Thursday, September 18, 2008

Birding at Old Cedar Avenue

The next weekend in July found me back down at the Old Cedar Avenue Bridge / Bass Ponds. The birding that day was a bit slow but I still managed to find a couple of birds to photograph.
The bright yellow color of a male goldfinch, in breeding plumage, stood out pretty well against a backdrop of green algae. The American goldfinch is one of the more common birds seen here in late summer. This is probably due to the fact that it is a late nester, nesting in late June or July when most other passerines are already done. Last year I got some great goldfinch shots on the thistle by one of the ponds, but the higher water level this spring prevented the thistle from growing back in that spot. So I have not had the opportunities to photograph goldfinch that I did last year. I also managed to get a pic of a great crested flycatcher. Usually great crested flycatchers are found at the top of the trees so I felt fortunate that this one came down so that I could get a pick. I had spotted them several times around the Bass Ponds so I am guessing that at least one pair nested in the area, wooded swamps would be prime breeding habitat.

1 comment:

Leedra said...

These are both good. I actually like the Goldfinch with that pond background. It is so different than the usual photos of Goldfinch. A real nice change.