End of July Sightings
Published: July 29, 2020
Tags: General Observations, american crow, red-headed woodpecker, eastern kingbird, bald eagle, indigo bunting, yellow-bellied sapsucker, common yellowthroat, pine warbler, song sparrow, chipping sparrow, dark-eyed junco, red-bellied woodpecker, horned lark, tree swallow, ring-necked pheasant, brown thrasher
I had one little surprise this month and that was a young Horned Lark foraging out in a dirt/stone field at the
Buffalo waterfront. While this species migrates through the area in spring and fall - the timing of this young bird seemed a bit
odd to me. There's a poor photo I took to document the sighting below.
"Family business" was the key phrase for this month. Many nestlings have fledged and are managing on their own while some pairs are nesting for the second and even third time. All stages of breeding was observed this month - all the way from courtship and nest building to parents feeding their fledglings. I was happy to confirm several more species for my assigned areas for the
NYS BBA III project.
Overall, though, as we finish out July, the breeding activity seems to be winding down, which is great - it's just in time for shorebird season!
A terrible photo but a neat sighting of a young Horned Lark up along the Buffalo waterfront. Odd!
A Red-headed Woodpecker nestling peeks out of its nest cavity.
A Red-headed Woodpecker adult gets ready to deliver food to its nestlings.
An Eastern Kingbird with an insect - not for its babies - s/he ate it!
An immature Bald Eagle flies overhead at Evangola SP
I wasn't sure how to code this Indigo Bunting. Is it a recently fledged young bird with some down left - or a female with a messy face?
A handsome male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
A Common Yellowthroat with food
Male Pine Warbler - maybe with food? It kind of looks like an insect leg is still hanging out of its bill!
Well, this Song Sparrow must have some very hungry babies. I've never seen so many caterpillars in one beak!
A young Chipping Sparrow looks rather "lost"
A recently fledged Dark-eyed Junco
A male Red-bellied Woodpecker feeds his young fledgling. The fledgling's hisses could be heard all over our yard!
A family of American Crows, six in all, were entertaining to watch in a farm field.
A couple of adorable Tree Swallow fledglings.
A surprise encounter with an adult Ring-necked Pheasant. He appeared to be lost...
A young Brown Thrasher
The "doo" on this Green Heron looked so funny, I had to take its photo!
Another young Brown Thrasher - this time at home and under our feeders!