Black-bellied Whistling Duck....in a tree?

 

I am sure that hunters know this but until I started birding 4 years ago, I had no clue that ducks roosted, visited and flew up into trees. Just never occurred to me that they did that. So, I still think it is an incongruous sight to see a large duck, like this Black-bellied Whistling Duck to be up in a tree singing. Yet, here he is singing away. Whistling more like it as they have a strange song. 

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher in Texas

 

Took the side roads heading to the Houston airport yesterday and was lucky to catch a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher sitting on the side of the road with its mate. Beautiful bird with an insanely long tail. From the range maps, this is a bird that doesn't get much north of Kansas or Oklahoma, although I bet there are some sightings as far north as southern Illinois on occasion. Anyway, it is a lifer for me, number 313 on the lifer scale. Beautiful bird. I guess the long tail helps catching insects in mid-air as the bird is able to make sharp twists and turns as it flys. 

Madison Square Park

 

I often find myself cutting through Madison Square Park when in New York City as it is on a convenient path to the Strand Bookstore, just a few blocks down from the park. Madison Square is a fun little New York Park that gets a lot of usage and many visitors. There are two dogs parks (one for small dogs and one for large) and food stands when the weather is nice. The buildings around it, including the Flatiron, (not shown in this shot), are given a bit of room to breathe and when the sun is low, as it was a few weeks ago on my last visit, the lighting is wonderful!!! 

What Pretty Red Eye-ring You Have

 

Mostly, all you see of Killdeer is them running away from you. Got this one from the car window with a long lens so the Killdeer didn't run away just yet. Interesting red ring around its eye. Killdeer, if they are protecting a ground nest, will put on a wounded bird show and lure you away from the nest as you try to catch it, before it flies away. Smart little bird. 

A Gaggle of Geese

 

Sometime in early March, the Snow Geese gather in central Illinois for a week or so feeding and resting before continuing their trip to their breeding grounds in Canada. I was able to find their feeding spot and enjoy the show. The adults are white and the juveniles with dark plumage in the shot. 

Uncountable

 

I got an email from the DuPage Birding Club that the Snow Geese were gathering for their annual flight to their breeding grounds in Canada from points south. The email gave an approximately location and by Sunday morning, I was there to see them in tremendous numbers and this is after the morning take-off where I saw thousands fly overhead from about 6:30 to about 7:30 am. Quite amazing. A picture doesn't do it justice. 

Florida foggy morning

 

Got up early last month to do some birding in central Florida and this was the scene before wandering around to find some local birds.