Yellow-throated Vireo
The Yellow-throated Vireo (Vireo flavifrons) seen here did plenty of singing and foraging for me on a recent spring morning while his mate tended to their new nest. They were located, as always, on the edge of a large forest, and while they love the cuts they do need sizable, unbroken woodlands. If you take a look at them from afar you may wonder why they have such a plumage…but if you look at some of my photos you may not have to ponder that anymore. What a perfect camouflage, especially in the spring! I have no doubt those looks help the species coax their insect prey into easy...
Read MoreMagnolia Warbler
This week is the end of May, and the soon to be end of northbound avian migration. You might be lucky enough to still pick up some birds moving north – a late warbler or two, some shorebird stragglers, a tardy thrush, or some of the intentionally slower flycatcher species such as the uncommon Olive-sided Flycatcher that can be heading to breeding grounds in June. I have yet to see one of them this year after missing them last year as well. Before then I had seen one or multiple Olive-sided Flycatchers for five straight years including August birds at the Jamestown Airport and on our...
Read MoreEastern Bluebird Feeding
May is the time for the next generation of Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) to join our world as nest boxes across the land are filled with the growing and begging beaks of nestlings. These young birds, like so many others, require a lot of constant room service, and mom and dad are busy feeding them nonstop. I took only a moment to photograph this Bluebird as I did not want to interrupt it as it headed home with a delivery. Their unbelievably beautiful plumage looks unreal against the increasingly green backgrounds of forest adjacent to this orchard. The line between art and life is very...
Read MoreAmerican Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)
The American Redstarts (Setophaga ruticilla) keep on coming! As some of our late-arriving birds like the Blackpoll Warbler are peaking the Redstarts are still pushing through in migration, with others already here building nests. No complaints – we want more of these stunners!
Read MoreYellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus)
We had a very welcome late morning visitor at Stratford Point today in the form of this Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) as it searched out tent caterpillars on the bluff. The American Robins and Common Grackles were not as welcoming, thinking this bird was going to go after their nests and little ones. The light was not the best for photography, but it is hard to get better views of a cuckoo than this! Stratford Point keeps bringing in the migrants even as we near the end of May. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
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