May I have another bird...

My most recent trip to New York made me recall a cheezy joke from my childhood:

If April showers bring May flowers - then what do May flowers bring?  

Pilgrims.

Well NY was chock full of fresh arrivals that weren't there during my last trip.  There were feathered pilgrims everywhere, so instead of boring all of you with yet another post about Iroquois and Montezuma NWR's, I've decided to mix it up and give you a larger glimpse into my latest week of NY bird surveys.

There were more Great Blue Herons (GBHE) than I have ever seen in one place.  I'm talking about seeing 25+ GBHE in one wetland area, and there were practically constant flyovers the whole time I was in the area.  

Yes, GBHEs are common and may not excite everyone to the same extent; but witnessing the sheer numbers of them last week gave me a whole new appreciation for them.  Besides, those ridonkulous necks will never cease to amaze me...

It was a funny scene at this one area where almost all the GBHEs were standing on muskrat mounds - appearing totally nonchalant and even causing Great Egrets and Mallards to follow suit in elevated aloofness...

 

At one point I was speechless from a pair of barking American Bitterns (AMBI) circling over my head.  Having only ever laid eyes on a couple of AMBIs in my life, it was no wonder I went for my binos first and was rendered incapable of getting a better photo than this...

 
There were warblers dripping from branches and in order for me to hear myself think and pick up other species, I had to work really hard at tuning out all the Yellow Warbler (YWAR) songs...

 

This guy must have belonged to the Flathead Tribe of YWAR...

The songs of Ovenbirds, Blue-winged Warblers, Savannah Sparrows and Wood Thrushes were music to my ears after a seemingly endless spring spent waiting for more birds.  I even got a really good look at a Brown Thrasher and heard a Black-billed Cuckoo.  After seven years of trying to get a decent Northern Harrier photo, I finally produced one of a juvenal male that I can feel proud of...

Baltimore Orioles (BAOR) were especially present - flashy and brilliant in their hunter-safety attire...

There were a crazy amount of Bobolinks, which made me smile every time I wrote down the alpha code 'BOBO'. 

The BOBOs were unexpectedly hard to get good photos of - they were in constant motion, flitting into breeding display fits and suddenly bailing into tall grass...

Here is a sound recording of a displaying male BOBO, please excuse the American Robin and the YRWA in the background...

Bobolink
 

Speaking of alpha codes, the blatant nerd in me finds great joy in alpha codes that spell out another word.  If the code spells out something in Spanish - all the better.  For example: Tree Swallow = TRES.  I think the facial expression of this lil' TRES clearly shows it knows it's sporting some bling in the form of a band on it's left leg...

 
Or how about an alpha code that spells out a Spanish hello?  This Horned Lark (HOLA) was almost invisible in the plowed ag fields.  

Now you see the HOLA...

Now you don't...

 
Another alpha code that pleases me because it spells a word is 'PUMA' (Purple Martin)...

 
I was delighted to see many Eastern Kingbirds catching flies as flycatchers do...

The bird I was most excited about hanging out with was this Hooded Warbler, since it's only the second one I've ever seen.  After telepathically pleading with him, he finally agreed to allow me to photograph his face rather than just his rump, but refused to come down into better light...      

Here's an unfortunately blurry shot that shows some alien-looking BOBO toes...

And a Red-tailed Hawk about to relieve itself...

As always, Scoobs had a wonderful time...

Overall, it was a phenomenal week and NY was full of great spring birds.  But I was excited to get home and find that during the six days I was gone my backyard BAORs had constructed this fabulous pendulous nest using some of the materials that I had left out for them!  

 

Apparently a little baling twine and Scoobs fur can go a long way.  The funny thing is that this nest is in the exact same location as the BAOR nest from two years ago (that one also contained some of my donated building materials).  Could it be that prime of a nesting spot or one of the same birds from two years ago?  I'll never know for sure, but nonetheless - those nests are incredibly awesome.

A Dissimulation of Birds...

Being a true nerd, my love of words almost matches my love for birds.  Along those lines, I also love books, and I particularly enjoy old books.  I love the way they smell and feel, the secret rush of reading pages older than I am.  I have a favorite in my library that warrants sharing because of its peculiar yet fascinating content.  Though not really old, it's titled An Exaltation of Larks or, The Venereal Game by James Lipton (Grossman Publishers, 1968).  While searching online a few years ago, I found an inexpensive and pretty beat-up hardcover copy that had been withdrawn from a library in New Mexico...

I recently revisited this etymological beauty with it's wonderful illustrations of old engravings.  Then I decided to glean the historical bird-related collective nouns, or nouns of multitude, from it's pages and share them with you.  Don't mention it, you're totally welcome.

Now we've all heard, and likely used the terms "a gaggle of geese", or "a skein of geese; "a raft of ducks"; "a murder of crows"; "a clutch of eggs"; or even "a murmuration of starlings".  But here is a list of lesser known, and certainly lesser-used voluble treasures that will make your inner-bird-nerd giggle with delight:

A spring of teal

A rafter of turkeys (though I think "a goblet" would be more appropriate)

A walk of snipe

A fall of woodcocks

A siege of herons

A charm of finches

A cast of hawks

A deceit of lapwings

A bouquet of pheasants

A tidings of magpies

A congregation of plovers

An unkindness of ravens (this one is unfair in my opinion!)

A host of sparrows
 
A watch of nightingales

A mustering of storks

A gulp of cormorants

A stand of flamingos

A paddling of ducks

An ostentation of peacocks

A pitying of turtledoves

A flight of swallows

And for my three personal favorites:

A parliament of owls

A descent of woodpeckers (I think this one is also applicable to nuthatches)

A family of biologists

I motion to add "a blur of shorebirds"; "a confusion of gulls"; "a chortle of chickadees"; "a wagging of phoebes"; and "a kaleidoscope of warblers" to the list.  Any thoughts?

If these really got you going, then I suggest you find yourself a copy of James Lipton's An Exaltation of Larks because it's chock full of other gems such as "a skulk of foxes"; "a richness of martens"; "a labor of moles"; "a hack of smokers"; and "an odium of politicians".  But in the words of Reading Rainbow's LeVar Burton - "you don't have to take my word for it".  

I'll see you next time...