Grey Herons in low winter sun

Grey Herons seem to exhibit an endless amount of poses which makes them an inexhaustible subject. I've been photographing these birds since 2005 but it now seems more difficult to obtain something new and different.

More:

www.frasersimpson-birdphotography.com/greyheronlibrary.htm

www.frasersimpson-birdphotography.com

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Starling Murmurations

November did not have many sunny days, but the early December weekends have had some nice sunsets. I went to visit a Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) roost to photograph the murmurations. The birds arrived in some reasonable numbers quite late in the day and flew around for just 14 minutes before settling in for the night.

More:

www.frasersimpson-birdphotography.com

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Summerland Key, Late Fall

Early November I was back in the Florida Keys on field work, kayaking around the mangroves of Summerland Key.

I've uploaded a trip report here:

www.fssbirding.org.uk/floridatrip2014nov.htm

Highlights included my first Würdemann's Heron, lots of herons and egrets including Reddish Egret, Tricolored Heron and Little Blue Heron; raptors including Broad-winged Hawk and Short-tailed Hawk; and migrant passerines such as Worm-eating Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Kentucky Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, Northern Parula, Indigo Bunting, and Painted Bunting.

Serpentine Sea Ravens

More:

www.frasersimpson-birdphotography.com

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Catharus Thrush Songs

Some of the most beautiful woodland sounds from the northern states of the US and Canada come from the Catharus genus of thrushes. Back in midsummer I made some recordings of three species in Maine. Bicknell's Thrush (Catharus bicknelli) was the one that got away, being too distant for a decent recording. The term ethereal probably best describes the overall quality of their sound and even with a decent microphone its difficult to capture the sound in quite the same way my ears heard them. Sometimes its best just to get out and hear bird song in a natural context to fully appreciate it. The excitement I felt on first hearing these three species was just like when I hear my first Blackbird of the year in late winter.

Woodland at Brownfield Bog/Major Gregory Sanborn WMA

Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus
Brownfield Bog, Maine, USA 43° 58' 06.0" N 70° 52' 48.6" W 19 June 2014 
Song composed of strophes (shorter than Swainson's) of steady flute-like elements with slight wavering endings; each strophe starting at different frequencies. Singing at dusk from mixed, dense maple/oak/spruce forest.

Veery  Catharus fuscescens
Brownfield Bog, Maine, USA  43° 58' 06.0" N  70° 52' 48.6" W  30 June 2014
Song composed of nasal or 'metallic' sounding fluting which rolls and decreases in frequency, c1.5 metres up in the understory of mixed deciduous woodland bordering wetlands.

Spruce forest north of Nesowadnehunk, Baxter State Park

Swainson's Thrush  Catharus ustulatus
Baxter State Park, Maine, USA  46° 00' 37.4" N  69° 03' 46.0" W  25 June 2014
Song composed of strophes (longer than Hermit) of low flute-like elements spiralling into higher frequency whistles. Singing from old-growth spruce forest.

Serpentine Grebes

Urban Great Crested Grebes (Podiceps cristatus) in London, photographed in natural lighting conditions. These individuals survive mostly on European perch (Perca fluviatilis) but wintering Black-headed Gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) have quickly learned to kleptoparasitise them. 

More:

www.frasersimpson-birdphotography.com

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