#99: American Crow; Jacques Cartier Park, Gatineau; September 24, 2010
Later on in the day, we saw this beautiful hawk and there was a tentative celebration, since I really wasn't sure on the ID. I didn't feel comfortable calling this 100 in case I was wrong. But I really think it's a Broad-Winged Hawk. And then I got to thinking about hawks, and I started to doubt #31. Still unsure...but I'm well over 100 now so no worries!
Look at his pants!
There's this stormwater pond on Eagleson right in the middle of housing developments where a GBH is always hanging out. Well, we drove by the pond, and instead of a heron, saw 2 cormorants and a great egret! I thought it was a bizarre place for it, but it was much closer than the other ones I've seen at so I could get a better picture!
Then I looked over to this grate over to the side and saw the Great Blue in front of it, and in front of it, another heron....but not a Great Blue! At first I thought for sure it was a bittern, but after looking into it, I think it was actually a juvenile Black-Crowned Night Heron, which was perfect since I had seen one before at Mud Lake but it was super far away.
This is it!
#100: Black-Crowned Night Heron; Eagleson at Bridgestone, September 25, 2010
I headed over to the other side of the street, and there was a little shore bird in the pond there. I was kind of amazed at all the birds in this pond off Eagleson in the middle of Kanata. I guess anything can happen during migration. Anyways, I saw this guy, and there was no looking back....at 100 and apparently I wasn't going to get out of stopping there!!
#101: Lesser Yellowlegs; Eagleson at Bridgestone, September 25, 2010
He was doing these crazy jerky little movements and making noises...it was kind of funny so I took a video! I'll share it when I upload it.
Oh wait, geez, I guess I'm not done. Saw this one on the weekend too. I was looking for herons/bitterns/etc. in a pond when I heard an unfamiliar bird in the trees. Walked towards it not expecting to see anything. Sorry for the crap pic.
#102: Eastern Towhee; near Godfrey; September 26, 2010.
And finally...been trying to get these guys for ages. There were 6 of them eating a deer carcass on the side of the road. This silly turkey ended up costing me $10 since I forgot my lens cap on the hood of the car and drove off without it!
#103: Turkey Vulture; somewhere between Kingston and Ottawa (ha!); September 26, 2010
OK, so it might seem like I kind of glossed over a major milestone here. But don't you worry, the next post will include some pondering and reflection on
YAY!!!!!!!!
11 comments:
Way to go! You deserve a prize or something. It's quite a list you built up.
PS That hawk pic is impressive - you must have been reaaallly close!
Congrats! You blew by 100 with avengence! On to two hundred!!! :-)
Yay!!! I still think you should publish a book of these... :)
Number 31 following you`re link is indeed a light-morph Rough-legged Hawk. No worries there.
Thanks everyone!
Dave, how long have you been birding? It's amazing how you and Dwayne (http://dwaynejava.blogspot.com/) can identify the toughies so easily (I'm also thinking of the plover in the last post), while I pour over the books and still can't be sure. Any advice for me? Just keep going at it?
My dad was a field biologist for the government of Quebec. He was the one who taught me about birds, starting at the age of 7. I`m 28 now, so twenty one years. I come up to Ottawa four times a year to go birdwatching with my dad. We set aside a day and spend the entire day. Just to give you an idea of what is possible in the future, we can see one hundred species in a day just in and around Ottawa in May and August. With practice you will be able to do this too. It may actually be easier for you since you have a camera and can record the birds you do not know and identify them later.
As for advice, keep notes and practice. Look as much for what is not there as much as for what is.
Also, go out on days with different lighting. I know that`s not suggested for photographers, but if you see a warbler in on a cloudy day with low lighting, it will help you identify that bird when you`re in the forest and the lighting quality is low.
Hey Dave...100 in a day...now that's impressive! I think my best day so far was somewhere around 30, but I'll keep working on it and see how I do next year!
Thank you for the compliment but I am not even close to the truly serious birders like Bruce DiLabio or Jean Dubois in the area. You want to see a maestro at work, take a course with them, or even better, run into them in the field. They are fantastic birdwatchers.
hey J, I think that #101 is a greater yellowlegs - where's the video of the dance?
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