Saturday, November 19, 2011

Two Days of Birding Gooseberry and Allens Pond

Thursday and Friday, I started out early to photograph at Gooseberry, prior to meeting Paul and the group from Allens Pond Massachusetts Audubon Sanctuary for the bird walks.
- Horned grebeROT_9151 November 17, 2011 NIKON D3S
Horned Grebe with an Eel
- Horned Grebe ROT_9183 November 17, 2011 NIKON D3S
Horned Grebe
- Common Loon D7K_8886 November 17, 2011 NIKON D7000
Common Loon
Thursday there was rain in the forecast and the sky was basically cloudy, the seas were flat, and there were many horned grebes and common loons feeding. 
On Friday, the weather had cleared after the rain that came on Thursday, there was a wind present, and the seas again were rough,  And early in the morning, there were no grebes or loons present at Gooseberry.
- Junco D7K_8765 November 17, 2011 NIKON D7000
Junco
Thursday, rather than birding the usual spots, we started off at Cherry and Web Beach, climbing first to the top of the dunes where we watched many flocks of American goldfinches migrating over us, along with large pulses of Robbins and some small blackbird flocks. Hopping around were Juncos.
- Snow Buntings D7K_8873 November 17, 2011 NIKON D7000
Snow Bunting
We continue down To Horseneck Beach, where there was a flock of snow Bunting's in the parking lot
- Flock Snow Buntings Flying D7K_8820 November 17, 2011 NIKON D7000
Snow Buntings in Flight
- Fox Sparrow D7K_8773 November 17, 2011 NIKON D7000
Fox Sparrow
and in the corner of lot number 3 besides black-capped  Chickadees, There was a nice Fox Sparrow, who kindly posed for me.
- Fowlers toadD7K_8922 November 17, 2011 NIKON D7000
Fowler's Toad
We then traveled to Gooseberry, with the grebes and loons was still present, and they will large rafts of scoters on both sides of Gooseberry. We found a Fowler’s Toad in the parking lot.

- Hermit ThrushD7K_8976 November 17, 2011 NIKON D7000
Hermit Thrush

- Hermit Thrush D7K_8969 November 17, 2011 NIKON D7000
Hermit Thrush
- White-throated SparrowD7K_8994 November 17, 2011 NIKON D7000
White-throated Saprrow
We finished off at Allens Pond on the Quonset trail where there were Eastern Towhees, Gray Catbird's, a Brown Thrasher, Hermit Thrush. a Winter Wren and both morphs of the White-throated Sparrow
- wHITE-THROATED sPARROW D7K_8938 November 17, 2011 NIKON D7000
White-throated Sparrow
.  As the rain was starting to fall, we finished for the day.
- ROT_9197-Edit November 18, 2011 NIKON D3S
Snow Bunting
Friday, the day was sunny and most of the scoters grebes and loons had disappeared.  Prior to the walk, I stopped at Horseneck Beach parking lot and followed the Snow Bunting’s around.
- D7K_9062-Edit November 18, 2011 NIKON D7000
Pine Warbler
- Baltimore OrioleD7K_9164 November 18, 2011 NIKON D7000
Baltimore Oriole
- D7K_9116-Edit-Edit November 18, 2011 NIKON D7000
Baltimore Oriole
Otherwise an adult bald eagle flew over us, and we found Western palm warblers, Fox sparrows Eastern bluebirds.  A pine warbler was hanging out with the bluebirds.  And we ended up finding a beautiful male Baltimore Oriole.
- GBH D7K_9049 November 18, 2011 NIKON D7000
Great Blue Heron
Other birds were Great Blue Heron

- Savannah Sparrow D7K_9054-Edit November 18, 2011 NIKON D7000
Savannah Sparrow

- Red-throated loonD7K_9026 November 18, 2011 NIKON D7000
Red-throated Loon
Savannah Sparrow , Red-throated Loons
- ROT_9367-Edit November 18, 2011 NIKON D3S
Common Loon

- ROT_9279 November 18, 2011 NIKON D3S
Willet

I had an event to go to in Westport in the late afternoon, so I stayed, I went and had lunch, and then went back to Gooseberry to see what I could find.  The common loons were feeding close to shore and allowed me to get almost completely full frame pictures. There was reported by a birder that that morning on Gooseberry, he found a Western Willet.  While I was photographing the loons, I turn to my right and saw on the rocks down on the beach a gull and a whitish bird that was smaller in size than the gull.  I observed the with the binoculars and it was a Willet.  This Willet, compared to the usual once we have around during the summer, was not at all nervous and allowed me to approach close and obtain its picture.
Normally, you do not find Mallards on the water at Gooseberry, but I saw a flight of ducks approaching and turning to land, first I thought of scoters, but it turned out to be a flock of mallards.
- Mallards ROT_9316 November 18, 2011 NIKON D3S
Mallards Landing

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