Recent June Outings
Published: June 22, 2014
Tags: General Observations, American Bittern, Acadian Flycatcher, Louisiana Waterthrush, Cliff Swallow, Black Tern, Purple Martin
I've done a bunch of birding the last several days since returning from Long Island - but at a much slower pace! Some of the places I birded were: Hunter's Creek, Chestnut Ridge, Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, and Tonawanda Island. I haven't added any life birds since my trip, but I have seen a couple of FOY's (First of Years).
I really enjoyed my time at Hunter's Creek. It was the first time I've hiked there and I loved the cool and silence of the woods. I was hoping to find an Acadian Flycatcher there - and was fooled a few times but the truncated songs of some Red-eyed Vireos, but alas, no true Acadian made itself known to me. In addition to a Pileated Woodpecker, 2 Hairy Woodpeckers, and a couple of Eastern Wood-Pewees, I saw some Ovenbirds, American-Redstarts, a Hooded Warbler, and, surprisingly, 3 Blackburnian Warblers. That was very nice!
The next day, Chestnut Ridge produced the Acadian, a relatively larger and more olive flycatcher than a Willow or Alder. I had stopped along the creek to watch and photograph a pair of Louisiana Waterthrushes I had come upon, when, a few minutes later, I heard the unmistakeable "PEET!" of the Acadian Flycatcher further down the creek. I slowly made my way towards it and was rewarded with the sight of this year bird - and eventually his two-syllable "PEET-SAH!" call a few times. He was quite vociferous, calling on and off as I watched him dive for insects, which was a real treat too!
Later in the week, a couple of trips to Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge brought some wonderful views of 5 different American Bitterns, several Black Terns, Purple Martins, and some nice sights of nesting birds.
I found one more year bird at Tonawanda Island, where I was told Cliff Swallows are nesting for the first time. It was a real sight to watch these swift-moving swallows swoop in and dab more mud onto their growing gourd-shaped nests on the underside of the bridge. And I heard it takes about 1,000 dabs of mud to complete one of these nests! I really enjoyed getting a chance to study them at close range. This stocky swallow is easily identified by its short, straight tail and the adult's bright white forehead. It was a very educational stop for me and I highly recommend it!
Louisiana Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Louisiana Waterthrush
Acadian Flycatcher - "PEET!"
Yellow Warbler with a fresh catch
Yellow Warbler
Cedar Waxwings are showing up all over these days!
2 American Bitterns (one is an immature, most likely)
American Bittern
American Bittern
It's hard to see but there's a young Downy Woodpecker peeking out from its nest cavity
A parent White-breasted Nuthatch removes a fecal sac from its nest cavity
A female American Redstart sitting on her nest
Eastern Phoebe giving me a nice close-up
A rare good view of a Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Purple Martin hawking a dragonfly
Carrying it to its young
And the delivery!
Black Tern
Black Tern
Osprey at nest - there was at least 1 young one up there, but it wouldn't pop its head out again!
Osprey
A view of the whole mud nest of one of the swallows as it's peeking out
Cliff Swallow
Hard at work
Back out for more mud!
Go Back
Go to Top