I'm Back!...Kountze Lake Birding Fun

It has been a long year plus since I had last updated my blog.   I apologize about that and plan to get this blog back on track to being active.
The primary reason behind my absence is due in part to life becoming very busy.  Between bouncing around jobs, raising two kids and going back to school,  I could't keep up with everything I once was pursuing, and unfortunately birding and blogging took a hit.
I have also picked up another hobby that I have been pursuing seriously for the last year and a half, and that is urban exploration.   That took the time I usually gave to birding.

But, I am back.  With a renewed passion!
Last year saw my dad and I enjoy our best Big Birding Weekend to date, and I will do a short update about that a little later on.  The Barr Lake Bird Fest was amazing as always and saw my dad and I have our best day of festival birding to date as well, as we saw 81 species. I have also upgraded all my camera gear, and that has given me renewed passion for photography, birding and making this blog active again.  When I left off, I was using a Canon Rebel t2i with a Canon 55-250mm lens, I have since upgraded to a Canon EOS 60D and just purchased the Sigma 150-500mm lens, which is an amazing bird photography set up.

KOUNTZE LAKE
After acquiring my new lens last Tuesday,  I decided that since I still had a couple hours to kill before school started that I would hit up Kountze Lake in Belmar and try out my new gear.  And talk about perfect.  The weather was beautiful, the birds were abundant and I was loving my lens.  The lake was FULL of Northern Shoveler. Mallard and Bufflehead. I was very happy to see the Bufflehead since they are one of my favorite birds.  Two pairs of Great Blue Heron had taken up residence in the trees on the island and are currently in the process of building their nests.  The cormorants have yet to show up, and I can't wait to shoot them on their nests as well.  Canada Geese had paired off and every 10 minutes or so a sudden outburst would be heard as two pairs would get to close to each other, thus initiating a who-can-be-the-most-obnoxious honking match.  I was pleasantly surprised to see a pair of Hooded Merganser working the lake.  At one point, the female surfaced with a crawfish and proceeded to smack it on the water and shake it violently.  Suddenly, she flung it through the air and snatched it up immediately after it landed.   My walk around the lake revealed a single Green-winged Teal who promptly took off after I managed a couple photos.  Amidst the mast throngs of shovelers, I found a couple Gadwall, a pair of Lesser Scaup a single Redhead and a single Common Goldeneye.  Black-capped Chickadees and a couple Blue Jays worked the trees, but there was little around in the way of non waterbirds.
The next day I returned to the lake as I again had a couple hours to kill before my classes started.  This time I settled down at the gazebo instead of walking the lake.  As before, the lake was dominated by shovelers.   The Bufflehead kept to the far water and were not being very cooperative with photos.   As I watched one Bufflehead preening, a shoveler accidentally bumped into him and the Bufflehead dove right on the top of the shocked shoveler.  I snapped off a photo but unfortunately it is too hard to tell what is in the photo.  The male Hooded Merganser made a surprise appearance much closer than he was the day before.  I thoroughly enjoyed watching him bathe and preen and was finally able to get some photos that I had only dreamed of getting before.  After the merganser finally tucked his bill under his wing, I got up and went to see what was at the smaller pond behind the gazebo.   That was one of the best decisions I have made in a while.  I was able to get some close up shots of a beautiful male Northern Shoveler and a gorgeous male Gadwall(yes, gorgeous, for even though they are very much a drab bird, they are handsome and the light was perfect.)  Suddenly,  a pair of Wood Ducks made an appearance.  Of all the ducks I had thought I'd see, they were not high on that list.  With gorgeous evening sunlight lighting them up,  I was able to shoot away and enjoy the Wood Ducks.  These were the best views and closest I have been to these beautiful ducks.  After a few minutes of showing off, they took flight and were on their way.  I decided to call it a day and head over to school.  The two days of birding at Kountze renewed a passion in me and left me with some amazing memories.

Female Hooded Merganser with her crawfish. 

Back view of a male Hooded Merganser. 

The Great Blue Herons of Kountze. 

The shy Green-winged Teal. 

Two is better! A pair of male Bufflehead sliding in for a landing. 

Playing with dinner. The Hooded Merganser tossing her prey. 

Back view of a Bufflehead. 

Canada Goose landing.

Buffleheads in a row. 

Regal Gadwall. 

The male Hooded Merganser showing off. 

Northern Shoveler. 

Wood Ducks. It is always a red letter day when these beautiful birds show up. 

Great Backyard Bird Count at Two Ponds 2013

Today's GBBC bird walk at Two Ponds NWR was a great success today! Five local birders showed up to go on the walk with my dad and I.
The weather was very cooperative this year, with much less snow and much warmer temperatures that last years GBBC bird walk.  A balmy 33F temperature greeted us this at 7am this morning and by the time the walk ended two and a half hours later, the temperature was comfortably in the 40s.
The Count started with a Cooper's Hawk sitting in the trees above the entrance.  American Crows, Rock Pigeons and a few other common birds made appearances as well.  Once our group was together, we headed off into the Refuge to find and count birds.
We were more than excited to have two brand new birders with us, and help introduce them to the wonderful world of birds and the wonderful birding habitat of Two Ponds NWR.   Red-winged Blackbirds were busy setting up territories and singing.  Hordes of Canada Geese flew by throughout the walk, as did multiple Black-billed Magpies and Northern Flickers.  Walking through the wetland preserve side section of the habitat yielded another Cooper's Hawk and a few more of the birds we had already seen.  Crossing into the canal area, Mallards, a Dark-eyed Junco, Belted Kingfisher and a few Blue Jays were added to our list.  Three coyotes graced us with their presence, affording nice views of this wonderful mammal.  We followed the canal to the entrance of the prairie grass preserve section of Two Ponds.
Black-capped Chickadees called from some cotton wood trees, and a lone Herring Gull provided a quick glimpse as it traversed the sky above the refuge as it headed toward Standley Lake.  With time starting to eclipse 9am, we headed back toward the main part of the refuge to compile the list and head off.  Along the way back, a small flock of Common Mergansers flew by, a nice surprise.  A couple White-breasted Nuthatches called but did not show themselves.  We were finally able to track down a couple chickadees to view.  Shortly before reaching the parking lot, a Rough-legged Hawk  made a very brief appearance.
This was a wonderful bird walk and yielded a total of 23 species.   We had a great time introducing some new birders to Two Ponds and the birding fun.   We will be sending our list and count information in to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for their Great Backyard Bird Count records.  Hope you all are having a good time counting birds and happy birding!
-Daniel-

Morning at the Refuge. 

Looking at some Red-winged Blackbirds.

Spotting far away birds. 

Thank you Joyce for getting this all set up!

Male Mallard swimming along the canal.

Watching the Junco.

One of many geese flocks. 

Can you find the coyote?

A spotting scope helps. 

Out in the open.

Female Mallard and a muskrat.

Prints in the snow. 

List total for the count:

Cooper's Hawk: 2

Black-billed Magpie: 43

Ring-billed Gull: 4

Red-tailed Hawk: 1

European Starling: 12

Rock Pigeon: 20

Canada Goose: 200

Cackling Goose: 15

Red-winged Blackbird: 63

Northern Flicker(red-shafted race): 11

American Crow: 22

Mallard: 12

Blue Jay: 3

House Finch: 15

Belted Kingfisher: 1

Dark-eyed Junco: 6

Black-capped Chickadee: 10

White-breasted Nuthatch: 2

Rough-legged Hawk: 1

House Sparrow: 3

Herring Gull: 1

Common Merganser: 4

American Robin: 1

Two Ponds Bird Walk 9-22-12

Another great bird walk at Two Ponds NWR! Thanks to everyone who showed up!
This will most likely be the last bird walk that my dad and I will have lead at Two Ponds unless a special bird walk or birding event is organized at the refuge later in the year.  I know that I have had a great time leading bird walks and birding the refuge, and I know my dad has loved it as well.
We started the bird walk at 7am and the weather was a little chilly but not bad.  Our group of about 15 split up and some went with my dad and the others with myself.  My group went up to the canal to walk the path there and explore a section of the refuge that we hadn't birded yet before.  This part of the refuge is accessible via the open year round western section of the refuge.  American Robins were EVERYWHERE.  The choke cherries and plums and other fruiting plants were chock full of berries, which are attracting robins and other birds in large numbers.  Downy Woodpecker and Northern Flicker, Colorado's smallest and largest woodpeckers, were both present and feasting on the fruits.  A juvenile Red-tailed Hawk made a flyover.  Once we got to the canal, four Wood Ducks made a flyby, and both groups were able to see these magnificent waterfowl.  Robins, robins and more robins, with some Common Grackles, Blue Jays and Rock Pigeons also made appearances.  A Cooper's Hawk made a short appearance, but stayed hidden and hard to see.  We meandered along the trail enjoying the colors and birds, but no other birds of special note made appearances.  We headed back into the main part of the refuge and went to meet up with my dad's group.  We joined them near the blind and jumped into the finding and identification of a warbler that was working the trees there.  We all worked hard to try to see this drab little bird well enough to make an identification, and after a few minutes and some discussion, came to the identification of it as a Tennessee Warbler. This is a new bird for the refuge and a great bird to see in the state at any time!  We were able to get some decent views of the bird before it flew off.  A few seconds passed and I noticed a bird at the top of a tree and after getting glass on it, called out Western Tanager.  A male and female sat in a spot that allowed nice views and most everyone was able to see these wonderful and beautiful birds.  We all congregated at the main area of the refuge and were awed by the amount of calls and birds that were in the trees.  Dozens upon dozens of birds were present.  A Spotted Towhee made a brief appearance, as did a small flock of Cedar Waxwings.  Black-capped Chickadee, Orange-crowned  and Wilson's Warblers were also about.  After birding the area for a while, we all packed up and headed to City Pizza for Dave's presentation on binoculars.  A female Broad-tailed Hummingbird made a brief flyby during the presentation as well, but we were unable to point it out to anyone due to the briefness of it's appearance.

In total we saw 33 species, with the highlights being Tennessee Warbler and Western Tanager.

Morning light and colors at the refuge.

The juvenile Red-tailed Hawk

The path along the canal.

Two Mallards. Did you know, male Mallards can't quack? Only the female can and their quack doesn't echo.

Looking out over the refuge.

Geese in formation.

Very hard to see, but it's the Tennessee Warbler. Shows how difficult seeing them can be.

Mr. and Mrs. Western Tanager.

A reflection.

I just want to thank Joyce for getting these walks set up! Look forward to leading more whenever the time comes again!