Evening Birding the North

Blue-winged Teal

I had a rare happening on Thursday evening - after work birding in the north, and boy was it rewarding. I made several stops and saw many birds, including a year bird and a few rare birds.  The north is suffering immensely from the ongoing drought. The earth is all cracked up and even the deepest water holes are evaporating at an alarming rate. My first visit was to a private impoundment where I was greeted by an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) sitting in water up to its belly.  Other than that not many other birds were around.  It was much better at my second stop, there I saw two rarities, a juvenile  Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinica), the second for the month, and the rarer of the two American Coot (Fulica Americana) –the red shielded variety. 

To top off the afternoon, my year bird, a Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), well seven of them at the Half Acre egret rookery.  Other notable highlights were  71  Blue-winged Teal  (Spatula discors), most of which appeared to be pairing up, no doubt in preparation for migration and breeding. I also, belatedly, saw an allusive Masked Duck (Nomonyx dominicus).  I tallied  21 species, 260 individual birds on that afternoon. Not too shabby for one afternoon after work.

Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata)

Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)