More birding at the Wilds

I took my camera along on this trip to the Wilds, hoping I might get a decent shot here and there of a bird, but of the 90 species that we saw and heard, I only got photos of a handful of them. I am getting better at accepting the limitations of having a lens that only goes to 200mm.

Here's a Great-crested Flycatcher that we saw at camp early Saturday morning.

We got some GREAT looks at this Prairie Warbler who planted himself in a couple of different Autumn Olives right alongside the road!

I think this dude was having a bad hair day. Look at the weird way his head feather are laying. He's almost got a mullet going!

My best photos by far (with the exception of the sparrows in the hand) are those of the Eastern Bobolink. The field where we stopped to observe them was absolutely rife with them! The males were really pulling out all the stops to get the attention of the ladies. I was really excited to see and hear the Bobos, and to add this strange-looking bird to my life list.

A female Bobo, trying to decide on one suitor among many.

"Hey laaaaadies!" he's saying. Wow, for the longest time I've been trying to think of what famous person these birds remind me of with their clownish yellow cap, and it just came to me: Dennis Rodman.

Not exactly a compliment to the Bobo, but I see what I see...
And what is it with me and talking about the birds' "hair"?!

Check out those fantastic markings and colorings! If I was a girl Bobo, I think I might be impressed.

Either off to try his luck with a gal, or to go clobber on another male who's trying to take away his gal.

Here's a run-down of some other cool things we saw and heard:

• Great look at an Eastern Kingbird flycatching.
• Chimney Swift aerial mating display.
• American Woodcock mating display flight heard (some of the participants witnessed on Saturday night, but I was in bed by then).
• Awesome views of the Yellow-breasted Chat and Kentucky Warbler (usually very elusive).
• Sighting of a wild Bobcat on the Wilds property (this is NOT a species they manage, it was a wild Bobcat).
• Pair of Kestrels near a nest box, the female with a rodent in her talons to feed to the young.
• Great views of Cerulean Warbler and Northern Parula Warbler.
• Mama Wood Duck and 7 of her babies on one of the many lakes at the Wilds.
• An insane replication of Barred Owl and Eastern Screech Owl songs by one of our trip leaders, Al Parker. The Screech Owl songs actually brought the real deal in right above our heads!
  

And here is a list of all the birds that I added to my life list over the weekend (for some reason I failed to do the Life Bird Boogie for any of them):

1. Swamp Sparrow
2. Warbling Vireo
3. Acadian Flycatcher
4. Eastern Bobolink
5. Grasshopper Sparrow
6. Henslow's Sparrow
7. Savannah Sparrow
8. Eastern Meadowlark
9. Green Heron
10. Orchard Oriole
11. Rough-winged Swallow
12. American Kestrel
13. Horned Lark
14. Kentucky Warbler
15. Louisiana Waterthrush
16. Yellow-throated Vireo

That's it for the birds, but I captured photos of some other things during the weekend. To be continued...