How many Birds?

Black Vulture

The sun was shining this morning and we decided to take a road trip to Lexington, KY. McDonald's had about 8 cars in line, so we passed it by. Wendy's only had 2 cars, but only one person was working inside and he said it would take a while before he could get to us. We finally went into Thornton's for breakfast, which ruined my WeightWatcher's count for the day.

Black Vultures basking in the sun

 It was about 8:45 when we arrived at Jacobson's Park and all the Black Vultures were still on the ground. Are they juveniles who can't fly yet? If it's too early, why aren't they perched in a roosting tree? None of this seemed to bother them at all. They barely looked at us as we walked by.

Black Vulture - white wing tips

It was almost 11 am before we saw many vultures in the air. We submitted 34 Black Vultures to eBird, but it certainly felt like we saw more than that. When they all lifted up, I tried to take a photo but they were too far away to get the impact. Of course, we saw Turkey Vultures too, but not as many, and none on the ground. One of those soaring Turkey Vultures ended up being an Osprey!

Goose Family

When we arrived we saw this nice little goose family, walking down to the lake for their morning swim. As we began to walk down the lake edge ourselves, there were more geese. 4 + 13 + 27 + 30...You get the idea. I usually just estimate the numbers of birds we see, but I actually counted this time and submitted 173 Canada Geese to eBird!! They were everywhere on the bank. An hour or so later, they all moved into the lake for a swim too. I may need to check my new boots this evening to see if there is goose poop on them.

Common Grackle

I didn't count the Common Grackles after this guy gave me the evil eye, but I submitted 150, which may have been a little low.

Killdeer - broken wing act

 Killdeers nest right out there on the ground. Their eggs can be hard to see even though they are completely exposed. If something (like people) get too close, the adult will run squawking in the other direction, pretending to have a broken wing to distract any potential predators. The playground at the park was closed, but as we walked by, someone said, "want to see the Killdeer?" We approached cautiously, and this bird flopped around like she was  injured, just like the book says! We did not approach any closer, not wanting to disturb her. Under"normal" circumstances, they would never have laid eggs on the playground, but since there have been no people for months, I guess they thought it would be a nice place for children.

Killdeer in flight

On the other side of the lake, we must have see 5-6 of them flying overhead, calling ki-dee, ki-dee!

Killdeer - red eyering

 And this one landed close enough to see his red-eyering. Many birds get red eyes when they are old enough to breed, but most eye-rings are white or buff colored.

Mallard Mama and ducklings

There weren't large numbers of Mallards, but these babies were so cute I couldn't resist. I was disappointed (the polite word for it) by the amount of trash left on the sides of this otherwise lovely lake. OK, 'nuff said.

Mississippi Kite

I've seen reports of a pair of Mississippi Kites at Veteran's Park in Lexington, so we headed there next. I've never been there before and didn't know exactly where to look. The open areas were all mowed short, and the wooded areas were full of dirt-bikers. Surprisingly, 3-4 different walkers saw our binoculars and asked if we were looking for that "Mississippi" bird. We looked where they indicated, but didn't see anything. One guy said, "Look for Earl, with a camera and tripod," and right then Earl walked up. He had wonderful photos of the pair already. After we watched one of them soaring for a long time without flapping, he took us where they have been seen working on a nest. No luck again. But it was great to see one flying at least. We used to have a pair in St. Matthews, nearby, but they haven't come back in the last couple of years. Believe it or not, when I got home, I saw an email from a person I know in St. Matthews, and they are seeing kites with nesting materials again!!

Birding in the 'Burbs

A cold front came through last evening with heavy rain, gusty winds and much cooler more pleasant temperatures. When we got up this morning the clear blue sky called, and off we went birding at some nearby St. Matthews city parks. Didn't find anything exotic, although you never can tell, but we enjoyed the birds we did find.

Canada Geese are year round residents in Kentucky these days. None of this tiring migrating stuff for our birds. The weather ususally isn't too bad in winter, and there are plenty of places to stay and things to eat. Why should they leave? The first park runs along Beargrass Creek, and the geese were out in force. We saw at least 25 adults, and about the same number of goslings in various sizes. It looked like three families decided to come to the park for a picnic with their 15 youngsters!

We were very careful to be respectful of the parents, since they can take a chunk out of you real fast. Aren't these babies cute little fuzz balls?

Mama Mallard and her fuzzy ducklings dabbled in the shallow water for goodies. Looks like the ducklings know just how to do it.

I'm getting better with eBird. It's much easier to do on the phone app than to wait and use the laptop when I get home. I can now find existing hotspots, such as Draut Park, with no problem. I set up my own personal spot for another small park and saved it. Is there a way to name some of these?

It's funny that we saw no hawks at all over the weekend in rural Western Kentucky. A Red-shouldered Hawk circled the park, landed briefly, then took off again, chased by both a Mockingbird and Robin. Poor guys. It's tough to be persecuted.

I love the iridescent feathers and bright yellow eye of the Common Grackle.

Mississippi Kite

To finish off our morning of birding in St. Matthews, we headed for the residential area where the Mississippi Kites have returned for their 3rd year (I think)! I'm always amazed that they would choose a neighborhood filled with houses and cars to nest in. There must be enough insects nearby to satisfy them, but I could have thought a more open area would have provided easier hunting. There are two pairs that have been coming back. Even our friend who lives on that street isn't positive where their nest actually is.