Biggest Week in American Birding...part...uh...again.

Whose butt is this?

Yep, the Biggest Week was pretty long...10 days actually. And I drove all over northwest Ohio in search of birdies! This was the best festival I've been involved with. I never drove fine feathered folks around this much before, and what a great group of people they were! I hope I didn't scare anyone, I tried to curb the pun and sarcastic asides as best I could.

The first group of slightly focused photos are from a small park on Catawba Island a little east of Magee Marsh. This was the first visit for all of us and it turned quite well! Even a few lifers for some lucky birders!

This Baltimore Oriole must have been very happy, he was wagging his tail like crazy!

Ever time I see a Double-crested Cormorant, I think of Goofy from the Disney cartoons..."huh, huh, eyup."

Catching flies from behind...

Did you guess right? Yep, it's an Eastern Phoebe. Flycatchers always confuse me...until you see his waggy tail!

 

This was at Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. Everyone was talking about owls that were easy to see...that's a rarity! Low and behold, there's a lovely Eastern Screech Owl hiding in that hole!

 

I had better shots of this Great Blue Heron, butt this one cracked me up.

Birds don't sweat, so leave breathe with their beaks open when they are hot.

 

Here ya go...a nice normal shot of a Great Egret...almost from behind!

 

This was the other east to find owl...a Great Horned Owlet...all floofy!

 

I was going to go out on limb and say this was a Green Heron...butt he left the limb...

Trying to shoot a Thrush through all of the scrub and leaves is always exciting! I believe this was a Swainson's Thrush.

Yep...it's one of those wildflower things...Tommy will let me know what it is!

In the bush right next to this tree was a Blue-winged Warbly. While I was trying to get everyone on it, it flew before I got a shot. By the way, this is a Yellow-billed Cuckoo...cuckoo like me!

 

There weren't a lot of warblies to see this year...a good number of species but the quantities seemed to be low. Could have been caused by the Canadian wild fires in their breeding range. This is a butter butt! Also known as a Yellow-rumped Warbly. Also know as a Myrtle Warbly...just to confuse you more...

Okay! Did you guess the birdie at the start of the bloggity post?

Yep, a beautiful Blackburnian Warbly!

Until next week..get out and find some birds!

The Biggest Week in American Birding!...part one..or so...

 One of the few warblies of the day was this gorgeous Blackburnian Warbler.

For the past two weekends, I've been participating in The Biggest Week in American Birding festival. I drove van loads of happy birders to some of the best areas in northwest Ohio to see some of the best birds! Some folks even managed to get lifers! I was lucky enough to co-lead two beginners and access challenged bird walks at Pearson Metropark in Oregon, Ohio. It's a fantastic park with great treails and a "window on wildlife" as well. Oh, and a playground too...but they wouldn't let me play on it.

This first installment is from Friday May 3rd, a moist and misty day. Of course, I wore shorts and everyone thought I must be a little loopy...and they are right you know. I didn't think about bringing long pants, once the shorts come out, they stay out!

Make sure you come to next years Biggest Week which should be Bigger than ever! I hope to see you there!

A Barn Swallow chillin' on the rocks at Howard marsh.

Yoiks! Those are some long legs. No wonder they them Black-necked Stilts!

This Black-throated Blue Warbly posed nice...for a split second...

...and then he was off to places unknown...

Thousands of Blue Jays were soaring along the shores edge of Lake Erie waiting for the right winds to help them fly across the lake to Canada.

A very shy Cape May Warbly...

Getting the stink eye from that Cape May because I caught him from behind!

Our leader said there was a Common Gallinule swimming across from us...so I took a dozen pics of "across from us." You find him!

Alllllll the way to the right end of the frame, the last frame by the way...

The Dunlin were a little easier to find...there were dozens to pick from!

I picked this Dunlin too...

Not the least of my photos of peeps...this is a Least Sandpiper..ha.... 

Called that because he is the smallest of sandpipers.

Why it's a turtley turtle! A Midland Painted Turtley turtle...

I'm thinking about starting a new spin off blog called "Woodpeckers From Behind"...or not.

This is a Red-headed Woodpecker...and I'll leave that idea alone.

At Pearson's window on wildlife we saw close to a dozen Rose-breasted Grosbeaks!

This solitary sandpiper is called a Solitary Sandpiper...for obvious reasons. Bad breath?

And this sandpiper with spots is called...you guessed it! A Spotted Sandpiper. You kids are catching on!

This wildflower growing in the wild is a wildflower that I do not known the name of.

Woo-hoo! My most favoritest bird song is from this lovely Wood Thrush!

(It's not really made of wood...)

And I'll leave you for today with the appropriately named Yellow-rumped Warbly...from the front though...next time I'll get it right...

Until next time, happy birding!

 

More from Costa Rica...Toucans to Waterfalls...

That's a very distant Yellow-throated (or black-mandibled, depending on your field guide!)

Yep, still living the Pura Vida! I have so many memories of great times with my new and old friends in Costa Rica...not to mention the number of photos I took!

Most of these shots were taken during our trip to a finca, or farm, which I can't remember the name of, and of the Nauyaca Waterfalls. I do remember the heat of that day! Close to 90 degrees with all the humidity there is! I was soaking wet, even before the waterfalls! Even with that I would love to go back to do some serious birding!

In the meantime, enjoy a few more photos of our adventure!

I finally got close enough to get a good shot!

Another yellow-throated toucan trying to hide...he needs to find some bigger branches...

Woo-hoo! A lifer warbly! It's been a while since I've gotten a new one...this is a buff-rumped warbler hunting in a small stream.

Uh...moo amigo...

After the hike to the waterfalls and a wander around the finca property, we were parched to say the least. Our host made this very refreshing drink with pure and fresh cane sugar, lemons delivered by horseback(really!) and various spices. It tasted like sweet tea and was fantastic!

This is one of the views from the farm.I would love to wake up to this everyday!

This is definitely a flower...I could tell. Pretty clever, aren't I?

A pair of golden carpenter ants...with bad attitudes!

These are about a half inch long with serrated mandibles. I would not want to be chewed on by them, nope.

Under that leaf is a leaf cutter ant. They cut leaves. And carry them. I carry a camera, not leaves.

This was a big surprise to me! It's a Montezuma oropendula, normally found much further north of our location. Birds have wings and their territory is spreading.

Ken and I, kings of the rocks! That's Brian's head just to the left...what muscles I have!

This is the lower part of Nauyaca Waterfall. That man gives you some scale. He later climbed up much higher and leapt off...nope, not me!

So many streams branched off of the falls...with nice cool water!

Mini-falls!

Here we go...who's that skinny bald guy in the second row?

One of the only butterflies that sat still long enough for me! A white satyr.

I was truly surprised to see white-tailed deer in Costa Rica...they're a bit smaller than the Ohio deer.
 

Thanks again for visiting! Stay tuned for more of PURA VIDA!