Not Every Outing Is A Winner

 A new year and we decided to beginning it by birding on a Saturday in what is arguably Northern Virginia's most popular birding destination: Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria. We arrived right after sunrise and the parking lot was already a quarter full. This park with its forested trails and boardwalk over the wetland attracts scores of photographers as well as birders. Dan and I go for the birds first and take photos if the opportunity presents itself. 

You may or may not know that the American Birding Association (ABA) has rules of ethics for birders and one of them is not to stress or harass birds. Pretty obvious, right? It really applies to all of us who enjoy being in nature in what is basically the homes of our feathered friends.  At the park just off the boardwalk was a bird not commonly seen in Huntley Meadows: Clapper Rail. The amount of photographers crowding the boardwalk, all wearing masks, leaning over the railing to catch a glimpse of this reclusive, solitary bird tucked in the bracken looked like the paparazzi along the red carpet at the Oscars. One woman parked a stroller, packed full of thousands of dollars worth of optics, and a wide open tripod on the 6 foot wide passage. Social distancing was non-existent. We managed to catch a distant and brief glimpse of the Clapper Rail with our binoculars before moving away. Pandemic or not, it's just not a good idea to crowd a bird and possibly cause it stress. We moved quickly on to the less populated parts of the extensive boardwalk. 

We observed a male Red-winged Blackbird pulling bits from a swamp milkweed stem getting at the tasty matter inside.

 

A White-throated Sparrow stood out from the flock of dozens on the shadowy path. The sweet gum "ball" was in an interesting place when I took the photo.

Northern Shovelers dabbled the muddy bottom of the wetland so getting a photo of their entire head with distinctive wide bill was an exercise in futility. They were enjoying a nice breakfast away from the "rail madness" crowds. We enjoyed watching them eat as they do it so methodically and calmly. These birds breed in Western and Central Canada, and they also occur in Europe and parts of Asia. They are also monogamous. The female is headfirst with tail up just ahead of the male.

 

We arrived home at mid-morning and decided to walk to our neighborhood park, but the best bird we saw was while we were standing on the front porch. A beautiful Cooper's Hawk swooped to a small tree near the end of the house. 

Sometimes home can bring wonderful sights. And I just happened to have my camera. So the morning of birding ended on a very nice note.