I was really excited to see some guys that I haven't seen recently like HUGE flocks of Snow Geese...
And what appeared to be a billion Canada Geese chillin' on the ice with over 200 Tundra Swans...
As goes the sometimes dismal luck of a birder, Montezuma NWR was closed to humans. I wish ALL of my taxes could go to NWR's so that they don't have to be closed on a random Wednesday when spring migration is starting. Fortunately, they were open for birds and there were at least some fowl hanging out near the closed visitor's center. It was fun to watch a bunch of small kids looking the ducks up in their field guides and excitedly check off Northern Pintail (NOPI). Those parents get giant gold stars in my book - recruit the youth! I never tire of gawking at NOPI even though they clearly know how handsome they are and probably have giant egos for fowl...
Other highlights of trip included giant flocks of raucous Red-winged Blackbirds which means that spring is surely close by...
Red-winged Blackbird madness
And this male Northern Harrier wishing he was big enough to take down one of those geese...
Scoobs of course takes birding very seriously and this money-shot of her sweet face made up for the crappy harrier shots...
Northern Saw-whet Owl toots
I'm hoping to see and hear more spring beauties everyday!
Very nice Lauren. By fun coincidence I've been to Montezume Refuge too many years ago. It's the only place I've birded in New York, and was actually one of the sparks for my now overly-indulged obsession (or rather, the pair of Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks that I saw there were the spark).
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see a male Harrier too; they're so much less common than the females.
Yeah I LOVE seeing big flocks of Snow Geese- awesome.. Jealous of your owl sounds. I often think of moving to somewhere more woodsy where I could actually hear stuff like that (rather than gulls descending on the Taco Bell a block away). The Scoobs shot is awesome too. She's a looker!
ReplyDeleteBellissime queste fotografie, il ritorno degli uccelli è il segnale che la primavera è in arrivo con i suoi colori e profumi!! ciao
ReplyDelete