Crisp Morning - Good Birding 10/4

Saturday morning I decided to grab my gear and head up to Pte Mouillee SGA, catch the sunrise and hopefully maybe get a few good photos. The weather was nippy - definitely needed a coat and gloves if you were going to stand by the lake. Upon my arrival the sunrise silhouetted a Blue Heron in the tall reeds with the Seagulls flying everywhere and diving for breakfast as the ducks and geese sang their songs in the background. I sat for the longest time watching nature and the guys coming to launch their boats to do a little catching of their own.

After awhile I decided to head down Campau road; there's always a lot of activity and watching is just half the fun. This road so far hasn't to let me down, it's where I got my first photos of a Bald Eagle, an Indigo Bunting, a Cedar Waxwing and recently a Black-billed Cuckoo. The sun is to my back and the birds are flying from the right to the left which is perfect. The bushes are full of white, red and purple berries and Yellow-rumped Warblers. I brought my Canon Rebel with me which has a 500mm zoom lens which is great to point and shoot and these guys are very cooperative. Being so cooperative I decided to digiscope a few with my Nikon CoolPic P5100. While viewing them with the scope another birds movement got my attention - a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. Unfortunately he moved around so much that I couldn't digiscope a photo and he dissappeared before I could grab my Canon. Although there's no picture it was nice to see.

As I walked down the road a familiar vehicle came around the corner, it was Jerry Jourdan. If you've ever had the opportunity to meet Jerry you would know that he is an encyclopedia of knowledge. He not only knows digiscoping - he knows his birds.

Continuing to walk down the road and listen carefuly to the sounds around me I hear the "dear! dear! dear! diddy-dear diddy-dear ji-diddy-jee ji-jiddy-jee" of a female Ruby-crowned Kinglet. As I watch the branches move he suddenly appears, with Canon ready I point and shoot all the while telling myself "this isn't a good idea, the suns not in the right spot." After taking the pics of the warbler I realized that time has gotten away from me again and I better get going home. Before I get to the end of the road I have taken pictures of female Blue Jay, a European Starling and a Bald Eagle soaring over one of the ponds. What a great morning. Til my next post.