Lake Trashmore

Black-crowned Night Heron

Our friend Pam from the Beckham Birding Club, is a professional photographer and a great birder. Last year she made a presentation to the club about a place behind a shopping center that I'd never heard of, and had wonderful photos to go with it. So yesterday, we decided to check it out. The South Beargrass Creek Retention Basin is purportedly run by MSD, and is bordered by rows of apartment buildings on one side and big shopping centers on the other side. Not an enticing place for birds, yo think. The South Branch has been completely channelized, and runs in straight lines, often through open concrete viaducts. This basin has a surprising amount of water, but I could never find a place where water flowed into it. Anyway, for a trashy lake, it had some pretty nice birds, including 3 Black-crowned Night Herons. I used to see them all the time at the Falls of the Ohio, and they nested in a residential area near U of L for a while, but eBird lists them as infrequent. 

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

 Two Great Blue Herons and a Great Egret were the largest birds, flying from one end of the lake to the other as we walked along. You can see why I call it Lake Trashmore. I don't understand why people would dump stolen grocery carts and garbage cans in the lake, or how they ever got to it with their loot. The birds just ignored it.

Canada Goose Family

Goose teenagers with chinstrap

Gander showing his displeasure at our presence

 There was a large population of Canada Geese, taking walks with their families or just chatting with the neighbors in the lake. This gander was definitely defending his family, so we gladly stayed 6 feet away from him, wondering if that would be enough.

 

For some reason, about 30 geese on the lake when we arrived decided it was time to leave, so they did. I hope it wasn't something we said.

Crooked Necked Goose

We thought this one was just being threatening, but as he walked away, we saw that his neck was crooked all the time. 

Red-winged Blackbird - "go away!"

Red shoulders

Dive bomber

 Lots of Red-winged Blackbirds were on the nest, and the males chased each other everywhere. It is pretty impressive to see these big red headlights coming at you. I guess we were a little to close to the nest of one bird, who actually flew circles around us until we walked away. Poor guy, maybe next time they will nest farther away from the road.

Killdeer and grocery cart

 At one end of the lake, there were rocks and shallow pools of water. This would be perfect for Killdeers, I thought, and sure enough, we found one and heard another. Again, they didn't seem to mind the trash.

Mystery Flycatcher

Flycatchers placed themselves around the lake, belting out "which beer?" as loud as they could. I asked the birders group and they thought it might be an Olive-sided Flycatcher. They all look the same to me. Wow, this is my 15th blog post in the month of May. I've never done that before! With the COVID quarantine, going outside to walk (or bird) is about all you can do when cabin fever hits. And Spring has lasted longer than usual. Today summer moves in though, with temps in the high 80's and thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening. Well, we knew it wouldn't last.

Cuckoo! Cuckoo! Along the Salt River

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

White spots on bottom of tail

Dick has a friend from Bernheim who suggested we try a little town park in Shepherdsville, KY, right along the Salt River. He says his sister found some Yellow-billed Cuckoos there. I found the little park to be very pleasant. The Salt River, like all rivers around here, was running high, but the park was well maintained. As I walked along the trees growing by the river, I called for the cuckoo, but got no response. A few minutes later, however, a large brown bird circled around and landed above me, give me the eye -"You lookin' for me?" AllAboutBirds reports that they breed all over the eastern United States, and I think this was a breeding pair, since I heard another of them in the background. If you can't get a full view, look for the underside of the tail for big white spots. Much more instructive than the undertail you get from a warbler!

Purple Martin

Purple Martin

It's funny how we get into ruts when identifying birds. If it's dark blue and swooping around, I automatically say "Barn Swallow" and most of the time that would be correct. However, when I started to add this bird just now, I dawned on me that this bird has a face that is entirely dark, no rust on its face at all. In fact, it is a Purple Martin taking a rest from chasing bugs over the river, although there were plenty of Barn swallows around. Yeah, I'll change my eBird report! Native Americans hung up empty gourds for the Purple Martin before Europeans arrived in North America. Purple Martins in eastern North America now nest almost exclusively in birdhouses, but those in the West use mostly natural cavities.

Blackpoll Warbler

What else can I find that is exciting in this little park? Oh, there's a bird with a black cap. At first, it looks like a Chickadee, then I see the black and white stripes down the sides.

Blackpoll Warbler

Is it? Could it be a Blackpoll Warbler? Yes! It favors conifers in northern forests, especially stunted spruce at higher elevations for breeding, and is known for its exceptional migration over the Atlantic Ocean. They can travel from the East Coast of U.S. to South America in one nonstop flight of about 3 days! I wonder if the Blackpolls nesting in central Canada travel to the east coast before migrating over the ocean, or if they take the land route.

Carolina Chickadee

Well, this is a productive trip. Some little Chickadees are chasing each other, but one perches and ruffles its feathers and begs for food, apparently a fledgling following mama around.

Eastern Woods Pewee

As you walk along the forest edge, you will constantly hear a little bird calling "Pee-a-wee!" But rarely do they come down for a look. This little guy got really brave and came to let me have what for, shouting at the top of its lungs! Note that it is a pretty non-descript, plain gray bird. If it weren't calling, I wouldn't have known what it was. In fact, until I looked it up, I didn't realize it is a flycatcher, and most of them look alike.

Eastern Phoebe

Another flycatcher is the Eastern Phoebe, who calls out a raspy "Fee-Beee." It likes to nest near human habitation, so if you have to make a choice in the field, that can help. But watch for that constant tail bobbing characteristic of the Phoebe.

Red-shouldered Hawk

Earlier in the morning, I noticed a couple of smaller birds chasing a Red-Shouldered Hawk.  As I walked back to the car, I found both hawks in the air, showing off their beautiful soaring ability. 34 species on this trip to a small town park! A good day! And I got gas for cheaper at Kroger's there.

Surprise Birds

Black Vulture

This is the second time we have gone birding at Harrods Creek Park. Some friends said they saw Black-billed Cuckoos, so we thought, "Why not? Let's go!" There has been a lot of rain this week, and the creek itself is high, not so much from runoff as from back-up of the nearby Ohio River, so the trails were muddy. The vultures were not in their roost when we arrived, but had already taken off for the morning. You can see the white wing-tips of this Black Vulture and his stubby little tail, keys to identification for this species.

Canada Warbler

 Even the warbler Queens are shaking their head and saying the migration season is coming to an end. We have found more warblers than usual (because we've been out looking more than usual, I would guess) and today we added the Canada Warbler to our life list. At first we thought it was a Magnolia, but the black stripes don't go all the way down his side, and he has a huge white eye ring.

Cedar Waxwing

 A flock of Cedar Waxwings perched in a big sycamore tree. The poor sycamores have been hit by frost three times in the last couple of weeks, and are very late in sprouting their leaves. That's lucky for us birders!

Orchard Oriole

 Every time I see a dark orange breast with a dark head, I have to look carefully. It may be an Orchard Oriole, or it may be another robin. Sigh.

Prothonotary Warbler female

 As always, anytime we see birders with cameras looking intently into a tree, we go over and ask, "What you got there?" Today the response was Prothonotary Warblers! They must have a cavity nest nearby (Goodness knows there are plenty of cavities). This one must be the female, since she is disposing of the fecal sac from one of her youngsters!

Prothonotary Warbler

 Looking at the front of this bird, you would never guess he's such a beautiful blue-gray on the back.

Prothonotary Warbler singing

The male flitted around his territory making sure no one invaded. Just wait and he'll come close again.Then he sang with all his heart and you can see his little tongue vibrating!

Red-eyed Vireo

 I remember when I first learned about the Red-eyed Vireo, and although you hear it all the time, you rarely see it. I've gotten lucky or more skilled this spring, since it seems that I find one almost every time we go out. This one has a big yummy bug he was beating against the branch before eating it. Just to get it tenderized, I guess.

Wood Thrush

Wood Thrush

 The Wood Thrush is another of those heard but rarely seen birds. Always singing in the woods where you can't see them. I found a nest today, then this Wood Thrush was singing right over our heads. Looking around, I think this was his nest and he was defending it vigorously.

Great Blue Heron nest

We know there is a Great Blue Heron rookery somewhere on Harrods Creek. We asked hikers along the trail if they knew where the rookery was, and each one of them responded "huh?" not knowing anything about birds. At one point, we heard something that sounded like ducks quacking softly, and thought it might be the rookery. We have a friend who does know where the rookery is, and might be persuaded to take us up there in kayaks. If so, we need to go before they all grow up and fly away.

How to Choose a Birding Spot

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

It has rained for the last two days, so we stayed home for the most part. And each day, other birders post on FaceBook or the email list about the rare birds they have seen that day. When we try to plan what to do the next morning, we have to consider where to go and what we might see there, along with the weather forecast. A Connecticut Warbler is still hanging around at Cherokee Park, but we missed it the last time we went there. Good reports are coming in from Jacobsen Lake in Lexington, and I'm tempted to give it a try.

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

This morning we decided to head a short distance to Anchorage Park. We are familiar with it, and both wore our mud boots, knowing that wet spots would be abundant after the recent rain. After chatting with two of our bird club friends, we tactfully walked on our own, forging into the low marshy area by a creek. Yes, it was full of water, but we were prepared. We got a good look at several Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, a small active bird with a white eyering. As it hops from branch to branch, this steely blue-gray bird flicks its white-edged tail from side to side, scaring up insects and chasing after them. I've heard folks guess that it's a baby Mockingbird.

Blackberry bushes

Grandiflora Rose - invasive

Yellow Flag - invasive

White-tailed Deer

The Anchorage Trail is used by dog-walkers, exercisers, kids with bikes and birders. It was established, oh, I don't remember, maybe 10 years ago, by a generous donation from the U of L basketball coach who lived nearby at the time. It has a nice paved walkway, fancy stone bridges and goes along Willow Lake. In the beginning, it was planted with Kentucky native plants in grasslands next to the woods. However, over the years, invasives have taken over. Bradford pears, grandiflora rose, and even yellow flag (an iris) have spread all over. I grumble about it, but we walk there anyway. This morning, the mower made it hard to hear the birds. I know, he needs to mow, and doesn't know that we will be there. It's nothing personal.

Pileated Woodpecker

Pileated Woodpecker

 We mentioned to our friends that we hadn't seen a Pileated Woodpecker yet this year, and a few minutes later they found one up in a sycamore tree. They are the largest woodpecker in Kentucky, and peck out rectangular shaped holes. Remember Woody Woodpecker? It was modeled on this bird. The biggest thing about it is how to pronounce the name. Some birders say "Pie-lee-ated" while others pronounce it "Pill-e-ated." I used the second pronunciation since that's how my mother-in-law always said it! We walked on down the trail humming "You say to-ma-to and I'll say to-mah-to." But we sang softly and listened to the Barred Owl hooting in the woods.

Great Blue Heron

The lake can have half a dozen different kinds of ducks, but not today. We saw a family of Mallards with six teenagers, almost as big as their mother. Two Great Egrets flew overhead, along with lots of swallows snatching bugs out of the air. Finally, a Great Blue Heron coasted in for a landing on the other side.

Baltimore Oriole

Baltimore Orioles are beautiful birds, especially when the sun hits their bright orange breast. They all sing different songs, and you just have to remember the tone of their whistle. 

Cedar Waxwings

 Cedar Waxwings are on the move. We saw 6 or 8 of them perched in a tree top. Through the binoculars they looked yellow, but were too big to be Gold Finches. Then we noticed the crest on their heads. They are unusual looking birds, who like to hang around together eating berries. If ever in doubt, remember to look for the tip of their tails that look like they have been dipped in yellow paint! 

Total bird count on eBird today: 42! I don't think we've had that many on one walk in one location before. Total species count for the month of May: 102!

Cherokee Park After the Rain

Red-eyed Vireo

It rained a lot Friday night, but people saw wonderful warblers at Cherokee Park that day, so Saturday morning I resolved to get up and go find them myself. I've now decided that weather forecasts cannot be relied on. If they predict a low chance of rain, you will get wet. If they issue storm warnings, it may not rain at all. Sure, it was raining Saturday as I left the house, but I counted on it being a gentle, light, 35% kind of rain. I was wrong. Although I saw runners, bikers and golfers in the rain, I sat in the deserted parking area for a while before deciding to go on home. Primarily because I didn't want to use my binoculars and camera in the downpour. I was being prudent. By afternoon, the predicted rain had disappeared, and we headed back to the park to look for warblers after finding three amazing warblers in our own back yard. (see previous post)

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Beargrass Creek was running high and fast. In fact, it seemed to have overflowed its banks during the night, and everything was really muddy. Good thing I had my mud boots on as we slogged along the banks of the water. One of our target birds, sighted the day before, was the Black-throated Blue Warbler. This is a bird we had seen at Magee Marsh several years ago, so I was familiar with its appearance. The Connecticut Warbler was another target, and I had to ask other birders what it looked like. The described it and said, "It's right in those bushes" but we never did find it.

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Anyway, this little guy jumped around under the leaves, hiding from view as much as possible. If the light isn't just right, the blue looks black on him. If he faces you, you don't see the blue back feathers at all.

Black-throated Blue Warbler

But, if he turns just right, you get a marvelous profile view of the black throat and blue back feathers. The definitive field mark is the little white "handkerchief" on his wings. Yes, triumph - we found it on our own! It's great to identify a bird with confidence while still in the field. I logged the sighting in eBird, and was surprised to see an R for rare sighting next to the name. When I tried to submit my list for the afternoon, eBird demanded that I tell it more about why I thought my sighting was, in fact, this rare bird. When I got home, I was able to submit photos, the best evidence of all! Of course, the same bird was probably reported 20 times that day by various birders.

Swainson's Thrush

Some families of birds all look the same without intent study. I've been working on sandpipers this spring, but still get a little confused. Today, there was some kind of thrush every time we turned around. They are all a brown-ish color, with some degree of spots on their breast. But you might have a Wood Thrush, Veery, Hermit Thrush, or Grey-cheeked Thrush, so I kept taking photos of every thrush I could focus on for further research.

Swainson's Thrush

Their color can change depending on how much sunlight or shade they are in. If they face away from you, you can't get a good look at the spots on the breast. So when we got home, I made comparisons in AllAboutBirds.org to go for the details. The best clue I could find was the buffy eyering for the Swainson's Thrush. Every thrush picture had a buffy eyering.

Thrushes sing duets with themselves due to the unique characteristics of their syrinx. The larynx of a human, is higher up the throat, and only one air flow goes through it to make sound. A bird's syrinx, is at the spot where the two bronchial tubes join above the lungs. The bird can control the air flow from each lung to sing an echo or duet with itself, and thrushes excel at this.

Acadian Flycatcher

Willow Flycatcher ?

The Nettleroth Bird Sanctuary isn't really a separate park of Cherokee Park, but somehow cool birds tend to find their way in. And the city constructed a boardwalk over the areas that fill with water every time it rains. It really helps, as long as you remember not to step off the boardwalk when trying to see that warbler straight over your head! This is where I missed the Canada Warbler. I saw a large bird with a long tail fly into a tree, then disappear, and thought it might be a cuckoo. Several people reported Yellow-billed Cuckoos, so I may have been right.

American Restart

Walking up Maple Road, the two birders in front of us found all sorts of birds. Some have found a family of owls in this part of the park. This American Redstart (a warbler, although you wouldn't think so from his size) finally caught that bug and perched in the open to eat it. Yum! By now, I can hardly walk, my arthritic feet hurt so bad, so we decided to head on home. Where's the ibuprofen?