Author Archives: birdsinmyviewfinder

Most of the Swallows that I see zooming erratically through the sky as they chase flying insects are Tree Swallows. But if I look carefully I will see another type flying among them. This one has a deeply forked tail that immediately identifies it as a Barn Swallow. They build their nests on buildings andContinue reading “Barn Swallow”

I visited a nesting area for Least Terns and Piping Plovers situated at the southern end of Plum Island. The area is a Massachusetts park. The beach is open but no pets are allowed and the bulk of the dune area is closed and off limits so that the birds can successfully nest. Least TernsContinue reading “Least Tern Courtship”

The Eastern Wood-Pewee is a flycatcher that breeds in the eastern US and winters in northern South America. It’s not particularly small and size is not the inspiration for its name. It is named for its call, “pee-a-wee”. Like many flycatchers, it likes to perch in an open position where it can watch for insectsContinue reading “Eastern Wood-Pewee”

Here are a few more Wood Warblers as a follow up to my last post. Yellow Warblers were the subject of a post I made not long ago. They breed in our area and we see them all summer. This one perched on an open branch in order to proclaim his territory. That provided anContinue reading “Some More Wood Warblers”

Wood Warblers are a diverse North American songbird family that includes well over a 100 species. Their migration through the eastern US to the northern US and Canada each spring is a big event for birdwatchers, including some who aren’t particularly active for the rest of the year. Here are a few I captured recently.Continue reading “Some Wood Warblers”

I focus on birds but I don’t pass up a chance to photograph other wildlife. A group of us were heading north to the Connecticut Lakes Region of New Hampshire. The lakes in this area close to the border with Quebec form the headwaters of the Connecticut River that flows south to Long Island SoundContinue reading “Mammal Guest Post”

It is always nice to see some colorful birds return after a dreary, gray winter. Here’s a few recent sightings starting with a Barn Swallow. They have a blue back and head with a cinnamon colored forehead and throat. Their underside is tawny. They have long feathers on the outer edge of the tail. ThisContinue reading “Spring Color”

Most of our New England thrushes are fairly secretive in their behavior and we often have to identify and locate them by sound. They all have distinctive, melodic songs so it is easy to pick them out in the forest. This is a Hermit Thrush that happened to come out onto the trail to lookContinue reading “Thrushes”

My favorite summer warbler is the Common Yellowthroat. I am always on the lookout for a chance to catch them in the open for some photographs. They tend to stay deep in the low vegetation in wet areas and are in constant motion. Sometimes you only hear their “wichity-wichity-wichity” call and never get a clearContinue reading “Summer Resident – Common Yellowthroat”

Most wood warblers head into Canada for the summer but a few spend the summer in my area of New England. The brightly colored Yellow Warbler is one of them. You often hear their sweet whistled song before you see them. They flit around in the foliage in typical warbler style as they hunt forContinue reading “Summer Resident – Yellow Warbler”