Chirps and Cheeps

I went out to the Montezuma NWR area in Seneca Falls yesterday and enjoyed a couple of nice family sightings - one of nature's best offerings!

A family of Virginia Rails was out feeding in one of the marshes and I was amazed to see their chicks. And who would have guessed: they were all black!  Those six, cute, little, black balls of fluff were so very different looking than their brown, gray, and orange-billed parents.  The little ones either followed the adults around, poking in the algae or, when the parents wandered to forage, they stayed grouped together in an opening at the edge of the reeds. Perhaps this was their nest area; I couldn't tell from where I was.

A little later, I saw a similar family group, but this time they were Common Gallinules. Check out the chicks' feet; they're already huge!  I can't imagine learning to walk on those giant clodhoppers!

While I was watching these families with fascination, two Least Bitterns gave me fly-bys. Unfortunately, I wasn't quick enough with the camera to capture them, but I still enjoyed seeing these birds.

A little later, after meeting up with Pat Martin and Steve Taylor, we viewed several Short-billed Dowitchers, 5 Stilt Sandpipers, 7 young Bald Eagles, over 150 Least Sandpipers, around 175 Lesser Yellowlegs, 10 Greater Yellowlegs, 18 Caspian Terns, 9 Black Terns, a Northern Harrier, and a couple of Trumpeter Swans. Steve told us that there were at least 3 pairs of swans who bred there this spring. And thanks to, Steve, for his assistance on ID'ing and learning more about the Stilt Sandpipers. Seeing them next to the many yellowlegs and dowitchers, which they are described as being a "blend of", we soon began to recognize them and tell them apart from the other sandpipers.

After this, I went up to Wayne County but didn't find the Red-headed Woodpeckers that were reported. I saw a young couple searching for a Golden-winged Warbler that they had heard about, but neither of us found that bird either. While I was there, I did happen upon a House Wren's nest. S/he didn't seem too thrilled with my presence, so I quickly grabbed a few photos of the irritated wren and left. I wanted to explain that building a nest inside the gate tubing is not a good idea!

As always, it was a day of hits and misses, which keeps things exciting!