This Saturday, May 9th, celebrate birding by participating in the Global Big Day at a favorite birding site, or a nearby park, refuge, a birding hotspot you've always wanted to visit, or even from home. Join birders from more than 200 nations around the world by spending as much time as you wish to identify and count all the birds you see, then report your observations to eBird online. It's a great occasion to invite family, friends, co-workers, or neighbors to join you. In fact, it's a great opportunity to introduce someone to birding who hasn't been birding before.
While April showers bring May flowers, shopping at an area greenhouse in May is another way to add May flowers to your yard – just in time to coincide with hummingbird migration and nesting. Local greenhouses and nurseries are filling with the colors of spring and the promise of bountiful spring and summer flowers ahead. That makes it easy to add touches of color and the beauty of flowers by activating your garden with new plants or adding a new planting circle with something simple like a hummingbird flower garden, or a goldfinch seed garden by providing nectar-producing flowers or seed-producing sunflowers.
Friday felt like the first warblers should have arrived overnight, and with flowering cottonwood trees setting the stage I searched for Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped Warblers, convinced they should be on hand. But there was no hint of their presence at my 2 best warbler stopover sites – nearby Melody's Grove and the more distant Country Schoolhouse Grove. Even so, Friday's new birds of spring were a Say's Phoebe, the first flycatcher of the season, and Red-throated Grebes, 2 pairs and a single in 2 locations – the 5th and last species of grebe to arrive.
Fully equipped with Swarovision technology that uses fluoride glass that improves color quality and resolution, Swarovski EL 8.5x42 Binoculars are paired with superior optics that provide edge-to-edge sharpness that make the EL Binoculars especially versatile for birders to use. The optical system features phase-coated BaK-4 prisms that provide superior 91 percent light transmission, so important for finding and identifying birds in the field, as is the wide field of view (400 feet at 1,000 yards) even with the increased 8.5x magnification.
One of the most helpful reference books to learn more about All the birds you will encounter in the United States and Canada is: Birds of North America: A Photographic Atlas – an especially impressive book that provides up-to-date information to help you get to know any birds you see. Using an exceptional selection of color photographs to illustrate all 1,144 bird species of birds ever found in North America, including Hawaiian birds and rare vagrant species. This comprehensive reference book is a gem for anyone interested in birds – it truly belongs in every home, library, and science classroom!
It is clear to see that you get an open view of all the hummingbirds that visit the Aspects HummZinger High View Excel Hummingbird Feeder. With a unique High View Perch that circles the top of the feeder, there is nothing in the way as you view all the hummingbirds feeding at the 6 feeding ports. This top-quality feeder holds 16 ounces of nectar and has a built-in ant moat – just add water to the moat. Both attractive and simple in its design, the Aspects High View Feeder has a sturdy red plastic cover with a clear plastic nectar basin so you can easily monitor nectar levels.
After a bit of a dry spell in the rare birds arena, spring sightings really broke through last week, with a First State Record Pileated Woodpecker photographed in Utah, and 2 First Provincial Records in Alberta – a Ross's Gull and a female Vermillion Flycatcher. There was also a Second State Record Vermillion Flycatcher, a male, in Montana; and a Third State Record Swainson's Warbler in rural Iowa. And to top it off there was also a Seventh Provincial Record White Ibis in Quebec, and Seventh State Record Harlequin Duck in Colorado (a colorful male), and there's more!
Spring migration brings the added excitement of seeing a new species arrive for a migration stopover or as a potential nesting species. Friday evening, as the wind was calming and the water was becoming smooth in ever-lighter shades of blue, a regularly rare bird slipped into view – the first of spring Red-necked Grebe. It leisurely swam on the water side of dry cattails in a small bay on the edge of a large lake – a favorite bird photography location for a variety of ducks and waterbirds. Already in position with the low sun at my back and the new arrival swimming before me, I took a couple documentary photos.
While watching the male Red-necked Grebe diving in the center of the small bay, he suddenly surfaced about as close to my position as he could, providing a couple portrait photos. When cropping photographs, I try to position the subject off-center, and in this case emphasized that positioning with the idea to give it a unique design (600mm zoom lens, f-8 aperture, 1/1600 shutter speed, 800 ISO).
While the female kept her distance and anchored among some reed stalks, the male made his initial appearance and immediately provided better photo opportunities as he swam across much of the far side of the small bay, eventually moving into the midst of the open water area. I was thrilled to get some portrait-level photos of the pair, but the real action began when the male began diving beneath the surface of the water. Then, of course, it became a question of where he would pop back into view. And after staying on a pretty horizonal diving plain, without warning I was taken aback when he suddenly appeared within a few feet of my position!
Although the female wasn’t very animated, I photographed her as she appeared to be stretching her mouth open, just as a breath of air caught her nape feathers to create a momentary crest. Both actions added a lot of character to this photograph, as did the beautiful water reflection (600mm zoom lens, f-8 aperture, 1/2000 shutter speed, 800 ISO).
In retrospect, I’m not sure I have ever been so close to a Red-necked Grebe, which I usually find to be rather stand-offish, so I made the most of the moments as he faced me and turned his head side to side. Without warning he crouched low and quietly dipped into the water, barely making a ripple on the glassy surface. That’s when I noticed the female floating into the open some distance away, and although she was never very animated, I photographed her as she appeared to be stretching her mouth open, just as a breath of air caught her nape feathers to create something of a momentary crest, which added a level of character to the resulting photo.
As one of the initial photographs of the male, this image is more documentary in nature, but don’t we all wish every new spring arrival would provide the chance to take a series of photographs to celebrate their return (600mm telephoto lens, f-8 aperture, 1/2500 shutter speed, 800 ISO).
When the male surfaced he looked in the female’s direction and called, and they met just behind the reeds where I could see they were facing one another with their necks stretched high as began calling in unison. Although I took a photo, the grebes’ activity was obscured by the reeds; but I’ll get another chance was my reaction in the moment – someday. Stay alert, spend some extra time in the field, and when you find a bird or birds to photograph, spend some extra time in their company – you never know what might transpire before you – and always have your camera within reach and ready for your next photo opportunity. Enjoy the exciting spring days ahead!
