Author Archives: birdsinmyviewfinder

The last few days of April will be wet so it is a good time to post some final photographs from the month. The rain is appreciated though. Most of New England is having a bad drought at the moment. We are waiting for the influx of warblers that we typically see in late AprilContinue reading “Closing out April”

The weather forecasts were totally off today. But in a good way. It was sunny instead of cloudy and rainy so I made a spur of the moment trip to the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge. My luck with the weather spilled over to my field trip. There are always Wood Ducks at Oxbow but theyContinue reading “Oxbow NWR – Ducks in Trees”

We are in an interlude between outgoing and incoming migrants. There are still a few winter residents like Snowy Owls that haven’t moved north yet. And only the first of the summer residents and the birds that pass through on their way north have arrived. Hummingbirds are coming close and warblers, the big stars ofContinue reading “Interlude”

I am part of a group of photographers who share photos and tips and often end up in the field together. Tree Swallows are migrating into the area and we were swapping photos that capture them in flight or otherwise interacting. They do seem to have an interesting community life. And this includes a littleContinue reading “Tree Swallow Squabbles”

Owls are a coveted subject for photographers and I have been lucky to have observed and photographed several owls. Their popularity has generated some concern however. Unfortunately they can bring out some of the worst behavior by people trying to get the “perfect picture” or just a better view, forgetting that these birds are notContinue reading “Owls”

I have a few bird feeders set up in my backyard at the edge of the woods, far enough from the trees to keep the squirrels from freeloading. There are no nearby water sources so I also have a small bird bath that has a heating element built in to keep the water from freezingContinue reading “At the Feeders”

We are having a somewhat typical spring with widely fluctuating temperatures. But we have had some pretty extreme winds and it is exceptionally dry. So we are in a drought rather than “mud season”. There have been some early arrivals and more transients heading north. This is a sampling from the past 7-10 days. First,Continue reading “Early Spring Sightings”

Continuing to explore inland areas after a winter spent mostly along the shore has been fruitful. We are seeing some early migrants and some residents that were scarce during the snowier times. I have recently posted pictures of two of the three Merganser species that visit our region: Red-breasted Merganser and Hooded Merganser. The thirdContinue reading “More inland sightings”

The ice has disappeared from ponds and reservoirs at last so there are finally opportunities to see more of the inland birds. Resident and migrating ducks and other early arrivals are appearing in good numbers. This is an interesting shot of two pairs of different duck species in close proximity. They don’t often get closeContinue reading “Away from the Ocean”

“In the Spring a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.” ― Alfred Lord Tennyson. I guess that’s true but there is no question about a young duck’s interest. I took these photos of two male Bufflehead with a lone female performing their courtship rituals just offshore from the beach on the southernContinue reading “Spring and a young duck’s fancy.”