Springtime in Waterford!

Anne and I took the grandson out to Waterford yesterday afternoon to spend the weekend with his great-grandmother. It was 32° out here at sunrise this morning, and there was frost on the grass, but the skies were clear, so out the door I went.

While the sky was still a bit dark, I got my first picture of a vesper sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus). I’ve been hearing their distinctive song out here for a couple of years, but haven’t been able to put a face to the voice until today. No one has reported seeing one in Estabrook Park yet, so I’m lucky to get the chance here.

There were plenty of birds, such as wood ducks, blue-winged teals, green-winged teals, and ring-necked ducks, on the little ephemeral ponds that haven’t dried up yet in the surrounding farm fields, but it is hard to sneak up on them across an open field, so I didn’t manage any pictures. Instead, here’s a sand-hill crane striding up a hill through the remains of last year’s corn stalks.

There were killdeer out on the fields, too, but this one let me get closer than I could to the one across the river in Estabrook last week.

I found a pair of red-tailed hawks, with one on a nest, and the other nearby, but the big treat for me was finally getting an image, suitable only for proof-of-life, of a northern harrier (Circus hudsonius). I glimpsed one in flight over the river in Estabrook a while back, but I didn’t manage an image then. The big white patch at the top of the tail is the giveaway for me.

The most exciting sight for me, however, was my very first horned lark (Eremophila alpestris). Once again, I didn’t have much luck sneaking up on it across an open field, but I was happy to get close enough at least to see the yellow throat and little black horns.

Tree swallows were out, and here’s one taking a break for a moment.

Another one stopped by, too, and they exchanged some words, but I was unprepared for the action shot again. Sorry about the blur.

Lastly, great grandma has a pond in her back yard with some pine trees nearby so I could finally sneak up on this pair of hooded mergansers who had stopped in to sample the buffet.