During the Third Week of May I did not travel as far as during the Second Week. I visited spots in NH and VT about equally — Mink Brook in Hanover twice and Norwich and Thetford in Vermont. My bird photograph week started Tuesday and ended Friday, although I got a hawk in my yard Saturday.
Tuesday
Common Yellowthroats were plentiful, and the trees were in bloom near the Mink Brook Nature Preserve in Hanover, NH.
Much of early morning Tuesday found me along the Quinn Trail. I took some photos that, while not “pretty”, told a story.
It is rare I get both genders of the same species in the same photo. Here are a pair of Common Yellowthroats.
Below are two different Common Yellowthroats than in the photo above. The male with a small bit of food is on the left; the female is on the right.
If you look closely at the bird on the left you might notice something above its eye. It appears to be a tick. Below is a cropped photo showing the tick closer up.
George Clark sent me a LINK to a discussion about ticks on birds. If you are squeamish about ticks you probably do not want to click on the word LINK.
I heard some loud noises down along Mink Brook. I turned and got a poor shot but one that shows an interesting interaction between species.
I got several photo of a Chestnut-sided Warbler with a red eye. Several others show the red a bit better, but the photo below is a better overall shot. Any ideas what causes this?
As I approached a small part of Mink Brook that extends quite far from the main river’s course, I noticed something dive below the bank. I was able to get a quick, poor shot of a Common Yellowthroat taking a bath.
Nearby was a Chipping Sparrow.
The photos above were taken along the part of the Quinn Trail that is west of the entrance gate. The photos that follow from Tuesday were taken along the Quinn Trail inside the gate to the east, but before the brook first comes close to the trail, not very far from the entrance.
I photographed a Veery teed up nicely for me on a dead piece of a tree.
The Veery then flew to the path near the kiosk and proceeded to walk toward me as it fed along the ground.
And I found an inquisitive-looking Tufted Titmouse.
Down among the ferns a House Wren sang.
And an Ovenbird made its presence known with its loud song, then popped out for a few photos.
My favorite bird of the morning was a Wilson’s Warbler. I only got one good photo of it Tuesday; I would have better luck Wednesday. Below is the photo from Tuesday.
Wednesday
I returned Wednesday morning to the Quinn Trail with a photographer friend. He has gotten some excellent photos of Great Blue Herons, Barred Owls, Bald Eagles, and feeder birds this season, but has had relatively little experience with fast moving warblers. So I was hoping to help him find a few, preferably somewhat below tree-top level.
Along the Quinn Trail and the nearby Brook Road we found Chestnut-sided Warblers.
And American Redstarts.
Beyond the entrance gate I heard, then saw, a Veery.
I also got photos of a Magnolia Warbler and a Canada Warbler that are good enough for identification but not for publication.
There were a pair of Red-eyed Vireos actually down near eye level instead of high up like they often are.
Again, the prime bird for me this morning was a Wilson’s Warbler. It moved nearly continuously and quickly but fed not much above eye level, something important for decent bird photos.
Below are two photos of the Wilson’s Warbler wearing it customary black cap.
Thursday
I checked out Campbell Flats in Norwich, VT Thursday morning but found little. Perhaps if I stayed longer there might have been a lot to discover, but I had two other spots I wanted to visit.
Heading back to Route 5, I had to stop to let a family of Canada Geese cross the road.
I hiked the railroad tracks at Kendall Station between Route 5 and the river. A Baltimore Oriole sang loudly from a birch.
A female Common Yellowthroat worked the brush down low.
Not much above eye level, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker fed with fast movements seeming oblivious of my presence.
I travelled just a bit north to Stevens Road in Thetford. I was searching for an Eastern Meadowlark, but no luck. I settled for a Bobolink as a consolation prize.
Back home in Etna, my wife and I went for a mid-morning hike. Not far from our start I got this Chestnut-sided Warbler.
Near the end of our walk I managed to photograph an Ovenbird.
Friday
I joined the Mascoma Audubon’s “Feathered Friday” walk at the Union Village Dam area in Thetford. But I decided to start early. A few feet from my car I got my first bird, a Common Yellowthroat.
Surprisingly, this one also appeared to have a tick on its left eye.
After crossing the river I was able to photograph both a male (top) and an elusive female (bottom) American Redstart. There were chasing each other around madly through the low trees.
Nearby was a Yellow Warbler.
I don’t often bother photographing Song Sparrows, but I managed to photograph one of the banded birds from this area.
By far the most prevalent species of the morning was the Chestnut-sided Warbler. It loudly sang possibly trying to drown out the House Wrens.
As the group arrived I was photographing a Least Flycatcher. The group was only a few yard away but behind some brush, when I took this photo of the Least Flycatcher.
It was foggy all morning. This made it a bit chilly, but really didn’t hamper the birding.
While we watched, a female Rose-breasted Grosbeak flew to a tree nearby. It stayed long enough for a photo.
I photographed two birds with similar-colored breasts. The first was a Baltimore Oriole singing loudly from the large tree in this spot.
The second was an American Robin. I liked the way it was partly hidden by the blur of yellow from the wildflowers in this spot.
I accidently flushed a Green Heron from the edge of the Pond. When it perched in a tree above the pond I was able to get a photo. There are two photos of it returning to the pond in a slide show at the end of this Blog.
I got a White-throated Sparrow along the road back to my car.
It was a nice end to the week of my travelling to photograph birds .
But there is more here. Please continue.
Saturday
I returned from my Saturday morning photography adventure to find a Broad-winged Hawk awaiting me in my Etna yard. Perhaps it knew I would be taking no bird photos after Friday morning unless it posed for me.
My photographic endeavors Friday evening and Saturday morning and evening were at the Experimental Balloon festival in Post Mills, VT. This is a great event that you might want to put on your calendar for next year. If you click the image below or HERE you will be taken to a page that discusses this event and more importantly provides links to two past events and to an amazing ballooning accomplishment I had the privilege to witness.
Here are some of the other bird photos I took the Third Week of May.
If you would like to see the photos I took the Second Week of May, please click those words.