Photo Study Of An Anna's Hummingbird,  A Baltimore Oriole, A Yellow-throated Warbler And Two Merlins, December 4th, 2010

    Joan Silagy volunteered to help me find the Yellow-throated Warbler that has been hanging out at the Blue Marsh Recreation Area since Thanksgiving. We met at 8:00 AM
    and spent an hour or so in an exercise in futility. She had to go home and I went to try and photograph the Anna's Hummingbird in Shartlesville. I arrived at the Mountain
    Springs Campground at about 10:00 AM and scouted out the feeders at M69 and M75. There were eight other birders looking for the hummer too. The Anna's came into the
    tree in front of M69 about 10:50 AM and I was able take photographs while it was giving the other birders some very good looks. The Anna's could hang out until Spring if the
    homeowners continue to put liquid sugar water out for her. Also, there is a sewerage treatment plant across the road which should provide plenty of insects all winter.
    We shall see!

    In any event, Joan called me around 11:30 AM and told me that she had found the warbler. I drove back the eleven miles and Joan and another birder named Brian signaled that
    they had the bird in an oak tree. I was even able to get a few shots of this beautiful little warbler which was flitting around like a Kinglet and hiding behind oak leaves.
    Picture-takers really do prefer their birds to be out in the open, sitting still, less than twenty feet away, in bright sunshine...oh well. Nevertheless, I am very grateful!

Yellow-throated Warbler

Adult Female Anna's Hummingbird

    The Yellow-throated Warbler disappeared (we never did find it again) and while we were walking around searching for it, we found a pair of Merlins who, hopefully, were
    satisfying their appetites solely on the ever-abundant House Sparrows.

  
Female Merlin

    I left Blue Marsh and drove home via Arlene and David Koch's property in Williams Township (Northampton County.) Arlene has been reporting a female Baltimore Oriole
    at her feeders this week. The Oriole is feeding on seeds as well as sugar water. And thanks to Arlene, I was able to photograph this very pretty, late in the season, visitor.

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Female Baltimore Oriole Imitating A Hummingbird

    On my way over to the Koch Property, I saw a Great Blue Heron hunting voles in the middle of the grassy median of Rte 222. A little further on, a Red-tailed Hawk was perched
    in a tree at the side of the road in the sun. Of course, I had no choice but to pull over and try to photograph it:

 Adult Red-tailed Hawk

    To see a larger image of any of today's bird photos below, please click on either the thumbnails or the captions...thanks!

 © Howard B. Eskin 2010     Please email your comments to hbeskin@voicenet.com      Please click here to go back to Bird Webpage Index