Oct. 23, 2011 - Birds

My birding buddy Shawn and I were at the Forest History Center in Grand Rapids, MN when we saw this Green Heron. It is a medium-sized bird, about 18-22 inches tall. Green Herons are found over most of the eastern half of the United States in summer. They like wetlands, and often sit motionless along the side of a pond waiting for small fish to swim by. They’ve been known to place some type of food on the surface of the water to attract fish.

HeronGreenForestHistoryCenterGrandRapids20110909

That same day, Shawn and I were looking for birds at the Minnesota Power and Light plant. We came upon this Northern Harrier sitting beside the road. I was happy to get such a good look at it because I’ve had a hard time photographing Harriers. They are usually flying low over a wetland and seldom sit still.

HarrierNorthernPlantCohasset20110826

This Swamp Sparrow was near a small pond by our driveway. True to its name, it likes to nest in wet places over much of Canada and in the northern United States from the Dakotas to the Atlantic coast. Winter finds many of these Sparrows moving only as far as the southeastern states and Texas.

SparrowSwampDunningLake20110924

I like cedar trees as the background for bird photos, especially when they have developed their blue berries. This Black-capped Chickadee was exploring the Cedars at Vadnais Lake in the St. Paul, MN suburb of Vadnais Heights.

ChickadeeBlackcappedLakeVadnaisHeights20111001

I also found Yellow-rumped Warblers checking out the Cedar trees. This one decided to make a snack of some cedar berries.

WarblerYellowrumpedeatingCedarberryLakeVadnaisHeights20111001

This Chestnut-sided Warbler is in non-breeding plumage. It was taken at our home in northern Minnesota. People are often confused by this bird during fall migration because it looks so different than it does in breeding plumage. In my May 22 Pictures of the Week, I had a photo of this species in breeding plumage. Here’s a link. (It's the fifth photo in that set). http://www.earlorfphotos.com/Pictures-of-the-Week/2011-Pictures-of-the-Week/May-22-2011-Migrating-Warblers/17152372_fh3Wrx#1299954441_mDHkj2D

WarblerChestnutsidedDunningLake20110812