Grassland Birds
Eastern Meadowlarks
I have been searching for years for Eastern Meadowlarks. Thanks to help from Coleen who spotted them, talked local farmers to delay mowing until the three chicks fledged, and helped me find them far across the Charlestown fields when I arrived, I finally got some decent photos of this species listed as Threatened in NH. All my meadowlark photos were taken with a very long lens and cropped.
We first saw an adult at a great distance. I walked the road, that we did not leave the whole time, to get a bit of a closer look.
Thirty minutes later we finally spotted some of the fledglings. They had moved across the road from their very well-hidden nest.
I got extremally lucky when I spotted a bird flying to cattails on the nest side of the road. I managed to get a number of photos as the adult meadowlark flew in, landed, then moved several times. Here are eight photos.
Bobolink
Another species of the grasslands is the Bobolink. It is a charming bird with its R2D2-like song. I photographed them in Hanover at Hudson Farm, in Sutton at Muster Field Farm, and in Charlestown with the meadowlarks. Here is a pair from Sutton with the female on the right.
Here are photos of male Bobolinks from all three locations.
But the real challenge was to photograph Bobolinks in flight. They are small and fly fast compared with eagles, herons, and osprey. It was raining (surprise) when some of these photos were taken.
Raptors
I’ll cover raptors in order of size from the largest to the smallest.
Bald Eagle
After the failure of a nest closer to home, Chris Martin told me about one in New London. I visited it three times, only staying for about 15 minutes each time. I got lucky the first two times when an adult arrived shortly after I did. Here is the adult at the nest and nearby from those first two visits.
I only ever saw one young eagle. Here are photos from the three visits with the second and third photo from the second visit to the nest site. You can see how much the eaglet has grown in less than a month.
From a boat on Lake Sunapee I saw an eagle catch a fish, fly to one tree, fly to another, and then just sit. I got bored and departed. The trees along the shore were not very far from the nest, as the crow flies.
Osprey
Shortly before taking the eagle photos on Lake Sunapee, an Osprey flew over. I managed to get a number of sharp photos.
I travelled to Nashua to photograph a well-known Osprey nest. The main “skill” needed at this site is patience. It can be a long time between short bursts of action. There were two chick but I never did get a clear photo of both in one image. Here is one with a parent. Notice how yellow-orange the chick’s eye is.
And here is the other chick alone.
I did get photos of an osprey flying, first to bring nest material in — at least that is what it looked like — and another time with a fish.
Peregrine Falcon
I was fortunate to get some photos of a Peregrine Falcons flying, sitting on a nest, and sitting near the nest. Thanks, Marc, for the tip about the location. Here are ten photos.
Herons
Great Blue Heron
As the sun set over Lake Sunapee, I watched a Great Blue Heron catch and swallow a fish, then fly to a swim raft to stretch its wings.
I travelled to Lake Pleasant in New London to try to photograph the rare inland Black-legged Kittiwake that stayed around for a few weeks. But it was simply too far away for a decent photo. While in Elkins a Great Blue Heron landed nearby and, after searching the water for fish, flew.
Thanks again, Marc, for the tip that allowed me to photograph a Great Blue Heron in a tree and the beautiful Black-crowned Night Herons in the next section.
Black-crowned Night Heron
Black-crowned Night Herons are rare in the Upper Valley — these were somewhat to the southeast of the UV. But on July 8, Kyle found and photographed an immature Black-crowned Night-Heron standing near a cattail patch on the Ompompanoosuc River Flats in Norwich, VT.
These birds will sit in trees, sometime in groups.
It is fun watching them fish, but I only saw one fish caught. A sequence of this action follows.
It was fun and challenging to photograph them flying.
Warblers
I managed to get quite a few warbler photos in June and the first week of July, in spite of the rain. I took photos of warblers in Enfield, Newport, Sunapee, and Sutton. In particular I found Trask Brook Road in Sunapee, and its extension Paradise Road in Newport, particularly productive.
American Redstart
I photographed American Redstarts in Enfield, Newport, and Sunapee. In the last photo of the slide show below, the bird appears to be gathering nest material.
Black-and-White Warbler
I think Black-and-White Warblers are beautiful birds. Here are a baker’s dozen photos from Enfield, Newport, and Sunapee.
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Below are two Chestnut-sided Warblers singing in Sunapee.
Common Yellowthroat
I photographed a Common Yellowthroat that had caught a goldenrod crab spider in Sunapee.
Probably the same yellowthroat caught an insect that looks like a hornet.
Below are nine more Common Yellowthroats from Sutton and Sunapee. The last three are female.
Northern Waterthrush
I found a very cooperative Northern Waterthrush in Newport. Here are a half dozen photos from two days.
Ovenbird
One Ovenbird here. A second will follow in the section on powerline birds.
Pine Warbler
Also a single Pine Warbler, this one photographed during my first short visit to the New London eagle’s nest.
Yellow Warbler
All of my Yellow Warbler photos were taken in Sunapee. The bird in the first photo below has caught an insect.
Powerline Birds
I generally ignore birds perched on powerlines, preferring a natural setting. But for some reason I saw many on powerlines, perhaps because I did most of my bird photography along roads these weeks.
Here are photos of eleven different species on powerlines. I ignored a Yellow Warbler early on before I started photographing birds on powerlines or I could have made it an even dozen. I doubt I will make it a habit, but I found this collection interesting, though none are really good photos.
Various other Species
This is a catch-all category of other bird photos from this time period.
Gray Catbirds from Enfield, Sunapee, and Newport
Cedar Waxwings from Enfield and Sunapee
House Wren in Sunapee
Killdeer in Sutton
Northern Mockingbird in Nashua
Red-winded Blackbirds in Charlestown
Veery in two spots in Newport
Warbling Vireo from Enfield
It has been a fun time, in spite of the rain. When life hands you lemons make lemonade. When it rains, photograph moving water. So my next blog post will likely be photos of many raging springs and rivers.