Back on the Trail

White-crowned Sparrows

WHOOT! WHOOT!

After nearly three weeks of forced inactivity due to a bad back, I finally got back on the birding trail yesterday.  Three intrepid souls braved the chill (low 50s -- and I can hear my Pennsylvania family snickering at that) and the wind to walk along Sparrow Alley on Paynes Prairie.  In the end it would prove to be a slow but very enjoyable day.

Actually, the earliest signs were good.  We only got as far as where the Hawthorne Trail crosses in front of the entry gate before we had to stop to watch a flock of White-crowned Sparrows feeding about 40 feet from us.  I struggled to set up my scope (Note to self: Get scope ready before leaving parking lot), pull off my gloves, get out my phone with the digiscoping attachment, turn it on and open the camera app, put it on the scope, focus it, and ... I got a nice picture of leaves.  The birds took off as I was pushing the button.  Dang.  Fortunately, others in my group were faster and got a nice shot of them.

Osprey at the Nest

We entered the park and immediately spotted a pair of Ospreys building a nest on a power pole.  This time I had more luck with getting a picture.  It was really fun watching as one Osprey brought a stick to the nest and the other worked to put it in the perfect spot.  In the photo at right, you can just see the head of the builder while the building supply contractor poses for the camera.  The scene was repeated throughout the morning on three different nests near the trail.

A month or so ago I found a really birdy spot at the end of the entrance path just before it turns left into the old horse barn.  I was surprised and disappointed to see that there were no birds in the area today.  The grassy area just over the fence that had been filled with sparrows in January was gone, having been mowed to the ground recently.  So instead we were left with Cardinals and Mockingbirds.  Great birds, to be sure, but not what we were looking for.

Groove-billed Ani at Paynes Prairie

Soon we encountered two birders who had just arrived from State College, Pennsylvania (Go Nittany Lions!), one of whom was Alex Lamereaux who had once lived in Gainesville.  He asked where the Groove-billed Ani had been hanging out.  I gave him general directions and they headed off down the path.  A few minutes later we encountered them again, and this time they were pointing at a thick blackberry patch in the middle of the field below the Hawthorne Trail overlook.  Alex had seen the bird briefly, but it flew into the midst of the thicket and disappeared.  So what started as a walk became a stake out.  Eventually, I decided to go back to the trail and see if I could approach the thicket from the other side and possibly get a different look.  Bad idea.  While I was well away from the area, the bird showed itself, giving everyone great looks and the photo above, left.  I scrambled to reach the area, but the bird was gone.  Regretfully, we turned to leave, fighing through the blackberry bushes to get back to the path.  I took one last glance back, and there was the Ani, in the open, watching us leave.  It lasted only a moment, but it was enough to count for my year list.

The rest of the morning was quiet.  We watched two Song Sparrows feeding along the trail, Gray Catbirds and Eastern Towhees playing in the bushes, and a Merlin hunting for lunch.  That last item reminded us that it was indeed lunchtime, so we called it a day and headed home.  While our species count for the morning was low, it was a gorgeous morning and an even better feeling being back on the trail again.

Song Sparrow?  Tell me what you think.

My mom loved Robins, a sign of spring back home.