Tuesday, August 12, 2008

I See You

There were lots of terrific birds at Hasty Brook last weekend. A good many of my photos are not so great.
This ovenbird flew in to have a look, peeking at me through the leaves but he wouldn't show his whole beautiful self.
I think this is a female chestnut-sided warblers. Someone please chime in and confirm or refute my id.
Another view showing the wing bars. The eye rings give this little bird such a curious expression. I tried my mad pishing skilz again on this common yellowthroat but was not so successful as last time. This bird was a treat to watch. He was in a clump of ferns and tall grass nearby. I could see the grass wiggling as he hopped about down low, then he would pop up, grab an insect, and drop back down into the grass.
Serviceberries were ripe last weekend and flocks of cedar waxwings were gorging themselves on the fruit. We could hear the waxwings before we could see them. They would zip in and land at the tops of the birches, look about, then float down to brush level to eat the berries.

Roes-breasted grosbeaks gave them some competition for the berries. Both bird species had an awkward time of it when trying to get at the fruit at the tips of the branches. The birds' weight would pull the branch down and then bounce back up when released.


There were plenty of purple finches at the feeders. Check out this poor dude! He looked so tatty- he reminded me of "Baldy" our bald cardinal in the yard back home. Baldy gets a bad case of bird mites every summer and gets to looking pretty scary.

16 comments:

KGMom said...

You really do have loads of birds to check out. I am no help on IDing them, though.
Poor purple finch with ratty feathers.

Anonymous said...

Nice chestnut-sided warblers. Great photos.

dguzman said...

Nice pics; wish I were there to see these in person.

Jayne said...

What a wonderful variety of birds Lynne! Wish we'd been there with you!

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

KGMOM- The poor purple finch was pretty feisty.

Scienceguy288- So you think those were chestnut-sided warblers?

Delia- When/IF we get the cabin built you'll just have to come on up to Minnesooota!

Jayne- There's an open invitation to you too. You KNOW you want to experience a Minnesota winter!!

Kathi said...

fall warblers - {shiver!}

I think you have an immature female chestnut sided there, Lynne.

The eye rings and wing bars are right, according to my Stokes' warbler guide and my Sibley's eastern field guide.

Nice find!

~Kathi

NCmountainwoman said...

Lovely shots. I especially like the ovenbird peeking through the branches.

Leedra said...

I like all the photos, but you gotta love the Purple Finch. We have House Finch in our area, but not the Purple Finch.

Leedra said...

I like all the photos, but you gotta love the Purple Finch. We have House Finch in our area, but not the Purple Finch.

Anonymous said...

Hi Lynne, Chestnut-sided Warbler
for sure. The green back and top
of head along with the gray under
sides is another field mark.
Great photos!
Hap in New Hope

Susan Gets Native said...

Warblers make my eye twitch. I bow to other more knowledgeable folks.

You are lucky to have serviceberries....my one plant had a total of 4 berries on it this year.

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Katdoc- Thanks for the warbler opinion. I have the Stokes warbler guide and love it.

ncmountainwoman- I seldom get good looks at ovenbirds. They seem very cagey.

Bird Girl- It's funny to see so many warblers at Hasty but I haven't seen a single one since spring down here around home.

Leedra- I saw my first ever purple finch up north at Hasty Brook.

Hap- Thanks for confirming my id. Would you be willing to help me with a shorebird id? I'll send the picture to you if you email me at
l.schoenborn@comcast.net

Susan- The serviceberries up there are thick with fruit. I plan to transplant a few to my yard a home.

RuthieJ said...

Ovenbirds are neat! Did this one sing for you? Did you hear much birdsong from any of these birds or have they all pretty much quieted down?

Mary said...

A Purple Finch. Still haven't seen one here. You and your bird photos ROCK.

nina at Nature Remains. said...

These photos are nice--and I like that you've redone your site in the stretched format.
So much to look at!

Larry said...

I agree with the female Chestnut-sided Warbler.-I don't believe I've ever identified a female.-At first glance, it reminded me of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet with that eye ring and wingbars but then I realizd the bill and coloring were different.-I probably shouldn't admit that I thought that-but what the heck.