may two-four part ii (54-59)

#54: Barn Swallow; May 22, 2010; somewhere along County Road 10
I saw barn swallows at Bill Mason too, and yesterday on AI. Seems that I am seeing tons of them all of a sudden.


AI: Guest starring: Bonnie and her friend Sharon and Dad.
Another early morning. I headed to the island on Sunday, catching the first boat of the day (just me and one other person on it!) at 6:30 am, since Bonnie (she lives just down the road from Dad), who is helping out with a study of short-eared owls on the island, said that the best time to catch the owls aside from dusk is between 6:30 and 7:30 am. We drove along Front Road to try and spot them. I *think* I saw them but to me they were really just little brown specks off in the distance. There were also harriers flying around. Bonnie said there were around a dozen of them a little while ago but there are only a few left this time of year. I will definitely try and get there for the right time of year next time! Well, nothing was wasted since we saw lots of other birds. There was a red-tailed hawk on 40 Foot Road that was standing guard. Normally they flush when you approach, but he made it quite clear we were not welcome and stood his ground, shouting at us.
Bonnie had to leave but Dad and I spent the day stomping around the island...and we saw over 30 kinds of birds in just a few hours!


#55: Bobolink; May 23, 2010; AI
AH! This is one of those birds I didn't think I was going to see, but there were tons all over the island. How cool are they? They sound amazing too!

#56: Eastern Kingbird; May 23, 2010; AI (40 foot rd)
These guys were also all over the place, but tough to shoot. FINALLY when we were just about done for the day, one posed nicely for me!

#57: American Wigeon; May 23, 2010; AI (south shore)
Dad spotted this duck. It doesn't look exactly like in the book since it's not full plumage and the drake (hey now, look at me using bird terminology!) doesn't have the green stripe on the back of his head right now.

#58: Brant; May 23, 2010; AI (KFN property, southeast corner shore)

Well, there is a long story that goes with this one, and this bird I certainly did not expect to see. Brant don't live here and only migrate through, and they are a rare sight. This Brant was sitting on the shore alone, and didn't even try to move as we approached. I guess it was injured because I got even closer and it just made this really sad sound. I ran all the way to the car and back (got birdwatching and a run in all before 9 am....that's a first) to get my cell phone and try and figure out who the heck to call. I called Bonnie, and got some other numbers to call. We decided to move on, and left some messages a few places in the meantime. I got a call back from a serious birder on the island, Janet, and someone from KFN. I was mentally preparing and trying to figure out how I was going to catch a wild goose without a towel/box/gloves/anything, carry it a few km to the car, put it in the back, ferry it for half an hour and drive it the Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre in Napanee. Well, we headed back to where it was about an hour later, and we couldn't find it. We asked some of the few birders we saw that day and they said that it had flown off when they approached. So, I'm pretty sure it was injured (so strange that it was not with its flock and sitting that way), but there wasn't much I could do. I hope it's ok :( Gawd, I'm such a softie; I understand the survival of the fittest thing, but not much kills me more than injured animals. I guess that's why I'm vegetarian. Anyways, here it is. Please say a little prayer to the goose gods!

#59; Purple Martin; May 23, 2010; AI (KFN)
There are a whole bunch of purple martins in purple martin houses at the KFN property.
When we got back to my dad's, there was a giant pileated woodpecker, and it was so handsome. I miss that little island....wish I could just spend forever on there!

Next post (coming shortly) will be shorebirds from the island, but it's so nice out I'm going to bike to Shirley's Bay and see what's around there. And I have a few assignments to work on for my photo class tomorrow. Sigh. Back in a bit.