Around Town, 04/21/18

~Blue-gray Gnatcatcher at Wickham Lake, 04/21/18.~

I got out and around locally this morning. My main goal was to check on the American Bitterns from last night – in my imagination I was picturing numerous bitterns flying around the Liberty Loop in perfect light. The reality was more than slightly different; I met Linda Scrima there first thing  and although we heard an American Bittern calling repeatedly, we were unable to get a visual. We had no shorebirds, but I did pick up a few FOY birds – Brown Thrasher, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and Field Sparrow.

 

~Horned Grebe in nice plumage at Wickham Lake, 04/21/18.~ 

A quick stop at the Camel Farm was disappointing – one lonely Killdeer is all Linda and I could find as far as shorebirds go. From there I headed to Wickham Lake; best birds were a Common Loon and a Horned Grebe and I also picked up my FOY Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. Glenmere Lake and pond were relatively unproductive but I did have 4 Blue-winged Teal at the pond. I watched them for a good while; they are beautiful. My final stop of the morning was in the black dirt to check on the Horned Lark flock. I last had them on Tuesday evening, but including today I’ve come up empty on my last 2 tries. I spent about an hour trying to wait them out today, but I’m starting to think they have moved on.

~I spotted this bird on my way home from work on Friday night – Common Loon at Lake Kanawauke in Harriman State Park, 04/20/18.~
~It’s been a while since I shot a Mourning Dove. MODO at Wickham Lake, 04/21/18.~
~Maria and I had this female American Kestrel out on Liberty Lane on Friday night, 04/20/18.~ 
~Good bird/bad pic – Blue-winged Teals at Glenmere Pond, 04/21/18.~

2 thoughts on “Around Town, 04/21/18”

  1. Love the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher photo, Matt. I’m surprised he sat still long enough to get a photo. I was out and about myself, including hitting the Liberty Loop just before sunrise hoping that your beautiful Bitterns were still around. Like you, all I had was one pumping…sigh. I headed over to Laurel Grove, and had better luck there. At least it was sunny, and there was no rain.

    1. Thanks Kathy, I was glad to see the gnatcatchers. I was wondering if you went for the the bitterns – I guess at least hearing it is better than nothing. I never had an AMBI in Orange County before Friday, so that was a county life bird for me. Laurel Grove is a great spot – I plan to be there often in the next month or so. It was nice to finally have some sunny, relatively warm weather. By the time I was wrapping up for the day, it was actually pretty darn warm out. It made for a nice change. matt

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