End of a Season - September 30, 2011

Well today is September 30th and the end of a season. The weather for the month of September was a little on the iffy side but still a good month for photos. The weather gave me the opportunity test my speedlite and see some warblers passing through. I've seen the changing colors of the Indigo Bunting and found out just how good my patience were when a Ruby-throat Hummingbird darted in and out.

A good percentage (98%) of the photos I took this month were all taken out by Pte Mouillee on Roberts Rd. A handful were taken at Lake Erie Metro Park. On one of my outings I was asked by a gentleman just how many different species have I photographed this year and I had to tell him I had never given that any thought. My goal was just to get that one picture that I hadn't gotten before. So I sat down and decided to count the birds that I photographed this month and came up with 31 different species not counting the raptors that were at the Hawk-fest.

Here is my list: American Redstart, American Goldfinch, Bald Eagle, Baltimore Oriole, Black & white Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Cedar Waxwings, Chestnut-sided Warbler, Common Yellow-throats, Connecticut Warbler, Eastern Kingbird, Gray Catbird, Great-crested Flycatcher, Egret, Indigo Bunting, Lincoln Sparrow, Magnolia Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Northern Water-thrush, Orange-crowned Warbler, Palm Warbler, Red-eyed Vireo, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Ruby-throat Hummingbird, Song Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Tennessee Warbler, Warbling Vireo, and Wood Ducks.

At the Hawk-fest in Lake Erie Metro Park I took photos of: an Auger Buzzard (Africa's version of our Red-tail Hawk), Barbary Falcon (found in the Canary Islands and lower Middle East), Eurasian Eagle Owl (found in Europe and Asia - smaller than a Golden Eagle and larger than a Snowy Owl), Pharaoh Eagle Owl (found in Egypt, Sudan, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, etc) and our Peregrine Falcon, American Kestrel and Red-tail Hawk.

Other photos taken this month were of a Cabbage White, Monarch, Buckeye, Saddleback Dragonfly, Bull frog, a smaller frog (haven't got a clue as to what kind), a snake, Morning Glories and Pokeweed. There were also some scenery photos taken as well.

And now on to October - til my next post.