Blue Ridge Birds

I went to a conference in Asheville, NC and took lots of pictures of course.

From the third floor of the hotel with my phone

Rain over the Blue Ridge Mountains

Clear skies and blue haze

Partly cloudy with awesome blue skies.

I stepped out of the hotel the first morning and was greeted with song! So I went back in and grabbed my camera.

Gray Catbird 

This Northern Mockingbird was at the tip top of a 60-ft tree in bloom, singing his heart out. 

Black-capped Chickadee

A pair of Tufted Titmice were busy collecting materials for nesting

 

The mockingbird moved down to a much easier height to shoot

 On the University of North Carolina-Asheville campus, everything was in bloom and buzzing.

Carolina Wren

House Finch 

Song Sparrow 

The next few days were windy and the birds were scarce.  On a flight of my own, I got a glimpse of the Blue Ridge Mountains at sunrise

Blue Ridge sunrise from the plane with my phone

Eagles on Caribou Lake Rd

The spring melt uncovered a roadkill deer and the ravens and bald eagles have been on clean up duty.

The following were grabbed with my phone:

Collect all four!

Feathered feeders

A feeder I frequently take pictures at has been empty most of the winter due to a pine squirrel.  Feeding the squirrel is not the problem, just the damage done by the squirrel in the proximity of the feeders.  Recently the feeders were filled and the chickadees immediately returned.  As did the squirrel.  Within a few days I heard the distinct nuthatch call.  I waited patiently and watched.  Soon a red-breasted nuthatch zoomed in to a perch, paused, jumped to the feeder, grabbed a sunflower seed, and flew off.  This sequence repeated over and over, affording a window of less than one second each time to snap a photo.  The pic could be better but the morning light was not strong yet.  The chickadees were more compliant.

Red-breasted nuthatch

Black-capped Chickadee

Juveniles

A fresh deer carcass often brings in a few bald eagles.  Typically around this particular area are two adults and a juvenile.  Today it was the a fore mentioned juvenile and maybe a younger brother?

3rd year juvenile bald eagle

4th year juvenile bald eagle

Ducks in the Park

Lots of ducks chillin' in Canal park

Shots for the water; ducks for bling.

Ya don't Thayer

In addition to the Ivory Gull, another Arctic visitor in Canal Park was a Thayer's Gull.

    

    

Arctic Ivory

An Ivory Gull has been visiting Canal Park in Duluth the past few days and has the local birders excited.  Also a not-so-local fellow from Germany.  This bird is not often seen south of its high Arctic home.

The bird had been seen the two previous days so I decided to go look myself.  I arrived in Canal Park around 9am and the bird was easy spot as there was a crowd gathered to watch and photo.  Lured with offerings of perch, salmon, and tuna, the gull remained in close proximity to its viewers.  Amusingly, it moved close enough a few photographers with long, large lenses had to back up to stay in focus.