The wall of trees on the other side of Paradise Pond is filled with roosting night herons during the day. In the afternoon and evening they work their way out to the fringes in preparation for their big night.
Here are Black-crowned Night Herons.
and the Yellow-crowned Night Heron.
Paradise pond. Twenty minutes. Twenty-one birds.
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Green-winged Teal
Great Blue Heron
Little Blue Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Common Moorhen
American Coot
Eurasian Collared-Dove
White-eyed Vireo
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Northern Parula
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Hooded Warbler
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
(And I didn’t have to count any gulls and grackles.)
Can you spot the Hooded Warbler in this picture?
(Click on the picture to get a good look.)
Mostly I work; sometimes I bird. I talk about birding a lot and don’t talk about work at all. I suppose I could shut up about birds and just talk about work every day. In the meantime…
During the winter a person can go to Paradise Pond and only get 4 or 5 different kinds of birds. Now that the migration is underway, I can get ten or twelve without having to count gulls and grackles. And it will get better yet.
Yesterday we got:
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Great Blue Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
American Coot
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Louisiana Waterthrush
Today we got White-eyed Vireo, Orange-crowned Warbler, Northern Parula, Black-throated Green Warbler, Prothonotary Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Savannah Sparrow, and Northern Cardinal too. Sixteen birds at Paradise Pond.
Another sure sign of Spring. The Scissor-tailed Flycatcher.
It has been great Spring Break weather this week, but today was a blustry day. Glad we’re not in a tent on the beach.
Granddaughter Taylor is off to Paris on a High School, Spring Break, French Club trip. They flew all night and arrived at 7am Paris time, (almost) ready for a full day. So far she has discovered that everyone smokes, motorscooterers are insane, you ALWAYS wait for the walk signal or you’re dead meat, crepes are insanely delicious, and French toast is amazing. They’ve ridden the metro, climbed the towers of Notre Dame, photographed the Arc de Triomph, le Sacre Coeur, and the Eiffel Tower. She has been to the Centre Pompidou and watched street musicians, a didgeridoo, and a man folding wire behind his back. At the end of the first day, she reported in, practically sleeptyping.
Second day, more awake, they toured the palace at Versailles, the Arc de Triomph again, and the Champs Elysees, and had quiche for dinner. Tomorrow, the Louvre.
The gardens at Versailles
Meanwhile, back at the migration, the Black-and-white Warbler.
