Woodcock... My neighbors must be thrilled..

Am Woodcock(90) just started calling behind the house. Last year my neighbor complained about them because they would "Peeent" all night right outside there bedroom window. There were two nesting pairs that I found last year. Sometimes I get lucky and will see one feeding off the edge of the lawn probing for worms..

Lazy Saturday Morning...

I am tired today after traveling yesterday... Still I wanted to take a quick run to Stoney Creek Metropark to see if there was anything interesting on the lake...  I did find a pair of Wigeons (89)... there were Common Mergansers, Common Goldeneye and  a flock of Redheads near the Osprey Trail... I heard from Kevin R that there were also 4 N. Shovelers in that same location... Spotted a Great Blue Heron at 30 mile rd and Romeo Plank....

At home, a large flock of Robins arrived today... They are everywhere.... the first Northern Harrier of the year for my yard.... Normally I have a pair that fly over the fields behind the house all winter.... I have not seen any in 2012 until today when a female showed up.... She was a long way out, but I managed a few heavily cropped photos....

Austin Texas - Work trip, but I managed a little birding..

Just got back from Austin Texas... I had to go down there to our headquarters for some training... The only day that I had time to get out in the light and do some birding was Sunday... although I managed a few minutes at the headquarters today before heading to the airport.  The Hotel that I stayed in had a 60 acre nature area behind it.... most of it was a canyon covered in oak and mesquite... very cool area with one trail.... I was hoping to see some winter visitors while in Austin, but the area seems in transition between winter birds leaving and spring birds arriving....  I found Carolina Chickadees, Bewicks Wren, Great-tailed Grackles, White-winged Doves, Ruby crowned kinglet, Yellow rumped Warblers, Oranged Crowned Warblers, 1 White eyed Vireo and some Lesser Goldfinch.... On the highways to and from the training center I spied Turkey and Black Vultures, Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks... Today as I walked the grounds at the training center before heading to the airport, I found another Bewicks Wren and several Black-crested Titmouse, a lifer for me.... click on photos to enlarge...

Great-Tailed Grackle

Orange-crowned Warbler (nice shadow... arrgh!)

Orange-crowned Warbler

White-winged Dove

Black-crested Titmouse

Black-crested Titmouse

More Vultures....

Traveling along 31 mile rd today, I stopped and watched a Turkey Vulture soaring in the windy sky... it was swooping down along the farm land and then flying up high into the sky... I love the Dihedral angle of the Turkey Vultures wings....  so easy to identify at long distances even without Binoculars...

Turkey Vultures... My yard

Got home tonight and there were 3 Turkey Vultures (88) soaring over my house and fields behind my home... I had a Turkey Vulture on the roof at William Beaumont Hospital two days ago, but these are my first Macomb County birds of the year....

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Wolcott Mills

Two Wood Duck (86) in pond near entrance and one Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (87) near the parking lot.. They are a little early, but i usually have them by the second week of march.. I managed to photograph both species... However, they were shot out of my car window and since I was on my way to work, I did not have time to get out and chase.... The Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker photo is very cropped and at a long distance, but its the first one I have photographed, so what the heck... it gets on the wall!!  LOLOL!! Click to enlarge

Wood Duck

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Pulling into my Sub... American Kestrel...

I have seen more Kestrels this winter than any other previous year... they are so plentiful in my area in Macomb County this year... This little dude was sitting on a wire eating on a mouse near the entrance of my subdivision...

I also had to go to Port Huron today for work.... I was driving down 27 mile rd when I came upon a huge flock of Gulls in a field... I did not have time to scope them, so I pulled over for a second to look at then thru my binoculars.... I all of a sudden heard the familiar call notes of an American Pipit (85) over the top of my car.... I flew back and forth in the farm field landing occasional and running along the puddles.... No time for pictures but I am glad I found it....