Slow Birding at Spring Lake

I may have become slightly spoiled by past birding at Lake Ralphine and Spring Lake because I wasn’t impressed by how few birds I saw on this visit, though it is the first time I’ver ever seen a Cedar Waxwing there.

CACdrWxwng

I did see a single Night Heron,

CANitHrn

which seemed determined to hide from the huge number of people who were out walking Labor Day.

In fact, it wasn’t until my second walk, mid-week, that I saw anything vaguely interesting. This might have been the first time I’ve ever gotten a shot of a White Breasted Nuthatch.

WhitBrstdNthtch

I really wasn’t sure what the heck this brown and white pile was, particularly since it seemed to be guarded by a Snowy Egret. If you click to enlarge the photo you can barely make out the immature Swans.

PilOfSwns

I’d never seen them with brown feathers before, much less without a parent nearby.

For some reason, though, all the adults were at the other end of the lake gliding elegantly by.

RlphnSwan

The real thrill of this visit, though, came when I heard what sounded like a jet right behind me and looked around to see the small flock of Swans launching themselves.

SwnTkoff

Not sure what caused them to take off, but it was a thrill hearing those powerful wings overtake me. They were so loud that I almost ducked instead of turning around and snapping several shots.

3 thoughts on “Slow Birding at Spring Lake”

  1. The three swans shown taking off are members of the four young from last year. These four regularly trade between spring lake and lake ralphine. The three young ones seen on the nest hatched last April. The floating nest has provided safety from predators. The brown feathers will soon turn to white – in fact the process is well along. The mother swan died last June; the father swan has been taking care of them. I think the photo of the lone swan is him. He often leaves the young ones for hours at a time now that they are older. I expect the three young ones will fledge (start to fly) in about two weeks. Thanks to Loren for these photos.

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