Hummingbirds via a Macro Lens - June 23, 2011

The recent rainy days found me at the kitchen window behind a macro lens attempting to capture the rather damp Hummingbirds that were visiting the feeder with great frequency. As the images below reveal I didn't have much luck with the photography end of things but a bit of video... with a 180mm macro lens.. well, I liked the results and will be trying this again before the season ends.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - Macro - June 23, 2011 from Phil Brown on Vimeo.

The male Hummingbird, in the video above, has a bug of some kind at the base of his bill, is it a missed opportunity for a meal or a hitch hiker looking to move to the next flower?

The female has her troubles as well as another female attempts to dislodge her from the feeder.

This is what I was hoping to capture, taken in the summer of 2009...

Better luck next time....

Baltimore Orioles at the feeders - June 26, 2011

Baltimore Orioles are a joy to have in the yard each summer. I look forward to watching their antics around the feeders and especially enjoy the young birds when they appear each June. Here's a brief video of one of the youngsters at the jelly feeder this Sunday.

Baltimore Oriole - June 26, 2011 B from Phil Brown on Vimeo.

as well as a few shots of the parents and the youngster.

Hummingbirds in the yard - June 24, 2011

A bit of early morning fun with the Hummingbirds that visit the yard. The overcast conditions 

with off and on showers were not conducive to decent photos but worked fairly well for 

a bit of video seen below.

A pair of videos from this morning, pre-work  in the drizzle.
The male below is on a perch I added to the deck, he's watching the feeder
just outside the kitchen window, of course I'm inside, out of the rain, looking back.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - male - June 24, 2011 from Phil Brown on Vimeo.

A female at the window feeder, the object of the males attention but at this point in 

the season she's got a pair of mouths to feed back at the nest. The number of females

coming to the feeders has risen dramatically in the past few days suggesting more 

mouths to feed in the neighborhood.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - June 24, 2011 from Phil Brown on Vimeo.

The Fisher and The Goshawk - June 20, 2011

I stopped by a wood lot that I frequent each year and was surprised to find a Northern Goshawk calling nearby. Further investigation found the Goshawk both screaming at and attacking a Fisher that was most likely sleeping at this time of day.

The Fisher wanted no part of the Goshawk as it flew at it several times. The brief video below shows some of the action.

Fisher - Goshawk Encounter - June 20, 2011 from Phil Brown on Vimeo.

The Fisher at 4 - 6 lbs far out weighs the 2 lb Goshawk. Both of these were females, the Fisher being on the small side and the Goshawk was just huge. The Fisher wanted no part of the event, running or leaping to other parts of the tree with each attack. I left them after 12 minutes or so to work it out among themselves.

A stop later in the day at Bradley Palmer State Park found a Common Yellowthroat carrying food to it's young.

and an Eastern Kingbird keeping an eye on it's nest as it hunted over the marsh.

and lastly a stop at McDonalds for a late afternoon snack found this Red Squirrel out-working the Ring-billed Gulls for the fries people were sharing.

Newburyport Wood Ducks - June 19, 2011

A visit with Patsy and her fabulous yard on Father's Day found her Wood Ducks most cooperative. There were a dozen youngsters and the female that came quite close as I sat quietly by the pond.

One of the youngsters came in for a closer look as well.

and here's the female keeping an eye on her brood.

a back lit Painted Turtle kept a watchful eye as well.

A stop at Bird Watcher's Supply & Gift found this Pine Siskin visiting Steve's feeders.

Plum Island Mink - Revere Beach Shearwaters - June 13, 2011

A drive down Plum Island on Monday found the Mink seen below running along the edge of parking lot #6. She stopped several times appearing to be in search of a prey item, on closer inspection once home I noticed this is a nursing female, perhaps it was her youngsters she was running off to.

Revere Beach has been hosting a number of Manx Shearwater along it's shore for a few years now. I stopped this past Sunday and came across 16, a high count for me. 11 can be seen in the image below.

They spend a fair amount of time close to shore affording excellent views at times. Here's four in flight.

Young Peregrine Falcons - June 2011

I had the privilege of spending an hour or so with a family of Peregrine Falcons earlier this month. The three young falcons have fledged and are now spending their days practicing their flight skills under the watchful eye of both adults, that is when there not begging for food from atop one of the many storied buildings spread out  around the city.

The youngster on the left above was the last to leave. He can be picked out as you scroll through the photos below by the amount of down feathers he had yet to molt and yes that is him below.

and again here....

and here practicing for the big day.

The older birds, by a few days, appeared more confident along the edge of the building.

While this guy seemed a bit skittish about approaching the edge...

it's siblings were more than ready to go..

and appeared ready to leave at any moment.

Almost daring a gust of wind to come along and push him off...

He appears to be saying, that's it I'm out of here... but today was not the day.

There was more preening to be done before heading out into the world.

Though I thought he would leap from the ledge at this point.

One of the adults had dropped off a tidbit which this youngster pounced on several times.

Here's the adults just prior to delivering a pigeon to the youngsters. The female is on the left.

Lynn Beach - Little Gull - June 12, 2011

An adult Little Gull has been hanging around Lynn Beach near the Nahant line for the past few weeks with a few dozen Bonaparte's Gulls. A bit smaller than a Bonaparte's with a hood that extends farther down the neck this beautiful gull is a rare but annual visitor to the east coast.

A head shot showing the white feathers this near adult has retained.

The dark underwing also helps to pick it out from the Bonies.

Red-tailed Hawks - Cambridge, MA - June 05, 2011

A pair of Red-tailed Hawks nested on the ledge of the building at 185 Alewife Brook Parkway, Cambridge this spring and these are photos of the two that remained in the nest on June 5th. The third young hawk had fledged the day before and was roosting in trees nearby.

Red-tailed Hawks, Cambridge, MA June 05, 2011 from Phil Brown on Vimeo.

Watch... I'll show you how it's done....

See... just like this....

A bit more practice....

O.K..... it's your turn now...