The best day of birdwatching locally that I have ever had, Maybe the best day of birdwatching overall.

I am not one who usually subscribes to the belief that everything happens for a reason. But, I do think if things happen for a reason they lie more in the mundane everyday aspects of life than they do int the big amazing miraculous ways. And I was able to enjoy this amazing day of birding because things didn’t go according to plan.

I was supposed to go running. But, I during my last run I had developed a small amount of pain in one leg. So I decided to give myself an extra rest day. And this extra rest day just happened to coincide with a beautiful sunny day outside.

So, if I had not had this little bit of pain and also been in a place in my trading I where my main focus is to just stay healthy and being extra cautious about any sign of injury, I probably would have went for a run instead of going out with my camera to look for birds. And the funniest part about it all is that I would have taken the same drive and ended up at the same place no matter if I had run or if I had been set to take photos.

I run a lot at one of my favorite local parks, Eldridge Park. And that is also one of the best places for local birding. I often keep tabs on the birding while I am there running and making a mental note if I see anything that I want to try and come back to photograph later.

So, if I had been on my regular routine I would have still seen all of these amazing birds, but been unable to enjoy them to this level if I had been running, And I would have regretted not having my camera, much more than I would regret one extra rest day. Also, I just ran the next day instead.

And one of the craziest parts of this amazing day of birding is that it all happened within just a few ours during the afternoon.

My plan for birdwatching was to go to Eldridge Park. It is one of my favorite local places for birdwatching especially this time of year because it is migration season and it is a frequent stopover for migratory birds, particularly water fowl. Also, I have been noting the arrival of our local Osprey returning to their nests. And the Osprey love to hunt at the lake at Eldridge Park.

My route to Eldridge Park takes me right along the Chemung River and over it along the Walnut Street Bridge. And here in Elmira we are fortunate to be witness to the remarkable recovery of not only Osprey but Bald Eagles after being decimated by DDT. Osprey and Eagles nest in many locations along the Chemung River and in Elmira. And as I drive along the river I can see two of the Bald Eagle nests. And I can see a bald eagle perched high atop a tree near one of the nests. right out in the open. A perfect spot for photos. So I decided to stop over there first.

The first thing I saw as I made my way towards the Bald Eagle nest after parking was a Belted Kingfisher and that made me happy as it was. And I didn’t even get any great photos of the Kingfisher. Little did I know how much better the day would get.

Bald Eagles

Most often when I see and photograph Bald Eagles they are either one of two kinds of shots. Either the bald eagle is perched stationary in a tree and never moves. Or the Bald Eagle is soaring overhead, They often look very similar and not as charismatic as I would like. I rarely get to see as much action with Bald Eagles as I did on this day.

I started off watching one bald eagle atop a tree over the nest nearest to the parking area. For a while the eagle mostly sat there essentially still. They would look around occasionally. They were perched with their back to me, but as they turned their head it gave me some nice looks at their bright white head plumage in the beautiful sunlight.

If you watch eagles enough you hope to get a sense of their behavior and get to have an idea of what indicates that they might do something more active such as take off. Sometimes there doesn’t seem to be any indication, other times you can see the bird getting antsy and fidgety. At one point the Bald Eagle decided they wanted to keep a better eye on me and adjusted their position on their branch. They turned around to face me and look directly into my camera.

This was a really cool experience because it allowed me to get a close look at how such a large bird maneuvers on tiny little tree branches high up in the tree canopy. It also gave me the opportunity to see and photograph a Bald eagle moving about in ways I had never seen before. Walking around on a small branch while raising and then remolding its wings to settle back into a new position.

I kept an eye on the Bald Eagle for a while. Snapping pictures occasionally if they struck a pose I liked. Mostly just tracking their behavior so I could be ready to photogrpah any interesting behaviors. Eventually I thought it looked like they might take off. And they suddenly took flight. I was actually ready and captured some nice images of a behavior I often miss because I lack patience and lose focus often and the eagles take off when I have let my guard down.

I watched as the eagle flew off into the distance, but not too far off. I could see them. Then to my surprise they began to fly back in my direction. Fast. They flew right over my head and down to the other nest site that was a little farther up river. It seemed odd that the one eagle would leave one nest site and then fly over to the other nest site.

The Bald Eagle I had been watching landed at the nest and was out of sight from my vantage point. As I lowered my camera and began to look around a second Bald Eagle on the same trajectory as the first one had been zoomed by me unexpectedly. I hadn’t seen any sign of another eagle in the area and was caught completely aware and therefore did not get any photos as they passed me by.

But I raised my camera and watched through my lens, just in case. And I was rewarded as the second Bald Eagle circled around and flew back my direction. They eventually landed in the same tree that the first one had been in before it flew to the other nest.

I think this might be the first time I ever got a close up look at a Bald Eagle landing atop a tree. Especially in the smaller upper canopy branches. If you think about how you see smaller songbirds zip about from branch to branch. They are going full speed and just stick to the next branch for a landing. Occasionally, with larger birds you will see the branch vibrate a little if the bird comes in too hot with too much speed and sticks the landing. Butt imagine what would happen if a huge Bald Eagle took that approach to landing?

It was impressive to watch the Bald Eagle take a much more delicate and graceful approach to slow its momentum. Then drift down towards the branch and then flap again to adjust their positioning and slow more. And repeat this a few times before opening their wings all the way above their heads into a “V” and dropping onto a branch. This was so much fun to get to watch and photograph. I don’t know if I will ever see that again.

I watched this second eagle for a while. Capture it many beautiful images. Eventually, the second Bald Eagle also took to the sky. But again I was ready. I was able to capture some nice images of the take off and return to flight. This time the eagle circled a few times but eventually flew off not o quickly return. So I walked down towards the second nest site and peered into the nest hoping to see if there was indeed an eagle on the nest. This nest is huge and it is nearly impossible to tell if there is an eagle in the nest, especially from any distance. Lucking with my zoom lens and the angle I was at I could just barely see the which crown of the head of a Bald Eagle rising up above the lip of the nest.

My fellow eagle watchers and I have always been surprised that these two nest sites were constructed so close together, when it seems that there are many other suitable locations. And especially after seeing how one eagle moved from one nest site to the other it has me thinking about the life of these birds. Are these two pairs of eagles communally parenting their nests? My dad and I were speculating on this question the other day, but I am not a wildlife biologist, despite my childhood dreams. I would appreciate it if any wildlife biologists are reading this they can let me know what they think

Osprey

I arrived at Eldridge Park and there was already an Osprey circling the lake. And that is one of the birds I am always hoping to see there. So that is a good sign.

Osprey are so much fun to watch and photograph at this park. As they circle and maneuver. Dip and dive and hover. All while watching the water below in this small lake. Just waiting for a chance to take a shot at catching a fish.

My biggest dream with Osprey is to successfully photograph an Osprey dive straight down into the water, catch a fish, and emerge from the water and fly away. I have witnessed it many times now, but seldom come away with great images. If you have never seen this behavior you really should see it. It is quite a spectacle. The way Osprey hunt is not graceful it is an all out quick strike. The speed at which they dive straight down into the water is part of what makes it so challenging for me to catch an image. It is just hard to anticipate how fast they move and track it with the camera. I just need more practice. On this occasion I did capture a few decent images of the hunt and the Osprey emerging from the water and flying away with the fish.

We are fortunate enough to have so many Osprey in our area that here at Eldridge Park you can often watch one Osprey fly around the lake for a while. Then that bird will fly off and a different Osprey will show up. Then they fly off and it feels like it could go on indefinitely. Then there are other times when the skies become crowded.

I have seen multiple Osprey at once. We have nests where you can see both parents at the nest at once. And I have even seen multiple Osprey circling Eldridge Lake at the same time. But this occasion was a new experience. Once there was two. Then there was a pair circling the skies. Then out of nowhere there was a third Osprey looping the lake. It can get hectic trying to keep track of all the air traffic. I don’t know how the air traffic controllers do it with planes. But then all of a sudden there were four birds in the same air space. I am watching them spin and wheel and circle all looking to catch the same fish. I am trying to take photos and then I suddenly notice there are not four but five Osprey circling the sky overhead. I have never witnessed five Osprey overhead at the same time ever before.

The Osprey were all calling and chattering amongst themselves. Sometimes flying close and being evasive. It was har dot tell if they were being aggressive or just communicating. Or being cooperative and hoping to share a meal if someone caught a fish. All the commotion in the sky made trying to photograph them simultaneously exciting and more challenging. My typical strategy for photographing Osprey in flight is to track one in flight and photograph them as they get close to me. And even when there are two I can do this by switching my gaze to whichever bird is closest to me at the time. But, with five birds all swirling overhead it was impossible to not be constantly missing shots as I tracked a bird who inevitably did not approach my position while I different bird flew right over head. It was fun, exciting, challenging, and I would not trade that experience for anything.

Mergansers

While I love seeing and photographing Bald Eagles and Osprey these days they are a relatively common sight in our area. What I am really excited to see during the early parts of spring are migratory birds. Especially birds that only make short stops in our area as they journey farther north into Canada and other northern regions to find their breeding grounds. Over the years I have been fortunate to see quite a few species that are rare to our area thanks to their beautifully park and its lake. But in recent years there have not been many sightings for me at least and it has been making me sad during migration season.

The lack of sightings in the recent years made the sightings on this day even more special. I was excited to see a trio Red-breasted Mergansers swimming on the lake. I have only seen a Red-breasted Merganser one or two times, both at this park and only from a distance with just enough clarity to identify the bird species.

During this day I was happy to watch as this trio swam around the lake staying together and fishing for their next meal. Instead of staying out near the center of the lake they swam all over the area. They often came pretty close to shore. While they were a little shy and did not like to be encroached upon, if I was able to anticipate where they were going and get there before them I was often rewarded with some nice close-up looks.

This trio of all female Red-breasted Mergansers stayed in close proximity the entire time I watched them. Often timing their dives underwater together. First one dives, then the next, and then the last one submerges. All trying to catch food. I don’t know if they were ever successful in catching anything, but it sure was fun to watch them try.

Cormorants, Vultures, and Ducks Oh My

One of the migratory birds I regularly see at Eldridge Park during spring migration is the Double-crested Cormorant. They are large dark colored water birds with pointy bills. And they dive deep underwater together try and catch fish. Their pointed beaks are a bright orangey yellow, and their eyes are a brilliant blue. That combination of dark colored feathers and bright facial features makes them difficult photography subjects. It often requires just the right lighting situations for really get a great shot. But I liked watching this cormorant circle the lake then come in for a water landing.

Turkey Vultures are a common sight in the sky’s overhead this time of year and throughout the summer. I don’t often see them at Eldridge Park except far overhead way off in the distance too far away to photograph. So it was really unexpected to see multiple vultures land on the ground and just walking around. I generally only see Turkey Vultures on the ground when they have found a carcass to scavenge from. And I did not see any vultures eating, nor did I detect any signs of dead animals. There were even multiple Turkey vultures that landed in a tree together along the edges of the park. I really liked this image of a Turkey Vulture ruffling their feathers while standing atop the levee that surrounds the lake.

One of the most common sights at Eldridge Park year round are ducks. Most often it is Mallard Ducks you will see. They are one of the most beautiful birds, but are often disregarded because they are so ubiquitous.

But, every once in a while I see a similar but different species of duck. The American Black Duck looks very similar to a female Mallard. They lack the bright green heads of the male Mallard. They are on average a little larger than Mallards. Their plumage is universally brown. However, their neck and head is a lighter shade of brown flecked with dark and they have a noticeable eye stripe. But their neck key feature is the sleek dark colored body feathers. They are dark chocolatey color like a giant piece of Easter candy. There have been times I thought I may have seen one before, but this was the clearest example of an American Black Duck that I have seen. They were extremely docile and stayed right near the shore often. Easy to photograph in their subtle beauty.

The lack of success eyeing migratory birds in the last several years has lead to a decrease in my motivation to get out and photogrpah birds much at all recently. Hopefully, this one amazing day will be the spark that helps me stay energized and motivated to get out their looking for beautiful birds more often.

I know not every day can be like this, but I also know that I won’t have any days even remotely like this if I don’t get out there. You have to be pleasant to even have the opportunity to experience nature like this.

Go outside and enjoy some nature today.

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