Nature Watch, 5/22/16”

  2. Great seeing the Gnatcatcher on nest. Several years ago I watched a pair building a nest on Stonefields. What a nice get!

    Scotty

  3. Great few hours birding together this afternoon, Matt. The Gallinules, and especially this one, were amazing and you captured it in your video. Nicely done.

    1. Thanks Karen, the Gallinules made a relatively slow afternoon at the watch pretty awesome. Nice to catch up with you too. Matt

  4. Beautiful photos, Matt. I especially like the Gallinule. It appears as though the Gallinule has nesting material in the video. So cool!

    1. Thanks Kathy, the Gallinule made my day. And yes, we were speculating on nest building… Matt

  5. Nice job Matt. You were lucky the light was good for the Gallinule!!! I like to be down there to hear them calling back and forth.

    Wilma

    1. Lucky just to see them Wilma! For me, they tend to be way more secretive than this. The good light was a bonus. Matt

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