Surprises @ James Gardens and Bluff's Park

[Palo]

Yesterday (Wednesday) was yet another one of those beautiful winter days, perfect for photographing birds!  For us, there were many unexpected sightings and photo opportunities presented and here are a few of the high points of the day... in chronological order. Enjoy

As soon as we got out of the car and walked to the river, we ran into this guy.
Great Blue Heron - James Gardens - 2013-02-13




We then went to the feeder to try our luck at spotting the infamous Green Finch. But no luck.
Instead, this little guy showed up... It kind-a looks green.
American Goldfinch - James Gardens - 2013-02-13



Heading back to the parking lot, we spotted a Hawk near the duck pond.  He/she was flying from tree to tree and eventually landed right next to us!
Red-tailed Hawk? - James Gardens - 2013-02-13





To end the day we visited Bluffer's Park to see the Trumpeters and the Pintail. The Pintail did not show up this time. Thx Cosmo, the swans are gorgeous!
Trumpeter Swan - 2013-02-13



Thx for looking

[cosmo3667]

Great series and find don't know what time you arrived at Bluffers but the Pintail came back around noon, but as with all nature's creatures no guarantees

[rcflier]

Excellent pics. I think your hawk is a Coopers.  Also, notice the band on his left ankle.

[thouc]

Nice ones, the hawk is a Red-tailed Hawk.

[rcflier]

My bad!,  thanks for the correction Thomas.

[feathered]

That's one of the local Red-tails, I suspect last year's chick from the resident pair because they tolerate its presence. I've been trying to get the full band # off it (I have ~half) because I think it may be one we banded this past fall on the Spit, please let me know if you have any pictures that can make out any numbers (as I'm sure you have noticed, it's a fairly tame bird). That goes for anyone else who frequents the woods as well. Thanks! Great shots.

[Palo]

Great series and find don't know what time you arrived at Bluffers but the Pintail came back around noon, but as with all nature's creatures no guarantees

Thx Cosmo, we arrived at around 2 to 2:30 PM but no worries, it's an excuse to visit again!  It was also very interesting speaking to Art, who explained to us the plight of the Trumpeters... very educational and something to really think about.

[Palo]

Excellent pics. I think your hawk is a Coopers.  Also, notice the band on his left ankle.

Nice ones, the hawk is a Red-tailed Hawk.

My bad!,  thanks for the correction Thomas.

Thanks guys for the confirmation!  I was not sure myself as the dark band across it's breast says Red-tailed, but it's tail feathers appear to be different than the others I've photographed.  Also, I think that if it was a Coopers, it would be more slender with a longer tail?

[Palo]

That's one of the local Red-tails, I suspect last year's chick from the resident pair because they tolerate its presence. I've been trying to get the full band # off it (I have ~half) because I think it may be one we banded this past fall on the Spit, please let me know if you have any pictures that can make out any numbers (as I'm sure you have noticed, it's a fairly tame bird). That goes for anyone else who frequents the woods as well. Thanks! Great shots.

Thanks Feathered!  If I'd known that the band was that important, I would've focused on it... it was so close I had lots of zoom left.

I went through all the shots and was only able to recover this one.  I hope this helps.


All I can make out is the number "6".  My wife may have a better shot, but it may take a couple of days, as she has less time than myself. Cheers

[cosmo3667]

Great series and find don't know what time you arrived at Bluffers but the Pintail came back around noon, but as with all nature's creatures no guarantees

Thx Cosmo, we arrived at around 2 to 2:30 PM but no worries, it's an excuse to visit again!  It was also very interesting speaking to Art, who explained to us the plight of the Trumpeters... very educational and something to really think about.

Yea Art's a great guy and always there to help educate anyone and everyone who visits the Park and explain the ins and outs of the Trumpeters. We were there together this morning photographing the Pintail again.I think he is going to stick around for all to see and he comes out of the water alot more now and is easier to photograph.

[Palo]

Great series and find don't know what time you arrived at Bluffers but the Pintail came back around noon, but as with all nature's creatures no guarantees

Thx Cosmo, we arrived at around 2 to 2:30 PM but no worries, it's an excuse to visit again!  It was also very interesting speaking to Art, who explained to us the plight of the Trumpeters... very educational and something to really think about.

Yea Art's a great guy and always there to help educate anyone and everyone who visits the Park and explain the ins and outs of the Trumpeters. We were there together this morning photographing the Pintail again.I think he is going to stick around for all to see and he comes out of the water alot more now and is easier to photograph.

I may be able to make it down for next Tuesday morning, if I get enough work done on Monday.  Otherwise, I'll have to wait until probably next Wednesday, my day off.  However, my wife may have other plans.  I'll really try to come down on Tuesday... Hope to see you down there.

[Palo]

Here are four hints from my wife's photos regarding the information on the Hawk's band.

This first shot, you can clearly see the numbers "207". However, from the RAW file (much higher resolution), we can just make out "1207-".


On this shot, you can see the numbers "207-3". Making it now "1207-3".  On the RAW file, we can also see the word "Bird" on the top row above the numbers, and right below that, a partial word "Wash".


Now we can see "160". Which make it now "1207-3160".


On this final shot, you can see the final two digits "60" and above that, you can see the end of a word "AND" and below that "USA".


I hope this helps. Cheers

[feathered]

Oh wow, those are fantastic! I should be able to identify the bird from those photos, or at the very least tell whether or not it was one of the raptors banded at Tommy Thompson Park last fall.

Thank you very much - I will keep you posted as I get some more information.

[Palo]

Oh wow, those are fantastic! I should be able to identify the bird from those photos, or at the very least tell whether or not it was one of the raptors banded at Tommy Thompson Park last fall.

Thank you very much - I will keep you posted as I get some more information.

Yes, please let me know.  Now I'm very curious.