At the Marsh

Yesterday morning we headed to Independence Marsh for the first time this year. Besides seeing plenty of wildflowers, here is a list of birds we saw: Canada geese (naturally); killdeer; mockingbird; house sparrows; one female wood duck; hummingbird; great blue heron; hawk; turkey vultures. Of course, we also saw plenty of dragonflies and a bullfrog.
Apparently, the wood duck tried to lure us away from her nest, since she stopped chattering once we were gone. Seeing the duck took me back to the photo workshop I attended in Ohio last fall. Observing one on a local lake was quite a treat. We did not spot a male duck or any chicks.
While we could do without biting insects, a trip to a wetlands is almost sure to offer plenty of opportunities to observe wildlife and wildflowers.

Independence Day

I've been honing my bird photography skills in our backyard lately, sort of like spring training after a long winter. Today, we went on our first bird outing. We drove to Independence Marsh in Beaver County and were not disappointed. We had not even left our car when we already spotted a killdeer, tree swallows, Canada geese with goslings, and the ever-present shriek of red-winged blackbirds. Besides the tree swallows, we had other firsts of the year: first female and male blue bird, first yellow warbler, and my husband saw a waterthrush. While rambling around, we flushed a couple of ducks out of a tree, saw a mockingbird, a mystery bird, and two turkey vultures in the distance. All the while we were entertained by the incessant call of frogs and the dragonflies that were out and about. It sure was noisy out there, but it was a pleasant sort of noise. I was disappointed that we didn't see more waterfowl, yet the arrival of spring migrants was a pleasant surprise. Finally, the wind and the heat - too hot for April - got the better of us and we drove home, happy and exhausted at the same time.