This Day Was for the Birds!

Woke up to a chilly but beautiful morning and headed down to Lee Metcalf with my camera riding shotgun.  Not a lot of birds yet but those that are there put on quite a show. 

It must be Sandhill Crane Day, because the cranes were everywhere!  I counted 14 of them in all, only two that were close enough to the road for decent photos - but hey, I’ll take ‘em!  

The Osprey are back!  Got some great shots of a pair of them on the nest in the old snag, a few shots of them mating.  Man, that looks tricky with those big old talons… There is still a goose on the nesting platform at the west end of the big pond.

I got a few shots of a Great Blue Heron landing in the top of one of the pine trees where the rookery is, and a few Coots - yes, I said Coots.  Those stupid little birds that seem to be just everywhere. But what the hell, there wasn’t much else there. 

Lots of Canada Geese, and the Trumpeter Swans are gone.  I suspect they’ve taken to the back ponds, where they won’t be disturbed during nesting season. Not many Red-Winged Blackbirds yet but the ones that were there are fiercely displaying. 

Marsh Wrens are all over the place.  I finally got some really good shots of those little devils.  Even though they’re plentiful, they’re so tiny that they’re difficult to spot.  I listen for the first, and then look for movement in the cattails. Then if I can follow them with my eyes I at least have a chance of a photo or two. The tricky part is finding them with the lens. But I was lucky today - one of the little guys perched right in front of me, and stayed there for quite some time.  

I was really surprised not to see a single Yellow-headed Blackbird, and not much in the way of ducks. 

Ahhh, the photo gods were with me today - it was a great day of shooting!