Birding Maplewood Nature Center

Over the summer I did quite a bit of birding at the Maplewood Nature Center. Near the boardwalk that crosses over the lake there is a small island that always seemed to be teeming with birdlife. On July 31st I stopped in and took the following pics.
I am not 100% sure what type of flycatcher that this is but my guess is that it is an olive-sided flycatcher. It was always pretty easy to find several types of flycatcher perched on the trees, that were growing on the island, waiting for a meal to fly by.
The eastern kingbird is another member of the flycatcher family. An interesting fact about eastern kingbirds, according to the Cornell website, is that when they migrate to South America during the winter they are mostly fruit eaters.
Another bird that eats mainly insects in the summer and fruit in the winter was also hanging around, although cedar waxwing are not members of the flycatcher family.
There was also a consistent amount of waterfowl that hung around the lake through out the summer. These were mainly mallards, wood ducks and female hooded mergansers.
The male hooded merganser are usually no where to be found after the breeding season. Once the eggs are laid the male leaves the female hoody to incubate them on her own, which is why we typically only see the females by late summer. Once the eggs hatch the chicks will be able to swim and catch food with in 24 hours. The female will continue to stay with the young, and show them where to find food, for a few weeks but she will leave them even before they can fly, at about 70 days. I tend to see a good number of hoodies around the parks where I live each summer. This is probably do to the number of wood duck boxes that people have put up in the area. Hoodies are cavity nesters and will often nest in wood duck boxes.

Birding Purgatory Creek

Shorebirds were not the only type of birds that I found at Purgatory Creek Park. The wetlands as well as the fields and woods surrounding them provided good habitat for many different birds.
Flycatchers, as well as other insect eating birds, were hunting in the fields and woods. There were a lot of insects besides the dragonflies to keep them busy and well fed.
The wetlands also looked like a good place to raise a family, that is if you are a wood duck that is.
Soon after hatching the young wood ducks leave the nest, which is a tree cavity or nesting box sometimes a good distance above the ground or water, and are already able to swim and dabble on the waters surface for seeds and bugs.
Green herons hunt along the shore of the water. They are often difficult to see as they stand perfectly still in the shallow water, sometimes hiding in vegetation, waiting for a fish, frog, or crayfish to come by. Then they will snap the prey up with a quick dart of their head.
The green herons larger cousin, the great blue heron, also hunts by wading through the water looking for fish. Because of their longer legs, great blue herons are the largest member of the heron family in North America, they are often able to fish in deeper water then green herons.

Birding at Dodge Nature Center

Since this is primarily a birding blog I did take some bird pics on my trip to Dodge Nature Center this past Saturday.

There where quite a few american goldfinch feasting on seeds in the fields right next to the main office.Up by the farm about a dozen field sparrow where hanging around.At the small Crossroads Pond I found a solitary sandpiper.

There where a couple of green heron catching rays out by the Prairie Pond. I also saw mallards, great egret and wood duck on the Prairie Pond.
I saw a single ruby-throated hummer on a small trail by the Sugar House.There were 4 downy woodpeckers hunting bugs on a dying tree near the main office.On the same tree I also photographed this bird. I believe that it is a willow flycatcher but I am still kind of new to birding and I had a hard time identifying this one.Here is another angle of the bird. If anyone thinks that I have identified it wrong please let me know. It is better to find out that you made a mistake and learn from it then it is to remain in ignorance.