Sunday, April 13, 2008

Weekend Snapshot: Birding

If pre-calculus is my most dreaded class; ornithology was my favorite. Childhood days were marked by my mother (an accomplished species enthusiast) continually pointing out members of the various avian “communities.” With many bird feeders strewn about our yard during the spring months, there were often nests nearby. This frequently resulted in us being awakened at sunrise by the sound of a zealous mama bird calling her children out of the nest (followed by my overzealous mom calling us out of ours to witness these feathery fledglings’ first flight).

While I am not the enthusiast my mother appears to be (she always insisted on taking out her “spy glasses” to check on everything with wings that moved in our yard), I jumped at the chance to take an ornithology class in college. Much of our time was spent on the college grounds, newly acquired binoculars “at-the-ready” to watch and identify the various creatures. Class trips to a nearby refuge were plentiful, and I enjoyed them so much it became frequent personal haunt. Returning to this wonderful atmosphere and scenic view always evokes a sense of joy and peace. One of the best times to visit is during the spring migration. On a visit last year, I observed over 30 different species of birds!

A trip this weekend yielded 14 various ornithological finds. With this in mind, I am anxious for this year’s spring migration, where the warmer weather will again find the refuge teeming with birds.

Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Muted Swan
Great Egret (more on these later)
Snow Goose
Red Winged Black Bird
Great Blue Heron
Canada Goose
"Osprey"
Laughing Gulls
Cormorant
American Oystercatcher
Sandpipers
Common Merganser

Feminus Homosapius Occularus (woman with binoculars)





(For all my photo friends, I promise to purchase a tripod, as I know this will result in sharper pictures.)

28 comments:

Stacey Olson said...

Great photos, lots of cool birds.. Love the shovler..

KOSTAS said...

Very good collection with beautiful birds and marvellous colours!

Natalie said...

What a great bunch of photos! :)

Gattina said...

I don't know anything about them but I appreciate the beauty of these birds !

Carver said...

Very interesting post and great shots of the various birds. I enjoyed this post a great deal.

tigerfish said...

Good capture of nature and its living things :)

SandyCarlson said...

Those are wonderful photos. I've never been so close to these guys. Thanks.

Pretty Life Online said...

wow! fantastic shots! mine's uptoo hope you can drop by.

Debbie @ Three Weddings said...

Calculus, yuck. My mother in law loves to watch birds. I like them, but other than the basics, I couldn't tell you what their names are. They're pretty, though.

Trish ~ ♥ ~ said...

Thank you everyone for your kind comments.

Debbie ~ Prior to taking this class I wasn't really into birding. But after going to this refuge and seeing so many different species and learning about each of them I have gained a greater appreciation. Unbelievable to me, even my 24 year old son found the refuge an amazing place.

maryt/theteach said...

Oh my! Such gorgeous photos! How do you possibly get them? Where do you live that so many birds are there!! Wonderful! :D

Also I think my tree is a bradford pear! Thanks so much!

forevermonk said...

oh my! very beautiful photos!!!ey thanks for dropping by my WS! have a great weekend to you!

Trish ~ ♥ ~ said...

Mary ~ I have a wonderful zoom lens for my camera however; I do need to invest in a tripod, I live near a wildlife refuge in the pinebarrens of Jersey. This affords many birding opportunties.

Anonymous said...

That is quite a collection of bird photos.

Unknown said...

YAY! I always love birds! You caught some really cool ones!

Unknown said...

What a lovely shots!

Gotta love it!

Happy WS!

Anonymous said...

great shots of those birds! :-)

Michele said...

Oh these are terrific... I am glad you named them here and I wish I could take you with me when I go out... I often see birds and wonder what they are. I am terrible at identifying them.

Rhea said...

I've never taken ornithology but I kicked butt in pre-calculus. :o)

Love the bird pictures!

Heart of Rachel said...

That is truly amazing. It must be rewarding to see all those fascinating birds. Thank you for sharing.

Trish ~ ♥ ~ said...

Michele ~ these are fairly common bird around here. When the "true" spring migration starts, around the beginning of May, I will encounter some I am not as familiar with.

Rachel ~ I really do enjoy seeing all the different species of birds. As I mentioned this refuge is a wonderful place for birding.

Again, thank you all for your kind comments. I hope you enjoy seeing my feathered friends as much as I do.

Napaboaniya.Elaine Ling said...

Real nice shots and lucky for you to be able to spot them around your place. For me in Singapore, I'll probably would only be able to spot beautiful birds in the Bird Park..

Anna said...

Wow!!!! Beautiful photos...Thanks for sharing...These birds are so pretty...

Mine is up:
My Newphew's Scrap Place
Scrap Addict Fever

Anonymous said...

Great set of pictures! Thanks for sharing that to us!

My weekend snapshots are now up, too! If you have time, please check it out here, here and here. Thanks. Have a great week ahead.

Lalaine said...

wow beautiful birds, beautiful shots!! and you can name them all!

HAve a great week ahead!

christine said...

This is the first I've heard of ornithology. You learn something new everyday! :) Lovely photos! But I'm inlove with your doggie! :)

marcia@joyismygoal said...

oh that looks Idyllic

Jean Chia aka Ms.Yummy~licious said...

nice shots! yeah, u should get a tripod. I am sure you'll make a great photographer! :)


Jean Chia