It was also an opportunity for me to test my new 400mm Canon lens, which took some pretty good pictures of the owl.
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| Snowy Owl - 25/12/2016 |
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| Snowy Owl - 25/12/2016 |
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| Snowy Owl - 25/12/2016 |
Sunday, December 25, 2016
SNOWY OWL!!!
Today, Christmas Day, I visited Ponquogue Beach in Hampton Bays to try and find an owl. I have been visiting this site for years in hope of finding one, but these trips were never successful. After walking along the beach for only a short time I located my lifer Snowy Owl in the dunes, an individual with intermediate barring, so either an immature male or an adult female. Despite the many surfers and people walking dogs on the beach, the owl seemed calm and unbothered.
It was also an opportunity for me to test my new 400mm Canon lens, which took some pretty good pictures of the owl.
It was also an opportunity for me to test my new 400mm Canon lens, which took some pretty good pictures of the owl.
Friday, December 23, 2016
Birding Central Park
Central Park is most famous for warblers in Spring, but Winter is good for birds as well. I spent two days in Manhattan, and visited the park on both days.
Day 1:
On my first visit to Central Park, I started in the south of the park and headed to the Reservoir. On the way I saw a Hermit Thrush on a fence post. I was amazed at the tameness of the birds in the park, including the thrush, which let met approach it closely.
Day 1:
On my first visit to Central Park, I started in the south of the park and headed to the Reservoir. On the way I saw a Hermit Thrush on a fence post. I was amazed at the tameness of the birds in the park, including the thrush, which let met approach it closely.
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| Hermit Thrush - 21/12/2016 |
I then continued on to the Reservoir, where I saw Northern Shovelers, Buffleheads, Ruddy Ducks, American Coots and American Black Ducks.
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| Ruddy Duck - 21/12/2016 |
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| Bufflehead - 21/12/2016 |
In the Ramble, my main objective was to find a Fox Sparrow. After looking through the flock of White-throated Sparrows for a long time, I finally managed to locate a Fox Sparrow, with beautiful reddish coloration.
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| Fox Sparrow - 21/12/2016 |
Day 2:
On my second trip, my main goal was to see the Green-winged Teal and Wood Duck that had been reported in the days prior. I headed to the Pond where I quickly located the teal and got great views, while the Wood Duck was largely concealed by vegetation.
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| Wood Duck - 22/12/2016 |
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| Green-winged Teal - 22/12/2016 |
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| New York Skyline - 22/12/2016 |
Birding Shinnecock Inlet
I arrived in New York last week with Harlequin Duck, Snowy Owl and Snow Goose on my target list for the trip. Earlier this week I headed down to Shinnecock Inlet in Hampton Bays to search for winter birds. It was around -5 degrees Celsius at the Inlet, and very windy. I walked to the jetty and scanned the flock of Black Scoters and to my surprise, I saw a pair of Harlequin Ducks.
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| Harlequin Duck - 19/12/2016 |
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| Harlequin Duck - 19/12/2016 |
The female was far out but the male came quite close to shore. The male's white markings and chestnut coloration was truly beautiful, but I continued down the beach to a massive flock of gulls. After doing a lot of walking and searching, I was rewarded with an Iceland Gull. My camera was out of battery, so I took a picture with my phone through my binoculars.
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| Iceland Gull - 19/12/2016 |
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| Iceland Gull - 19/12/2016 |
Sunday, December 11, 2016
Birding Lake Constance
Lake Constance, shared between Germany, Switzerland and Austria, is a great place to go birding in winter. Many birds that are rare in the rest of Switzerland can be found here.
My birding trip started on the Untersee, a small water body connected to Lake Constance by the Rhine river. The Ermatinger Becken in the East of the Untersee is a well-known location for Bewick's (Tundra) Swans in winter. After scanning the lake we found two female Red-breasted Mergansers, a Spotted Redshank, and one Tundra Swan. The swan was a great distance away, on the other side of the lake in Germany, and was difficult to identify because its bill was hidden most of the time. At the train station we saw two Stock Doves, a lifer for me, in a group of Collared Doves.
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| Stock Dove - 11/12/2016 |
We continued on to the town of Altnau, a reliable place to see Arctic Loons and other open-water species. As soon as we arrived at the lake, a flock of 8 Velvet Scoters flew by, quite far out on the lake. This was another lifer, and an uncommon species in Switzerland. We then saw two Arctic Loons close to shore.
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| Velvet Scoters - 11/12/2016 |
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| Arctic Loon - 11/12/2016 |
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| Arctic Loons - 11/12/2017 |
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| Horned Grebe - 11/12/2016 |
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| Caspian Gull - 11/12/2017 |
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