Ημερολόγιο της/του mamestraconfigurata

Saw an interesting thing today, down at the Red. Heard some ducks across the river, then sort of looked up and saw a pair moving fast off the river. Realized there was a raptor behind them - Probably a merlin, though we do have peregrines that nest downtown. The ducks were mallards, and then later I saw pair of wood ducks on the river. They are skittish, and with the fast river it was hard to get a decent shot of them.

Well, the robins are back - I haven't seen them yet, but their tuneless pre dawn whistling is unmistakable. Juncos have also been here for about a week. They are generally the first of the migratory songbirds to come through. They are really difficult to photograph. They don't sit still long, and don't like being approached.

A couple of days ago, while at the Parker wetlands, saw another owl being mobbed by crows. I was attracted by the abnormal number of cries, and tracked the group down. I tried to get a decent shot of the owl, but it wasn't sitting still, so moved around. Interestingly, I saw a crow go down to the owl and attack it (which is basically when it moved!). I tracked the group down, and managed to get this shot of the owl as it fled the onslaught of the crows.

That same day, I heard what seemed to be some strange ducks that turned out to be frogs calling (along with the spring peepers). I tried to sneak up on them through the water, and then my dog came charging in to see what I was up to. Memo to self - leave dog at home when trying to photograph frogs!

It's been a slow spring this year. A couple of warm days, but mostly just above 0C. Insects are hard to find, but some of the early migrants are starting to come through. I don't think I've seen any warblers yet. The spring peepers are active at Parker, but it seems like one day they are all singing, the next two or three there is some ice on the water. None of the trees have leaves out yet, but some of the early flowering ones are starting to come out.