1 April 2010
Neotropic Cormorant
Digiscoped with Swarovski ATS65 HD scope.
19 May 2008
Spotted Owl
Found nesting during my third and final assault on the canyon to get this smart Mexican owl.
10 May 2009
American Woodcock
This was taken during the inaugural Black Swamp Bird Observatory's "Woodcock Extravaganza". This guided walk involves listening intently for the bleeping of a woodcock, and then trying to home in on where it is calling from (this sound is always given from the deck). Fixing our sights on the general area from whence it came we listened for the next phase, the whinnying sound of the wings as the bird jetted strongly up into the heavens, becoming a tiny black dot in the dusky sky. We followed him then as best we could and listened for the last distinct notes that betray his next dramatic display move-plummeting back to Earth to almost the exact same spot from which it came. As we had staked this out well earlier, he shot down to the ground right beside where we were waiting for him so that it landed just feet away from us. Magic, so magic in fact we watched it all again several times. A great dusk trip.
19 April 2009
Mississipi Kites
This shows the true magic of migration - no one would have predicted a drop in of kites of this magnitude in the evening, but that is exactly what happened with 62 birds in this flock, and another 40 or so also floating around elsewhere in the local area. In some ways this summed up the 2009 spring season at High Island, a cut above the average and full of surprises.
21 May 2009
Chuck-wills-widow
When one of the founders and resident banders at the Black Swamp Bird Observatory, Mark Shieldcastle, pulled this giant goatsucker out of the net (during the daytime) he found a couple of dune bugs alive and wriggling around in its substantial mouth!
20 May 2009
Eastern Screech-owl
This rufous form bird was paired up with a grey phase one alongside the boardwalk.
May 2009
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Hopping around on one side of the boardwalk while the other in the "ID-pair", Swainson's Thrush, was rustling around in the leaf litter across on the other side of the trail.
24 April 2008
Barred Owl
Taken while running around in west Texas with Alan Davies and Ruth Miller, the Biggest Twitch team when they were in the process of setting the world record for number of species seen in one year (over 4,000 birds!) All very, very good fun.
