The Mascoma Audubon held its seasonal first bird walk to Boston Lot Lake in Lebanon, NH today. It was hosted by “Pip” Richens. I arrived early and was able to get quite a few shots of a cooperative Pine Warbler. It was feeding on the ground (something I’ve witnessed before with Pine Warblers) near a small group of Yellow-rumped Warblers.
Taking a breather along the uphill climb, I photographed one of the many blooming red trilliums.
Near the top of the hill I paused to check two small meadows on each side of the trail. But I gave up quickly wanting to explore near the lake.
Reaching the lake, an American Robin teed-up nicely for me. I had heard few birds while walking up hill, but I was walking fast and breathing heavily. I had hoped there would be nice action near the lake where the overcast light would be somewhat brighter.
I was not disappointed. I spotted some Yellow-rumped Warblers in the bushes near the lake and headed slowly over toward them.
The light was brighter, but certainly not as bright as I wished. I was shooting at ISO 1600 (and a bit later at ISO 800) with a shutter speed between 1/80 and 1/250 second, wide open. So I got many blurry photos.
I was struggling to get photos of the fast moving Yellow-rumps when I saw a Pine Warbler quite nearby. I had been hearing it singing as I neared the lake.
The Pine Warbler stayed low and nearby, so I was able to get quite a few photos of it. It was an exciting experience.
I wandered a short distance down a path and then into the woods a bit where I had seen several birds fly. There was action on the ground. It turned out to be a White-throated Sparrow trying to rearrange every leaf in its vicinity. It seemed to be fairly successful finding food under the leaves since it spent most of its time with its head down.
The group arrived. I took many fewer photos after they came.
I did get a shot of an Eastern Phoebe.
And another Yellow-rumped Warbler foraging on the rocks along shore.
We walked into a meadow and spotted a number of birds high up in the trees. When the group started to leave, I decided to stay a bit longer. Jody pointed out a spot that she thought a Ruby-crowned Kinglet favored. So I walked over and stood at that spot and sure enough one came near, not to the exact spot but close enough for a quick photo.
Here are a dozen other photos I took this morning near Boston Lot Lake. As you can see, the Pine Warbler is the real star of the show.
