Author Archives: birdsinmyviewfinder

Tree Swallows are gathering by the thousands on Plum Island as they prepare to migrate. We come across tall shrubbery that is sagging under the weight of the birds crowded onto them while roosting. Waves of Swallows will flow like a river over bodies of water as they dip down to catch drink in flightContinue reading “A Gathering of Tree Swallows”

The single American Avocet summering in our area is apparently still enjoying its visit. I did a post on this vagrant previously and we have continued to observe it over the summer. Vagrant, of course, meaning out of place. This bird should be somewhere in New Mexico, Colorado or elsewhere along the eastern side ofContinue reading “American Avocet”

Bird and human activity has been slowed by the ongoing heat and drought in my area. But life continues. These are some of the birds that I have spotted in the past few weeks. I’ll do cute first. These are part of the new generation of Gadwalls. There is a family of flycatchers, Empidonax, thatContinue reading “Some Recent Sightings”

Young Hummingbirds (in my previous post) aren’t the only juvenile visitors to my backyard. There was a family of Cooper’s Hawks nesting somewhere in the wooded area near my home. One or two would come close on occasion and there was a period when I could hear the young hawk begging food from the parents.Continue reading “Cooper’s Hawk”

Birds have to learn their lessons, just like us. I photographed a young Ruby-throated Hummingbird trying to figure out my feeder. He or she was trying to get at the fluid from underneath instead of using the ports on the top. I guess it wasn’t paying attention to mom when she was using the feeder.Continue reading “Life Lessons”

I watched some Great Egrets hunting for small fish and caught some of the action with my camera. Great Egrets, like herons, stand still or move very slowly as they wait for their prey to get close enough to snatch with a quick thrust of their head. This Egret prowled the edge of a tidalContinue reading “Great Egrets”

We think of a vagrant as someone, who by circumstance or choice, is a wanderer who often lives by begging. A vagrant bird is one who is found outside its normal wintering or breeding areas. Scientists aren’t certain about why some individual birds wander so far afield. It may be a storm system that drivesContinue reading “Feathered Vagrant”

The Pileated Woodpecker is the largest woodpecker in North America. It’s about the size of a Crow and measures up to 19 in. (49 cm) long with a wingspan up to 29.5 in. (75 cm). They are forest birds that like older forests with large dead trees and fallen wood where they can find theirContinue reading “Pileated Woodpecker”

This is a follow up to my previous post with photos of Terns diving for fish. I came across an interesting sequence while culling and sorting a large number of photographs from that same morning. I use my camera’s burst mode since I am usually photographing active birds. These six photos cover a span ofContinue reading “Fast Food ala Tern”

There are two Terns that breed along the Massachusetts in coast large numbers, the Common Tern and the Least Tern. We do see other species, but they are uncommon. I happened to be on the shore of Plum Island Sound when a large group of Terns were feeding right near the shore. The Least TernsContinue reading “Terns”