Birds of Rainbow River

To read more about our canoe trip down the Rainbow River, see the previous post. The birding down on the river that day did not disappoint. I didn't bring my camera or binoculars, but we were close enough to many of the birds for Joy's camera to get some great pictures. Here you can see an Anhinga in breeding plummage resting on a perch above the river. Joy and I played the classic game Cormorant/Anhinga? for most of the trip. Joy was very good by the end of the day.

We floated up close to a Tri-colored Heron feeding at an in-stream marsh. He was sharing this feeding ground with a Little Blue Heron. We only saw one Tri all day. Common Moorhens (Galinules) and Common Coots were swimming around this stretch, too.

An adult Little Blue Heron at another marsh. We saw two adults and one immature all day. Great Egrets were the most common heron. I think we also saw a couple Snowy's here, too, but no picture.

A Double-crested Cormorant. Both cormorants and anhingas were common along the river.

We had a Swallow-tail Kite fly-over. I love these birds. Shortly afterwards, a Barred Owl called to us from a Cypress grove, sounding like it was only a couple yards away. Speaking of the old Acciptridae family, we saw several Red-shouldered Hawks and Osprey's (now in Pandionidae by some.)

A White Ibis feeds along the shore. These guys were fairly abundant. Around this stretch, we floated right past a gorgeous pair of Wood Ducks. Later in the afternoon, we saw one Limpkin flying up the river past us.

A father Sandhill Crane stands watch by his nest. I first spotted the mother laying down on the nest. We didn't get too close, because I didn't want to disturb her. It was very cool to see them nesting.

A cormorant rookery in an old cypress.

The nestlings and the parents were both making un-earthly noises.

A Great Blue Heron enjoys the afternoon sun. To round out our heron list, we saw a pair of Green Herons shortly after this. What a fun trip.

Jasper-Pulaski

We took a trip up to see the Sandhill Crane gathering at Jasper-Pulaski this past weekend. The last official count had been over ten thousand and the weather was looking fabulous. It turned out that something spooked the flock an hour or so before we got there, but we still got to see thousands of cranes. They kept flying in as the sun set. I love visiting them to be reminded that there is an wild world present that is only obliquely connected with ours. (Which is challenging in the Central Indiana corn belt, with only the weather and the stars remaining somewhat untouched.)

Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge

I swung by the NWR on my way to Ely. The weather wasn't perfect, but it was still worthwhile visiting. The birds were very good, considering the scattered downpours, high winds, and occasional snow flurries. The refuge is a marsh at the base of the Ruby Mountains, and attracts large numbers of waterfowl.

Some of the fields were full of Long-billed Curlews. Nothing close enough to the road to photograph. I still have these guys on my 'wanted' list.

At first I thought it must be unusual to see a Yellow-rump in the marsh, but then I kept seeing dozens of them in the reeds. I love the colors on these Audubon's Warblers.

View out across the lake/marsh. There is an excellent auto tour trail that traverses a dike.

There were several Sandhills at the park. This guy was doing a courtship dance right near the road; he was singing, picking up sticks, and leaping into the air.

Assorted Florida Birds

Tricolored Heron swallowing his catch, Cedar Key, FL. I remember how surprised I was when I first saw a Tricolored Heron in real life at how small they are. They are proportioned like a Great Blue, but they are half the size. (WS 36 vs WS 72)

Brown Pelicans in breeding plummage, Cedar Key, are quite dashing.

Female Anhinga on an island in Kings Bay, near Crystal River. Anhingas can rapidly transform from graceful to goofy and then back again. It is very cool to see them glide through the water and slowly submerge out of sight. When they call, they look very odd. I had a laugh out loud moment at an Anhinga's expense one day while working. I was crossing a bridge over a medium sized creek that had trees overhanging the water. I accidentally kicked the guardrail and woke up an Anhinga sleeping above the water, who let out a startled shriek and belly-flopped into the water in a very uncoordinated way. I watched the pool for a minute, and its head slowly came up and looked around. When it saw me, it glared at me and glided away out of sight underwater.

A Sandhill Crane shared a cattle pasture with us in Okeechobee County, allowing a fairly close approach.

Annual Jasper-Pulaski Trip

Joy and I went with the Deugan's to see the cranes at Jasper-Pulaski. There weren't too many cranes in the field when we got there, around five.

Flocks kept flying in from the south and east, eventually filling the field.

Cranes whirling above the field in the sunset.

There were still many cranes coming in after sunset, but we did not stay much longer.

Jasper-Pulaski

Today we went to see the cranes at Jasper-Pulaski. Here are some videos of the birds. It is always a fun to see and hear thousands of cranes.

Sandhill Cranes at Ewing Bottoms

Cranes 'dropping in'.


Large flocks of Sandhills were gathering in the fields toward sunset.
(Bottom photo is a panoramic, click to enlarge.)

Jasper-Pulaski

On our way up to Chicago this past weekend, we had to make a stop at Jasper-Pulaski State Fish and Wildlife Area to see the Sandhill Crane migration. There were only a couple hundred there last Saturday, compared to the thousands that will be there by the end of the month, but it was still cool to see and hear the beautiful birds. If you have not been to see them during migration, you should go, it is one of the natural wonders of Indiana.