Author Archives: birdsinmyviewfinder

Snowy Egrets are active hunters of small fish and invertebrates. Unlike the larger Great Egret that waits in ambush or slowly stalks its prey, Snowys will run, hop, flutter their wings, stir up the water and generally cause commotion to flush their prey. Yellowlegs are shorebirds that are also very active feeders. Mixed groups ofContinue reading “Fishing Buddies”

I almost overlooked the action in this photo of a Least Tern as I was clearing out a lot of photos of terns in flight, most of which were either repetitive or very poor. Fortunately I cropped this image for a better look before deciding to delete it. The Tern had just missed a fishContinue reading “Found in the Clutter – Tern Action”

The largest gull in the world is the Great Black-backed Gull and it is common along the Atlantic coast of North America. Cornell Lab refers to it as “the king of the Atlantic waterfront”. Great Black-backs are 30 in (up to 80 cm) long and are known as aggressive hunters, pirates and scavengers. They huntContinue reading “Great Black-backed Gull”

I dug this photo out of the folders for June 2017. Two Tree Swallows having some sort of disagreement. No blows were exchanged. Maybe one is a Dodgers fan like me and the other is a Giants fan. (Non-baseball folks: just substitute with two longtime rivals in your favorite sport, be it football/soccer, American football,Continue reading “Found in the Clutter – Minor Dispute”

Another little gem buried in the piles of photos: a female Boat-tailed Grackle taken in Corpus Christi Texas, 2019. She is apparently cutting back on her sugar.

I don’t usually see these fast moving falcons perched, at least not for any length of time. This one calmly sat in a tree not too far off the road in the Parker River NWR. It even watched me without moving as I maneuvered to get a clear look. He or she didn’t seem toContinue reading “Peregrine Falcon”

I came across a large number of Herons at a single pond. There were a few Egrets around but one section of the pond was crowded with Great Blue Herons of all ages with a half dozen juvenile Black-Crowned Night Heron mixed in for good measure. I didn’t count the Great Blues but I wouldContinue reading “Herons”

Bobolinks are grassland birds related to blackbirds. They breed in the northern US and southern Canada. They are long distance migrators that winter in the pampas of south central South America. They nest in hayfields and meadows so haying and mowing is a serious threat. I photographed these birds at a farm that was acquiredContinue reading “Bobolink”

Pulled out of the pile: an Eastern Screech Owl. This one was napping in a hole in a tree in Newburyport, Massachusetts in 2018. These small owls are about the size of a Starling but more stocky with almost no neck. They can be gray or reddish-brown like this one. They nest in tree cavitiesContinue reading “Found in the Clutter – Eastern Screech Owl”

The issue seems to have fixed. Sorry for the scare but I wanted to make sure everyone was aware of a potential problem. Again, you should only receive my new posts in email. I don’t use the email for anything else. I hope I didn’t scare anyone away!