HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO MY AMERICAN FRIENDS!
Seems like a good time to get this blog post out! This May I was once again at The Biggest Week in American Birding (BWIAB) representing Birding Ecotours. It's a great event and I'd highly recommended it, and the general birding to be had in northern Ohio in May is totally incredible. I had great fun birding with lots of friends and clients and meeting lots of new people. Of course there was a great deal of birdwatching going on all around the area and I managed a couple of Ohio ticks, which was pleasing! Kirtland's Warbler was a great one, as was Townsend's Warbler.
After the BWIAB I traveled north into Michigan once again, this time to check out the Tawas Bird Festival. It was a poor-weather weekend which meant there was an excellent fall out of spring migrants and it turned out to be great fun. I managed to twitch a Whooping Crane which was a cool lifer.
After the festivals I twitched a few Ohio ticks (e.g. Little Blue Heron) and got a lifer Dickcissel and Swainson's Warbler.
I also took a road trip down to Nashville to check out the music scene there, which was totally incredible, especially the 50,000 people packed into the Nissan Stadium for the Eric Church concert, which was amazing! Also picked up Ross' Goose along the way!
I took lots of photos as time permitted while I was trying to get used to my new camera - Canon 7D Mark II with their 100-400 lens. I've also got a final few with my Lumix (it had served me well for a few years). The step up between my old and new camera was immense (as was the editing process). But, although it turned out to be a bit on an impulse buy (I blame Bill, Dylan and Mollee! A huge thank you to you for all your help and gear loans) I certainly don't regret it!
Here's some photos from the US this spring...
Seems like a good time to get this blog post out! This May I was once again at The Biggest Week in American Birding (BWIAB) representing Birding Ecotours. It's a great event and I'd highly recommended it, and the general birding to be had in northern Ohio in May is totally incredible. I had great fun birding with lots of friends and clients and meeting lots of new people. Of course there was a great deal of birdwatching going on all around the area and I managed a couple of Ohio ticks, which was pleasing! Kirtland's Warbler was a great one, as was Townsend's Warbler.
After the BWIAB I traveled north into Michigan once again, this time to check out the Tawas Bird Festival. It was a poor-weather weekend which meant there was an excellent fall out of spring migrants and it turned out to be great fun. I managed to twitch a Whooping Crane which was a cool lifer.
After the festivals I twitched a few Ohio ticks (e.g. Little Blue Heron) and got a lifer Dickcissel and Swainson's Warbler.
I also took a road trip down to Nashville to check out the music scene there, which was totally incredible, especially the 50,000 people packed into the Nissan Stadium for the Eric Church concert, which was amazing! Also picked up Ross' Goose along the way!
I took lots of photos as time permitted while I was trying to get used to my new camera - Canon 7D Mark II with their 100-400 lens. I've also got a final few with my Lumix (it had served me well for a few years). The step up between my old and new camera was immense (as was the editing process). But, although it turned out to be a bit on an impulse buy (I blame Bill, Dylan and Mollee! A huge thank you to you for all your help and gear loans) I certainly don't regret it!
Here's some photos from the US this spring...
American Redstart - male
Baltimore Oriole
Barred Owl - found on one of the field trips I led
Bay-breasted Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Blue Jay
Cape May Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Dickcissel
Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Screech Owl
Eastern Whip-poor-will
Eastern Wood Pewee
Golden-winged Warbler
Great Blue Heron
Green Heron
Grey Catbird
Kentucky Warbler - a rarity from the Tawas Festival
Kirkland's Warbler - from BWIAB
Least Bittern - I think this was the last photo I took on my lumix, was pleased to find this myself!
Least Flycatcher
Lincoln's Sparrow
Little Blue Heron - twitched this in southern Ohio!
Magnolia Warbler
Mourning Dove
Nashville Warbler
Northern Parula
Orange-crowned Warbler
Philadelphia Vireo
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler - self-found scarcity
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Scarlet Tanager
Swainson's Warbler - twitched in southern Ohio
Upland Sandpiper
Veery
Warbling Vireo
White-crowned Sparrow
Wilson's Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler
