A Heron Rookery and Some Turtles

 Herons

The herons are nesting at Kent Lake MetroPark.

Turtles

A Few Smaller Birds

And the Cranes

Photos © 2024 mae sander

Early Spring: Red-Winged Blackbirds in the Park

 

At Kensington Park we saw quite a few Red-Winged Blackbirds today.
Easiest to photograph: those that were eating seeds provided by people who feed the birds.

From the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology: a map of Red-Winged Blackbird habitation,
We are on the edge of the territory where they breed but do not spend the winter.
In other years, I’ve seen my first blackbird of the year in March, so it’s time!

The Red-winged Blackbirds are Singing

Song Birds by Roger Tory Peterson

When I was a child, I had a picture book about birds (not this one, probably the Little Golden Book of Birds). I continue to be especially fond of the birds that were depicted there, including the Red-winged Blackbird, the Red-headed Woodpecker, the Scarlet Tanager, the Bluebird, and the Baltimore Oriole. I loved their names, as well as the images, and when I started to be a birder, I loved discovering the real birds. Even now, every spring I’m very happy when I hear these blackbirds sing — a sure sign of the changing seasons.

Earlier this week on a walk, we saw only one of them, lurking in the bushes, but we heard quite a few of them singing their beautiful trilling song. I suspect that they returned from the South a while ago, but I haven’t been birding here recently. To celebrate the return of these spring singers, I looked for some art work depicting them.

Illustration by Roger Tory Peterson
highlighting the field mark: the bird’s red wing patch.

19th Century Print from the Library of Congress

Illustration from Audubon's famous book of American birds.

1987 US Postage Stamp

Our first sighting of a Red-winged Blackbird in 2021 was at the beginning of March.

The Celery Bog, West Lafayette, Indiana

This juvenile Great Horned Owl was hatched this winter
in the nest at the Celery Bog. We saw it Tuesday morning.
We always enjoy a visit to the Celery Bog when we visit here.

 

A flock of around 50 white pelicans arrived at the Celery Bog a few weeks ago
on their migration route — a first time for visiting in such numbers.

I usually neglect robins. Maybe a mistake.

…. and starlings? Worthy of a look?

I’m quite fond of red-winged blackbirds and their songs.

Blog post and photos © 2022 mae sander.

Spring Plumage

The return of red-winged blackbirds tells us that it's almost spring. On a recent walk in the woods at Kensington Metropark, we saw a few of these harbingers, showing their spring plumage. Hearing their song really signals that spring is coming, even though it is cold and snow is still on the ground.

Quite a few other birds were flying around, landing in the trees, and hopping through the bushes as we walked. Some were eating seeds from the hands of other visitors to the park. For many years, near the Kensington MetroPark Nature Center, people have been feeding the birds. The birds that are the biggest beggars are the titmice, the chickadees, and a few other small songbirds. The seeds also attract other species.

  

Doves pick up the seeds that have dropped when people
were hand-feeding the other birds.

These doves seem to be feeling the cold!

Red-tailed hawk.

White-breasted nuthatch.

Downy woodpecker.

Red-bellied woodpecker.

A number of sandhill cranes now live in the park year-around,
and are rather tame. They too are in breeding plumage.

Warning signs in the park say you should not feed the cranes.

The reeds are still very dry and wintery.

Blog post © 2022 mae sander. Photos by Len Sander.

Spring? Perhaps.

 New photos from an afternoon walk:

Much of the ice has melted at Ford Lake.

The red-winged blackbirds have just returned from their winter habitat, which may be as far as
800 miles from here. Seeing them and hearing their song is a real sign of spring!

Blog post © 2021 mae sander.