Saturday, April 26, 2014

Spring Migrants at Herrick's Cove

ruby-crowned kinglet
One of the smallest songbirds, the ruby-crowned kinglet has been singing up a storm this spring. His song starts out with 4 or 5 high pitched notes, followed by a warbling repertoire of sounds that only gets louder as he sings!

Ruby-crowned posing pretty!
Our other kinglet, the golden-crowned (click on the link to read my posting), is around in the winter. Only hummingbirds are smaller than these songbirds.

osprey
Herrick's Cove is a favorite stop for osprey, where they can be observed hanging in the air or "kiting" over the water, then diving, feet first, for a fish.

great blue heron
Another common bird is the great blue heron, showing how he tucks his long neck when he flies.

bufflehead

Here's a cool fact about buffleheads; they nest almost exclusively in holes excavated by Northern Flickers and, on occasion, by Pileated Woodpeckers.

palm warbler
Palm warblers are quite common in the spring, with their rusty colored caps and habit of bobbing their tail.

northern flicker
This flicker is probably looking for ants, its preferred food.

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