Tag: birdphotographyweekly

Snow Goose in the fog.

Very few summer records for Massachusetts, nice to catch up with this one that’s been hanging around Plum Island for the last few weeks.

Never got around to posting a picture for last week’s BPW. I was intending to show a Bobolink from last year based on the ones I saw over the weekend, but I’ll do better than that and show one I found this weekend in my home atlas block.

Rock Meadow is in the process of having the meadows restored with a lot of work being done with invasive plant removal and it looks like it’s paying off. This was the only one I saw but I’d say there’s a good chance of having them breeding by the end of the atlas in two years.

And since I have the picture, this is the one I was planning on using last week. It was a young bird and presumably a postbreeding dispersal in my Dunstable block (they could be in the farm fields but this was not in breeding habitat).

Since I didn’t bother taking any photos this weekend (Saturday it was cloudy and dark and I have no idea why I didn’t Sunday), here’s an Eastern Phoebe from last weekend:

I started to post this thinking that the wing looked funny but after looking more carefully I think the tuft on the belly is just obscuring it a bit and it is all there.

Was going for a photo of the Prairie Warbler and Indigo Bunting when the hummer flew in. Unfortunately no time to adjust the zoom to get a better framing. The Prairie moved a couple trees to the left almost immediately and the hummer took off shortly after.

Need to wait for the end of breeding season before I post today’s good birds, so some hummingbirds from the archive instead:

Dunback Meadow, Lexington, MA

New Salem, MA

I led a Menotomy trip to Beaver Brook North yesterday. It was rather windy and I decided that I didn’t feel like dragging the camera long. That turned out to be a big mistake.

As we walked through the woods, I could hear several Rose-breasted Grosbeaks singing, but they were very hidden in the treetops so I ignored them, figuring we’d have a better chance later. We sure did. Once the trail opened up, we stopped to look at a Black-throated Green Warbler. While everyone got on that, 4 Baltimore Orioles came in and landed at eye level. A minute later, they were joined by 3 grosbeaks! Things kept going with a Scarlet Tanager up high, but right out in the open with the sun directly on it. Incredible colors on everything.

The rest of the trip was pretty good with my first Swainson’s Thrush and Red-eyed Vireo of the year and a few more warblers (and more orioles and grosbeaks).

Since I blew the chance at a bunch of great photos, here’s a fair shot from a past trip:

One more from the weekend, a Brown Thrasher at Oxbow NWR:

A few highlights from today (wish I had equipment to record the Rusty Blackbird chorus). Getting closer and closer to May and the migrants are trickling in.

First Gnatcatcher of the year.

And a Pine Warbler that almost cooperated:

He did come down towards the bottom of the tree but didn’t quite stay steady.

Still working on getting the places stuff going again.

A nice first of year Field Sparrow was singing in Dunstable on Saturday. It was a little hidden among the branches and it was a bit windy to keep him held steady, but I like the results.

Still working on some drafts for the next few in the 100 Places series, hopefully will put at least one up this week.