I ventured out when the sun was more prevalent than light rain as lately, I’ve been looking for photo ops so I can learn how to use my new camera although I’m of course anxious to get some spring birds as well.

Not a lot of birds but I saw a nice Fox Sparrow by the farthest blind. Only other sparrow was Song. Ducks: Ring-necked, Gadwall, Mallard, Black Duck, N Shoveler. 

Hawks: Red-tailed (ad), Red-shouldered soaring and calling, and a female Cooper’s (ad) flew into a perch, cackling several times, always cool to hear. TVs.

A Great Blue Heron flew over Rt 161 near the turnoff. Turkeys and usual feeder birds.

Had fun watching & photographing a pair of Belted Kingfishers perched together on a snag. One finally choked down a small fish (maybe a bluegill?) that was nonetheless nearly too big for the kingfisher but after several position rearrangements, the fish was finally swallowed. Then later the male kept opening its bill v wide several times so I started taking photos as I couldn’t tell thru my binos what was going on as the birds weren’t that close. When I zoomed in on my photos, he was coughing up what looked like a pellet just like an owl does! Took several efforts to cough it out. I’ve certainly never seen this behavior in a kingfisher.

A brief stop at Hoover Dam only yielded mallards, another Great Blue, and a flyby Cooper’s. Only gulls were a few Ring-billed. Goldfinches were singing.

Peggy Wang
Granville
Sent from my iPad
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