The fall of 2022 turned out to be a good time for birding and me. But I didn’t do a very good job with the follow-up tasks: processing my photos, completing my reports, and writing about them in this site. Which is why, upon reviewing my photos from my first post-Old World outing, I realized two things:
I hadn’t attached a single photo to my eBird list.
There were a lot of nice shots in there.
Because of point number two, I will avoid my usual wordy exposition, and go straight to the photos. These are all from Lake Cuitzeo, to which I went to see the migratory waterfowl and shorebirds that had arrived while we were in Spain and the Middle East.
I’ll start with this Cinnamon Teal. Occasionally a bird photo is more about the habitat than the bird itself.
The same could be said about this shot of a Northern Shoveler.
There seem to be an unusually large number of American Wigeons on the lake this winter. Which is fine… I like American Wigeons.
I’m also a big fan of birds lining up in pairs for purpose of comparison. These two are a Cinnamon Teal and a Blue-winged Teal.
You can always count on Northern Pintails being present at the lake in winter.
Ring-billed Gulls are the most common gulls at the lake. But they rarely fly by me at such a close distance.
Unfortunately, Ruddy Ducks can’t always have bright blue bills. But they keep their tails stiff anyway.
And then I came across an American Avocet, who gave me a class in the strange art of Avocet feeding.
Avocets sometimes line up in a sort of sweeping, avian feeding chorus line. Several photos from this day suggest that Lesser Yellowlegs prefer the synchronized doubles event.
For some reason, when I see two Red-tailed Hawks flying together down here, one always seems to be a light morph, and the other a dark morph. I appreciate the diversity.
As I continued on to the north shore of the lake, a Loggerhead Shrike let me get an unusually close look.
After that, it was all about the shorebirds. Some Western Sandpipers gave me a rather poetic look at them.
A Semipalmated Plover gave me a look that pierced my soul.
A Willet flew by, leaving no doubt that it was, in fact, a Willet. This was a bit of a privilege, since Willets usually head straight to the coast in the winter.
But one of the favorite sightings I may have at the lake in winter is of Wilson’s Snipes. A few birds seem to exist to help us laugh.
The fall of 2022 turned out to be a good time for birding and me. But I didn’t do a very good job with the follow-up tasks: processing my photos, completing my reports, and writing about them in this site. Which is why, upon reviewing my photos from my first post-Old World outing, I realized two things: I hadn’t attached a single photo to my eBird list. There were a lot of nice shots in there. Because of point number two, I will avoid my usual wordy exposition, and go straight to the photos. These are all from Lake Cuitzeo, to which I went to see the migratory waterfowl and shorebirds that had arrived while we were in Spain and the Middle East. I’ll start with this Cinnamon Teal. Occasionally a bird photo is more about the habitat than the bird itself. The same could be said about this shot of a Northern Shoveler. There seem to be an unusually large number of American Wigeons on the lake this winter. Which is fine… I like American Wigeons. I’m also a big fan of birds lining up in pairs for purpose of comparison. These two are a Cinnamon Teal and a Blue-winged Teal. You can always count on Northern Pintails being present at the lake in winter. Ring-billed Gulls are the most common gulls at the lake. But they rarely fly by me at such a close distance. Unfortunately, Ruddy Ducks can’t always have bright blue bills. But they keep their tails stiff anyway. And then I came across an American Avocet, who gave me a class in the strange art of Avocet feeding. Avocets sometimes line up in a sort of sweeping, avian feeding chorus line. Several photos from this day suggest that Lesser Yellowlegs prefer the synchronized doubles event. For some reason, when I see two Red-tailed Hawks flying together down here, one always seems to be a light morph, and the other a dark morph. I appreciate the diversity. As I continued on to the north shore of the lake, a Loggerhead Shrike let me get an unusually close look. After that, it was all about the shorebirds. Some Western Sandpipers gave me a rather poetic look at them. A Semipalmated Plover gave me a look that pierced my soul. A Willet flew by, leaving no doubt that it was, in fact, a Willet. This was a bit of a privilege, since Willets usually head straight to the coast in the winter. But one of the favorite sightings I may have at the lake in winter is of Wilson’s Snipes. A few birds seem to exist to help us laugh.