Cardinal Portrait
Sean was originally only going to photograph neotropical migrants on the black background for portraits, but that changed once he netted this male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). He thought the red and black contrast would look very cool. It was clearly worth it, and Sean said this guy was a really good model with his bright red mohawk.
Read MoreIndigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea)
This Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) ((and what a very appropriate Latin species name that is)) may be a first-spring male coming into his full blue splendor. He was belting out his song in this forest cut, perching on tree branches on the edge of the woodland and finding a shrub or two to allow me a better look while snagging a snack. They are persistent songsters with the tune carrying on all morning and likely through the afternoon. If you are truly lucky – like Twan – then you regularly get to see these birds in your backyard at your thistle feeder. What a striking contrast...
Read MoreAmerican Redstart
Here are a couple more shots from the Noble Proctor BioBlitz Challenge featuring an adult male American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla). This and many other Redstarts were foraging and singing nonstop on the beautiful spring morning. The species is utterly saturating our region right now with birds that can be seen or heard nearly anywhere you can find trees. I am still seeing mostly males, and I think we have a sizable number of birds yet to come over the next week or two. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreCommon Yellowthroat
This male Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas) and I are rather close…or at least we were for about 30 seconds on a recent May morning. This bird is a migrant, though you may end up with a resident in a yard near you. Their common name does betray their abundance, and gardens, marshes, fields, forests or anywhere they can skulk about in dense, low vegetation works for them. Being a habitat generalist has helped the species end up as one of our most common warblers. It also makes them a frequent target of Brown-headed Cowbirds and brood parasitism, like the abundant Yellow Warbler....
Read MoreYellow Warbler
They may be all over, but it is hard for me to resist targeting my camera to a Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia) in May. This guy was another one of the beautiful sights during last weekend’s Noble Proctor BioBlitz Challenge. It seems as if more are still migrating through, actually – this spring started early but ended up late. After all the warmth in the beginning of the season poor migratory conditions in late April and early May pushed a lot of birds back to “traditional” sort of arrival dates…or even later! It certainly feels like we have a lot of birds...
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