Birding at Letchworth and Closer to Home

Back in June Dawn and I took a birding trip to Letchworth State Park guided by my good friend Brett Ewald from Lakeshore Nature Tours. We didn't see anything earth-shattering, but it was a good chance to hunt for some warblers and other small birds outside my normal sphere.

It took us a little work to find the group's meeting place at the south Parade Grounds but once there we got right to work. Our first catch of the day was this Mourning warbler (Oporornis philadelphia) framed in a little opening through the foliage:


An obliging Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) emerged after some spishing and I grabbed a quick shot:


We started down a trail but the birds decided they weren't finished with us, because we saw both of them again, closer this time, though I had to shoot through a gap in the trees:
     

     

     

A short distance down the trail we found one of my favorites, a Baltimore Oriole (Icterus parisorum). The arborial canopy filtered the morning sun to perfectly illuminate the bird as it moved in and out among the branches:
          

Sometimes the shadows were too heavy though. That was the case when this Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea) appeared:


We found a variety of other birds throughout the day, though photographic opportunities were few and far between. My best shots for the remainder of the day came from some Yellow-bellied sapsuckers (Sphyrapicus varius). I caught this one on the side of a well-tapped tree:


After lunch we found a pair of them sharing a snag in a little marsh:


Though we didn't see as many species as we'd hoped for, we got to do plenty of hiking and the weather was perfect. It was a fun trip, as much for the time spent amidst Letchworth's incomprable beauty as for the birds we found.

At home our backyard suet feeder continues to draw a crowd of mostly woodpeckers. Here's a bright Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus):
     

This male Pileated (Dryocopus pileatus) likes to announce his arrival with a hearty laugh before settling down to feed:
     

While walking Quest down by the canal recently I espied a Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) perched on a piling. It flew away without uttering its customary rattle, and in fact it sat for quite a time while Quest ranged on the shore nearby. Taking that as a good sign I finished the dog walk and returned to the edge of the canal a half hour later with camera and binoculars, hoping for a good look at it.

A couple of Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) napped on the far shore of the canal inlet, one in shadow, one enjoying the sun. I shot them from behind a screen of cat-tails:


The Kingfisher was nowhere to be seen so I walked along the trail that borders the inlet looking for a better vantage. I didn't really find a better place to photograph the herons, but I did find the Kingfisher through a break in the heavy shoreside vegetation. I poked my long lens through the natural screen for a shot:


She searched the water for a while, obviously hunting, and I was able to get several pictures before she decided to try her luck elsewhere:
     

Luckily she didn't fly far, and I found her on yet another snag. I got only a couple of shots before she flew again, heading up the canal and out of sight:
     

I took a final shot of one of the herons before departing:


Normally I'd be filling my days watching falcon fledglings in downtown Rochester, but this year flying Peregrines are in pretty short supply. Until their hopeful return next year I'll be turning my attention to the other birds in the neighborhood.