

I also got to photograph (through heavy wind and blowing sea) a flock of Scoters and somehow (I didn’t realize it as I was taking the pictures) got all three species in the same blurry frame!

One of my favorites! Purple Sandpiper!


I also got to photograph (through heavy wind and blowing sea) a flock of Scoters and somehow (I didn’t realize it as I was taking the pictures) got all three species in the same blurry frame!
One of my favorites! Purple Sandpiper!
We hoped this early morning trip to Connecticut would also provide some excitement. Now, this particular Snowy Owl had been around for a while and was already a local celebrity having been on multiple local news channels. So we hoped we weren’t too late.
We arrived at Calf Pasture Beach Park as it was opening (6:45ish) and made our way around the park to the reported spot. As we got out of the car we saw him sitting on a small pier that is close to two other, smaller jetties a couple hundred yards away. We were in the first group of people out of our cars, but a fisherman managed to get out ahead of us. He scared the owl off after he was asked to wait before making his way out to the end of the pier. Apparently, the fish needed to be caught that second. Luckily, the Owl put down on the middle jetty (his favorite we hear) rather than flying across the water as he did yesterday. And just like that, we got to bask in the exhilaration once more.
The Owl sat and watched as we hemmed and hawed over him from a respectable distance. The overcast day made the lighting bad but nothing could dim the beauty of our lifer Snowy Owl!
P.S. The fish must not have been in such a rush to be caught as the fisherman left before we did, with no fish to speak of.
Cackling Goose:
Philadelphia Vireo:
Eagle vs. Osprey:
Cattle Egret:
Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow:
Violet-crowned Hummingbirds:
Jeanette and I were very lucky to have a wonderful guide familiar with all of the differences Arizona has to offer. Rich Hoyer, a WINGS Tour Leader and local birding celebrity (at least it seemed that way with the admiration of all of the local birders :)) gave us two wonderful days of birds, knowledge, and an appreciation for all of Arizona’s extensive wildlife. We birded all of the local “hot spots” and were treated to amazing (there’s that word again) views of birds we had never seen. We got to see (and photograph) a Sinaola Wren, which if accepted, will be the first ever found in the United States. We saw Trogon, and Hummingbirds, and western warblers and flycatchers. We enjoyed orioles and tanagers and communal woodpeckers and Hawks. We basked in birds named “Montezuma”, and “Inca” along side those known as “Tropical” and “Painted”. It was sensory overload and it was one of the greatest times I have ever had. Amazing.
Now some of the birds. This was my holy grail the Elegant Trogon. On my Flickr site this picture got a comment I loved which was “who put that stuffed animal up in that tree???” This guy really, really looks tropical and was worth the entire trip alone.
Elegant Trogon:
Vermillion Flycatcher:
Zone-tailed Hawk:
Spotted Owls:
Sinaola Wren:
Female Blackburnian Warbler:
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