I went to Potter Marsh on June 17th. The evening began not with birds, but with mammals!
The view was particularly pretty that "night". That's the Seward Highway that goes across the middle of the photo.
I'm not a big fan of Canada Geese (or Cackling Geese, as it may be), but goslings are pretty cute I have to admit. Especially this group... they can't all be one "litter", can they? There was some flooding through this area and several nests were washed away, so it's possible that this goose is being a sort of foster mom. Either way, it was cute to watch them all huddle together!
One of my favorite shots, especially with that one little guy on the lookout.
The lighting was just right... I couldn't resist.
A Savannah Sparrow taking a bath
I had fun learning about so many different birds this summer, but I seem to have really gotten attached to the arctic tern. It's amazing how fast those babies grow up enough to fly from here down toward Antarctica in just a few short weeks! The puff ball babies are pretty cute, too. This little guy is getting dinner!
Wait... where are you going with that??
Mom is saying something to Dad (or vice versa)? Baby doesn't seem to quite know what to do with that big fish.
Puffball... so cute!
Baby is actually tucked under the adult's left wing. You can see a little bit of a foot and possibly some fuzzy feathers there, but he/she is pretty well hidden!
I think this one is funny... the tern that is sitting there was firmly holding his/her ground. The one coming in for a landing was apparently just as stubborn, because he/she REALLY wanted to land right there!
Aww...
I went back to Potter Marsh on June 21st. This evening started out with some Red-Necked Grebes.
And of course I had to check on my little baby! Still cute...
Nodding off...
A gull... nothing exotic, but still a bird!
The extended family of goslings. There are several under the adult's wing, and then the rest huddled together.
Another Savannah Sparrow. They have a very pretty song!
I made a couple trips to Westchester Lagoon. The first was on July 5th.
Another "not a bird" photo snuck in here...
A Greater Scaup (female)
A Black-Capped Chickadee enjoying a little snack...
A pair of Godwits. Not sure if they're Hudsonian or Marbled, but they're one of the two!
A White-Crowned Sparrow
Another female Greater Scaup
These are Bar-tailed Godwits. Lots of them. Pretty neat!
These are the Bar-tailed Godwits again. I'm not good at all at identifying birds while they're flying, so it was nice of them to land so I could see them better!
And one more trip to Potter Marsh on July 18th...
A Yellowlegs
I love the summer scenery views here!
Yellow-rumped Warbler. He might have just shook his feathers before I took this photo.
Awesome shower over the mountains...
Orange-crowned Warbler (female)
Female Orange-crowned Warbler reaching for a snack...
And for a comparison, here's the male Orange-crowned Warbler. Warblers are some of my favorite birds!
Got the snack!
A Red-breasted Nuthatch
There were several other photos I took of the birds I saw, and several other species that I saw (many for the first time) that aren't shown here because the quality of photos was for identification at best. I'm looking forward to getting out again next year and learning even more! 'Til next time...
