Meadowlark Morning

A friend went to Long Run Park yesterday, and posted beautiful photos of a Wood Duck pair he found, so this morning Dick and I headed for eastern Jefferson County in the bright spring sunshine to look for Wood Ducks. Although we scanned every inch of shoreline, particularly the small protected coves, we did not find any Wood Ducks. All our hours of listening to bird calls on tape came into good use though, since all the birds were singing loudly!

I love the sound of Meadowlarks, and they were everywhere this morning. One flew across the road before us, so we got out and played their call on my phone app to see if we could get a good look at him. He dashed out of the grass, over our heads, and into a tall tree where he could get a good look around for competitors.

 We casually walked his way, still playing the call from time to time. He eyed us from above, and eventually flew down, circled once, then dropped back into the grass. No fooling this guy! He knew exactly where that sound was coming from. Once he was sure we were no threat he got back down to whatever business was on hand for this morning. It was a real thrill for us to see him gleaming in the sun though!

Lots of other birds were enjoying the sunshine too. We saw more Blue Jays than any other bird I think, both calling "Jay Jay" and chasing each other around. I don't remember seeing so many of them at once, and thought they might be migrating, but the field guide said they are year-round residents in Kentucky. Someone had put a pile of dog food kibble on the ground and both Jays and Red-bellied Woodpeckers were taking advantage of the gift.

Cardinals chipped back and forth...

...while Grackles gave us the evil eye from overhead...

...and Red-winged Blackbirds called from almost every branch it seemed.

A pair of Red-shouldered Hawks circled each other, calling "Keer Keer", followed by a silent but majestic young Red-tailed Hawk up among the Turkey and Black Vultures.

Then a very unusual bird caught our attention. Instead of a "mottled" duck, this looked like a "model" duck - otherwise known as a model airplane with pontoons. The engine was quiet enough to not disturb the birds and we had fun watching it fly around. Tomorrow the temperatures should drop again, so I'm glad we got out there while the gettin' was good!

Birding Expectations

Expectations are funny things. If you expect a lot, you can be disappointed sometimes. If you don't expect much, you may not try as hard. Since we were here last year, I had an idea of what to look for, and honestly, we've been a bit disappointed, in both the number of species and individuals found so far. The Alabama Birding Trail hasn't always resulted in much. This year's birding festival was last week -- can a week make such a difference? The weather turned cold and extra windy, and I'm not sure if this makes the birds stay put or what. Also, we have stayed on the beach and the coast instead of the inland marshy areas for the most part, so that may make a difference too. We have seen quite a few warblers, but without an expert, all I can do is say - Oh, there's another warbler! Actually identifying them is pretty tough. Same with any smaller shore birds. I recognize the Willets and Sanderlings with confidence, but anything else is just a guess. Maybe sometime I should ask Santa for a $2,000 Swarovski scope...

However, today we did have some pretty nice finds, though not the ones we expected, around Perdido Bay. A terrific boardwalk led over the dunes and I got some real postcard photos. Maybe someday I can make a lot of money selling photos to the gift shops! Dick says this Heron was hiding in the sea oats for fasting and meditation! An Osprey circled us for a while, and I'm learning the tricks with my new camera, so these turned out pretty well. A pod of 8-10 dolphins swam up and down the channel, for some shots I usually don't see.

We've become fascinated with tracks in the sand, both human and otherwise. Today I saw some unusual prints that looked like a really really small car tire tread, but they were under water along the bank. As I looked, a sea shell moved along the bottom, and I realized a hermit crab was in it, making the tracks we saw!

Before leaving this spot on the Birding Trail, we heard some action in the brush and went to investigate, adding a Swamp Sparrow to our life list. The really strange find was a large (robin sized) bird with a yellow belly, and brown and buff stripes on its head. The more I looked, the more I thought it was a Meadow Lark. What do you think? Maybe a juvenile, or just in nonbreeding feathers. How did this guy get to the swamp by a lagoon so close to the ocean? I know Alabama has agricultural areas that would be great for it, but I think he got turned down the wrong road!