Sunday, January 31, 2010

River Birding

Max's view:
Bald Eagles and Harlequin Duck
Last Saturday Jorge, Sebastian, and I were watching a documentary about bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) from PBS Nature. We were very interested in Bald Eagles and then we decided that it would be good to see one for real. We heard about a couple of birds in the meadows of the Conneticut river in Rocky Hill.

Ice on the Connecticut River at Rocky Hill Meadows

After driving for 1/2 an hour we got extremely lucky and found not one but two birds sitting in their nest. They were pretty far away from us and even through our telescope we coudn't see them very well. Then we drove to the Farmington river in Farmington in search of a Harlequin duck. We found the Harlequin duck close to shore and we saw two more bald eagles perched together in a tree across the river.
Harlequin Duck, Histrionicus histrionicus, male
A Brief history on bald eagles
In 1782 the bald eagle was picked to be our national bird over the turkey. They hunt from their trees and will then grab a fish and then return to their perch to eat. They are very fierce looking birds with completly white heads and tails when they reach maturity. The juveniles are often mistaken for golden eagles since they are brown in color.
Bald Eagles, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, in Sycamore tree beside Farmington River in Farmington
Max 2/1/10
Photo of ice (above) by Maximiliano de Leon Aubrey, bird photos by Jorge de Leon.
Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias, Great Meadows at Rocky Hill
Saturday's outing for Bald Eagles took us through the Meadows at Rocky Hill, where a pair is nesting. While there, we also saw three Red-tailed Hawks, a Great Blue Heron and a huge flock of blackbirds - one of those airborne rivers of birds!
River of Blackbirds, Rocky Hill
I saw it! I saw the heron!
Next we drove to Farmington to photograph the Harlequin Duck below the dam at the Grist Mill on the Farmington River.
Harlequin Duck, Histrionicus histrionicus, male, actively feeding in the turbulent water below the dam.
Sharing this patch of turbulent water were several barnyard geese, Mallards, American Black Duck, a Red-breasted Merganser and many Canada Geese. Here also was another pair of Bald Eagles, directly across the river from us.
White barnyard Geese, Anser cygnoides hybrid
Gray Barnyard Goose, Anser anser or Anser cygnoides hybrid
Today's birders: Max, Sebastian, Monica and Jorge
Today's birds:
Canada Goose, Branta canadensis
Harlequin Duck, Histrionicus histrionicus
Red-breasted Merganser, Mergus serrator
Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos
Black Duck, Anas rubripes
Bald Eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus
Red-tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis
Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias
European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris
Red-winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus
No new birds for the 2010 State list.

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