A return trip to the Wood Duck site yielded the ducks as well as White-throated Sparrows, Rough-winged Swallows and a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers.
Pileated Woodpeckers: Secane, Pennsylvania
A pair of Pileated Woodpeckers near the house late this morning, at times feeding on the ground like oversized Flickers. I've noticed them doing this in springtime more than other seasons.
Wissahickon Woodies
Drove up to Fairmount Park in Philadelphia on Saturday and walked along the Wissahickon Creek. Saw several Wood Ducks as well as some Mallards and Canada Geese and heard a Phoebe.
Even prettier, in her own way:
Choptank River, Maryland
Cambridge, Maryland
Heesun and I took an afternoon jaunt down to my native Maryland Eastern Shore, to Cambridge and the Choptank River. Ducks still lingered at a well-known viewing spot at the end of Oakley Street: numbers of Canvasbacks, Mallards, American Wigeons and Lesser Scaups, a couple of Redheads, and some distant Goldeneyes.
A Wigeon:
and a Lesser Scaup:
And a paddling Canvasback:
The ducks would occasionally fly off en masse when a Bald eagle floated by or over, but most would return a while later. More pictures in the galleries.
Back out there
The bionic hip is finally letting me get out after some birds. March 4-8, my very first (!) visit to Florida took me and Heesun on an abbreviated trip to Merritt Island National Park--wonderful habitat and well worth a future and more leisurely return. We saw White and Glossy Ibises, Anhingas, Roseate Spoonbills, Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Blue-winged Teal, lots of herons and egrets and even more Coots. Two days later I had the chance to spend a morning out with Ron Bielefeld on his pontoon boat excursion for Snail Kites on Lake Kissimmee. Ron heads Whistling Wings Photography and does it very well. He has been studying the kites for years. and knows and respects their habits. He is personable and professional: I would highly recommend his tours and hope to go on more of them in the future.
Even though the kites were not particularly active this particular morning, at least snail-hunting wise, they flew quite near the boat a few times. I was particularly pleased that Ron kept a respectful distance from their favored areas, and allowed them to come to us rather than the other way around. Here is one photo of a female. You can see a few more photos in the galleries.
The lake was beautiful: a large expanse of pristine habitat. Anhingas, Ospreys, Bald Eagles, Purple Gallinules, Moorhens, Limpkins, Sandhill Cranes, White and Glossy Ibises, Blue, Green and Tricolored Herons ... many Boat-tailed Grackles ...
Driving around central Florida provided glimpses of such quality as Swallow-tailed Kites (I love Swallow-tailed Kites), a surprise Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, Sandhill Cranes, and Great Horned Owl sitting on an Osprey nest. I also saw a pair of Florida's resident Whooping Cranes -- but no Burrowing Owls on this trip. Maybe next time ...