Waiting in Anticipation

Ive been birding a few times over the past few weeks but haven't turned up anything different.I actually went one day with out seeing anything ! That day was last weekend when me and a friend birded most of the southern shore checking the "hot spots" but found hardly any common birds.I still did enjoy myself, just being out is a always fun!
Now with report cards going out Thursday and mid terms not far away i would imagine I'm not going to get out till winter.
But; with winter comes some of the best birding ! Quidy vidy will soon become gull and tuffed duck heaven and we should start seeing some cedar waxwings and maybe if we are lucky we will get a rarity or two !
On a more interesting note, i was at Burton's pond in the MUN campus looking for the coots and any other birds that might be hanging around.
I didn't find many birds but what i did find was a little less then appetizing !

Yes that's right RATS the place was crawling with rats.I thought rats were not very active during the day but as you can see i was wrong.They were feeding on food left over by people feeding the ducks.
Before i left i had seen a total of about 20-30 rats.Also the campus its self had a lot of sign that rats were in the buildings, i seen where rats had holes dud going into the buildings and, there were holes chewed in exposed insulation around the campus.

I'm sorry if the blog is dead for awhile.I will try a post when or if i see something worth talking about.
OH ! i forgot to mention i seen my first snow buntings at cape spear 2 weekends ago !

Gull watching in St.Johns Habour

Today i set out I'm hopes of finding an uncommon or rare gull,
I headed down to one of the best places around to watch gulls....where else then the st.johns sewer outlet !
When i arrived the sun was shining in my eyes so that took away any good photo opps, i did stay a while and just scan with my binos but couldn't find anything among the kayotic feeding frenzy !
There was about 20 black headed gulls there of note and then the usual gulls.

After looking at the sewer gulls i headed behind the Harvey building where i was tipped off that there was cormorants hanging out.There wasn't any cormorants but there was an odd looking gull with a leg band that was surprisingly tame ! I got some pretty good shots of him and i am now waiting for an ID confirmation !
Also, i noticed about 30 small birds hanging out around a memorial that's near the Harvey building.I wasn't able to get a shot before they flew away.

November First

     Today after school i was able to pop up to Nevile's pond and get some new pictures and some dog berry's for the birds in winter.
So far the pond is home to about 80 American black ducks and mallards, 1 green wing teal, 1 blue wing teal (not there as of today), 7 ring bills,and now numbers of gulls are starting to gather on the wharfs around the pond !
After gathering my winter supply of dog Berry's for the waxwings i went and got a few pictures of the ducks !

After getting some photos of the ducks i headed up the side of the pond to karwood cabins where i seen a number of gulls hanging out !
I cant see any "rare" species in these photos but maybe you can so please comment if you see anything !

I'm trying my best to find someone to go birding with asap to try and find some of the cooler birds that have been popping up all over the place !
Also this year I'm going to go big with bird feeders ! i have decided if i cant get to the birds then whats a better way then to bring the birds to me ! I will then update the blog almost daily with photos and updates of what I'm seeing at my feeders.

Fall Birding So Far

So far i haven't birded at all this fall. High school has hit me like a ton of bricks and I'm buried in home work ! From E=MC^2 to C2o and everything in between.NF.birds has been booming with sightings and only makes me want to get out more !
I have been checking Nevile's pond but not much action there besides about 10 wigeon,7 scaup and many American blacks and mallards.I thought a few days back i seen a blue wing teal there but couldn't confirm.
If an when i do get out i hope to enjoy and try my best to find some cool birds.I haven't seen any buntings,vireos,chats or anything like that so almost anything along the lines of that would be a real treat !
I'm sure anyone reading this blog from the Avalon knows how nice of a spring we have been having ! Great weather and great birds.....just not for me lol

Some more positive news is that Newfoundland Power has agreed to place 2 utility poles for me to put osprey nesting platforms on !
Anyone who knows a good place that is in need of a pole just e-mail me and ill try my best to get one set up !

Here are a few pictures i got at the pond last weekend

Not a Succes but not bad.

I have been keeping a close eye on Nevile's pond after i found a male hooded merganser and failed to get a shot of him.
There have been a juvenile female common goldeneye and some wigeon hanging around there as well.

This male is not in full plumage but i still love the colours he has been showing off.The female goldeneye was not as tame but i did get some record shots.

 

I plan on placing a nest box here next spring because you never know when a cavity Nester could be around.
I am hoping to get out Saturday at some birds and hopefully get some nice shots to put up here on the blog.

Today i didn't get any real good shots because the wind was almost knocking me off my feet.It got o the point where the wind was so hard i had to wait to look through my binos because the wind would move me so much i couldn't stay still !

I like this shot because you get to take in all the patterns and shades of the male Eurasian wigeon !

Gulls of 2011

I always disliked gulls because they are so numerous and widespread and there reputation as a nuisance.It has only been this year that i have taken a keen interest in them.I think what got me going on gulls was the amazing photos Dave brown has of even the most common gulls.

I have been reading my field guides and doing a little bit of research on some of the gulls i have seen and some of the gulls i hope to see before the year is out.

I have also been checking a on a website that talks about gulls banded on cape sable island and there migration patterns.Its interesting to see how far some of them have gone and i think it would be cool if one was spotted at quidi vidy lake this winter !

I myself have been trying to get some close ups with some common gulls and so far i think I'm doing good.

          So far i have seen :

• Laughing gull
• Black-headed gull
• Mew gull
• Ring-billed gull
• Herring gull
• Great black-backed gull
• Glaucous gull

Before 2011 is out I'm hoping to see:

• Franklin's gull
• Little gull
• Bonaparte's gull
• Yellow-legged gull
• Lesser black-backed
• Iceland gull
• Thayers gull
• Ivory gull
• Sabine's gull
  I know some of them I'm going to have to be pretty lucky to see an others i expect to see.
  Its always good to have a wish list !

In my next post i may talk about a male hooded merganser i recently found or some song birds i plan on hunting down soon !

Gulls

I'm working on a future post about gulls.I going to talk about my new intrest in them and what species i have seen thus far.Also i will talk about what gulls i would like to see before the year comes to an end.