The Coots Are Back!

When i first began watching and photographing birds it seemed to me that coots were somewhat common and could be seen at local ponds regularly. Last year it seemed coots were almost non existent here on the avalon or as far as i could tell. Now in recent days it seems coots are once again being spotted all over town and this time I'm making sure i get my fill of images before they disappear again.

Besides the few coots around i haven't lucked out with finding any other real interesting birds. On Tuesday fellow photographer Brad James called me with a frantic tone to his voice, "FEMALE LONG -TAILED DUCK AT POND ROAD!!! FULL FRAME SHOTS!!" When i herd those words come out of his mouth i gobbled down my supper and rushed to Kelligrews with hopes of getting some images of this duck. Long Tailed Ducks are quite common around the coast of Newfoundland. However seeing one up close is unheard of. 

When i arrived sure enough the duck was there...but about 200ft away. I decided to wait and see if it would work its way back towards me and Brad. After what seemed like a very long time i decided the light was fading quickly and the chances of this bird staying in the little back pond were slim. So i did what any mental patient or bird photographer would do. I walked across the river in my sneakers and cotton pants in order to be on the same side as the duck. That was a bust, by the time i got in position to shoot the duck had begun feeding closer to the side i was originally on. At this point i really was unsure i was going to get a decent shot. I was wet, cold and far from clean lying in the muddy grass but i walked back around to the other side. Sure enough we got in position and the duck began to work towards us. The sound of our cameras made the duck curious of us. This behaviour is also how i got my images of the coots above. 

The duck made a few close dives before the light faded but in that short time i did get this one image. I cant complain! Not every day you get photo opportunities like this one. It was something Brad & I will certainly remember for years to come.

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Also on Tuesday i filled up a few feeders at Neville's Pond here in Paradise. The feeders have already been visited by the following species:

Junco

Chickadees

Song Sparrow

Blue Jay

Common Grackle

If things keep going the way they are i predict that by winter the feeders will be swamped with birds. Hopefully something real interesting will visit such as a Chaffinch or a Hoary Redpoll. If things go as planned my next post will involve a review of my new Canon 7D Mark ii and possibly some images of my feeder set up!

European birds continue to invade Newfoundland

Over the last few weeks a very rare event has taken place. N and NE winds have been blowing migrating shorebirds like European Golden Plover and Black-Tailed Godwits WAY of course and now they have some how found their way to the island of Newfoundland. These birds are strong fliers that can fly non stop for days on end. Unlike other birds they tend to migrate over the ocean rathern than land. Possibly making them more venerable to offsetting winds.

                                              Common Redshank!

The numbers of birds that have been found are staggering by any means. Almost 200 European Golden Plovers and multiple reports of Black Tailed Godwits really gets the blood pumping after a very LONG and dull winter here on the island. Yesterday I helped a birder from California find a group of 6 plovers that have been hanging out in a small field for about a week now. This small group of plovers are a lot more tame then any others that I know of. If you stay inside of your car and wait......and wait they will eventually work their way over to you. It worked out for us that the birds were drove towards us by a black dog that lives in the aera. It was amazing to see the birds crouch down and use their camouflage to stay hidden rather then fly away like most other shorebirds.

European Golden Plover

More euro birds like wheatear are still showing up, we all are waiting and searching for the next MEGA rarity like a Eurasian Curlew or Meadow pipit.

This weekend becides hunting for mega rarities Brad & I hope to get some nice stumps set up in a marsh close to my house in hopes of getting some snipe on them. Also it is crunch time for building Tree Swallow boxes. Spring is shaping up to be a VERY busy season!



UPDATE!

This was a prewritten post. This morning Bruce Mactavish discovered a COMMON REDSHANK at Renews Harbour !!!! Also Dave Brown found a Eurasian Whimbrel. As i write this local birders are trying to locate a possible Greenland subspecies of Dunlin!

How much longer will this continue!!!!
My e-mail is brendankelly00(at)hotmail.com if you need directions

Eurasian Invasion!!

Over the last few days there have been winds blowing directly from Iceland to the shores of Newfoundland and with those winds come Icelandic and European birds. This is a huge deal to birders and bird photographers here in the province because almost all species from Europe are MEGA rarities for not only Newfoundland but for North America!

                                                                          European Golden Plover

So far almost a dozen European Golden Plovers have been discovered along with not one but FOUR Black-Tailed Godwits! Its rare enough to find one here let alone four of them. A lot of the more experienced birders believe this may only be the beginning of this mini fallout of European birds. The next few days the winds continue to stretch from the shores of Iceland all the way to Newfoundland and as you would imagine I'm not missing a beat of it! Tomorrow as soon as 2:30pm strikes and i get out of school i will be heading out to cover as much ground as possible!

2 beautiful male Black-Tailed Godwits

More to come on this exciting topic!