15th
2007
Some of the avian wildlife found on Caesar Pond.
Pond Birds: Yesterday, I spent 3 hours paddling around the pond in search of birds, specifically our lone loon. Unfortunately, he was not present, but I did have an opportunity to photograph our resident osprey, an eastern kingbird, and three species of swallows.
Osprey: As I walked quietly to the pond, I spied the osprey sitting on the top of a dead birch tree just to the north of our put-in. It was too dark at that time to get any good photos, but that didn’t stop me. I was able to kayak right up to the tree whereupon I waited until there was enough sunlight to snap a few photos of this magnificent bird. He was extremely patient and not at all shy. He also graced me with his presence on the western side of the pond where he perched in the full light of the sun.
Eastern Kingbirds and Swallows: The north end of the pond is rather boggy and is the perfect habitat to find kingbirds and swallows because of the vast numbers of flying insects. Both of these bird species prefer to snag insects “on-the-fly” and I can always count on there being an abundance of birds here.
I parked my kayak in front of an old hemlock grove on a boggy island, and sat quietly for a few minutes before an eastern kingbird made an appearance. It perched on a tree directly in front of me and broke out into a full throated, clear warbling song. I felt as though I were at the Metropolitan Opera House for a command performance! Soon, another kingbird perched nearby and participated in a duet. I can’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday morning than being serenaded by kingbirds.
I like the kingbirds because they perch after capturing their food, unlike the swallows who never seem to need a breather from their madcap flying. Have you ever tried to capture sharp photos of swallows in flight? I spent the better part of an hour in this pursuit. I took lots of clear blue sky photos as the swallows zoomed out of frame. Upon sorting the photos, I found that there were three species of swallows on the pond; northern rough-winged swallows, bank swallows, and tree swallows. The northern rough-winged swallow has a white breast and a light brown head and back. I believe the individual I photographed was a juvenile because of the orange bands on its wings. The bank swallow has a dark breast band, a light brown head and back, and a white breast. The tree swallow has an iridescent green head and back, and a white breast . One of the tree swallows I photographed had a very light breast band indicating that it was a juvenile.
