Birds of Little Pond

While in Maine I had the opportunity to do a little birding. All of these shots are taken from Megan's parent's house at little pond. I'll give a little bit of information about my observations. Feel free to chime in with I.D.'s if I have gotten something wrong.

First up is this nice bird that was perched late in the afternoon high up in a white pine tree. I'm guessing this is a warbler of some type. Anyone have any guesses? The bird was high in the tree tops and this is the best shot I took.



The common yellowthroat, a warbler that I do know well. This individual was quite tame and allowed me to approach within 10 feet.



Ruby-throated hummingbirds were really living it up at little pond. Megan's parents have three feeders full of sugar and water around there house, and we constantly heard the chirps and buzzing of these tiny birds.



I saw this warbler in a tamarack, and managed to get a few shots before it flew off. Its belly looks yellowish. Is this a confusing fall warbler?



Next up is the good old mallard duck. These three individuals liked to alight on the floating dock in little pond. I also alighted on this dock, although I climbed up the ladder rather than flying there. I must say, it is quite a perch with a superb view of the pond. There are also wood ducks on the pond, but they were not seen on this floating duck, just back towards the shore amongst the pickerel weed and water shield.



This, I believe, is a solitary sandpiper. If it is, this was my first sighting of this bird. I don't remember Sibley's exact words, but these birds supposedly like to hang around ponds, and I couldn't think of a better one to hang out at if I also had to be all alone like this crossed-up solitary sandpiper. (Please, correct me if this is another wading bird).



Common ravens, were, well, common around Megan's parent's place. They especially liked to perch on roadside power lines and swoop down to pick fresh meat on the road. This one flew high overhead, and I managed to take a picture before he went down below the tree line.



And, perhaps the raven was the inspiration for this flying creature? I couldn't help but notice the similarities. This old-looking plane broke the silence at little pond late one afternoon.



All in all, not the best photos in the world, but a sampling of the birds and other flying things seen at Little Pond.

Tom