Bird Photos and their Stories
Lauren Shaffer wrote 146 posts
All About Birds states: Whether poised at a river bend or cruising the coastline with slow, deep wingbeats, the Great Blue Heron is a majestic sight. This stately heron with its subtle blue-gray plumage often stands motionless as it scans for prey or wades belly deep with long, deliberate steps. They may move slowly, but […]
All birds bathe in order to maintain their plumage, but when a Great Egret takes a bath, it makes a big splash! While kayaking this week at Montour Preserve, I noticed a Great Egret at the far end of the lake. Keeping the sun behind me, I paddled up to a respectable distance from the […]
The Olive-sided Flycatcher is a very conspicuous bird when it makes its appearance during migration, choosing the top of a snag, or in this case, a telephone pole wire on which to perch. Except for the Great Crested Flycatcher it’s the largest flycatcher in our region, and is identified by its dark vest, white throat, […]
Great Egrets are huge, elegant birds that frequent wetlands and shores of the river and lakes in summer. They are not often seen in our area of North Central PA, but one was visiting a friend’s wetlands and I was able to put in with the kayak and get close shots of this awesome bird! […]
Garden Spiders are impressive with their large size, and bright markings. They belong to the orb weaver family, and are known to build webs as wide as several feet, only to take them down and rebuild again the next day. They will spin a heavy zig-zag in the middle of the web. For whatever reason […]
Great Horned Owls as neighbors While doing some incredible winter birding this past February in our nearby farmlands, our group of birding friends spotted a huge nest in a long row of trees surrounded by hundreds of acres of fields. The locals call these hedge rows, even though they are mature trees separating one farmer’s […]
What’s a Mothing Night? Something I had always wanted to try, but never did, was to set up a bright light at night in order to attract moths. When I heard of other birding friends who did this regularly, I invited them to my house in the woods of Central PA to see what they […]
After the storm yesterday, I noticed a few hazy patches of vegetation in the water, maybe 25 feet out from shore. A photograph with a long lens showed what was making the hazy movements. There were hundreds of damselflies, most in tandem, busily laying their eggs in the vegetation! These are mostly Powdered Dancers, with […]
Ruddy Ducks are one of our smallest ducks, at 15 inches. They are all head, beak, and stiff tail, with a short body in between. They often swim with their tails upraised, and unlike other ducks they are able to slowly sink below the surface of the water. According to allaboutbirds.org, Ruddy Ducks can be […]
Inca Doves, Common Ground-Doves, Banded Pigeons, White-winged Doves, and Mourning Doves were fairly common on our birding trip to Southeast Arizona. With Mourning Dove being the only common Dove in our part of the Eastern US, it was fascinating to see doves of all sizes, shapes, and behaviors in Arizona. Inca Dove Inca Dove, […]