Down by the River

Today while volunteering at my local Audubon Sanctuary, Bent of the River, my job was to weed-wack the invasive plant Japanese Stiltgrass. It tends to invade moist places, so I spent most of my time near the river. At some point I looked up, and saw about 5 Common Mergansers coming up the river. I've seen Red-Breasted Mergansers before, which look very similar, but it was the habitat that solidified my ID; Common Mergansers are mostly found in freshwater, while Red-Breasted Mergansers are often found in salt water (which is where I saw them last summer).

Even though they aren't new to the Life List, I had a good time watching juvenile Cardinals fight at the birdfeeders, a couple of Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds chase each other, and two young Phoebes play near the water.


Photo courtesy of Flickr user NDomer73

I'm in love...

In the middle of July, I began hearing a different type of bird call coming from the woods around my house. It was definitely coming from a hawk, but I couldn't actually find the bird to identify it visually. After a few days of hearing it, I determined the call to be that of a Broad Winged Hawk, (All About Birds is AMAZING!) but I still couldn't see the bird! I got all warm and fuzzy inside every time I heard it, and it became quite a personal challenge to locate my Hawk. It took me 26 days of running outside every time I heard it to actually see him... and it was worth the wait!

He has become very visable since then; preening in a nearby tree, using our front porch as a perch...he is amazing, and I find comfort in knowing that he is out there. I look forward to hearing and seeing him as much as possible.