Happy Birthday Audubon!

Today, April 26th, 2014, marked John James Audubon's 229th birthday. Needless to say, this is a very important occasion. Without Audubon, it is certain that certain birds that are here today would be extinct. The world, especially the birding world, would very, very different today without Audubon.

In order to celebrate this important anniversary, I went birding. The best way to celebrate anything.


First stop was Muttowntown Preserve. I had received an email saying that was a Red-headed Woodpecker hanging around the nature center there. So, I went.

I pulled in to the parking lot, strapped on my binoculars and stepped into the woods, walking down the trail. Nothing showed.

Finally, something showed: another birder. I knew he was a birder because he was wearing binoculars on a chest harness similar to mine and a camera with a giant lens. I walked over to him and asked him the typical birding question: "Do you have anything?" He whispered back, "Red-headed Woodpecker."

And so I looked, and there was no question about it. The bird, unmistakeable with it's deep crimson head, thrilling white back, jet black back, and, when it flew, white patches on black wings, was a RED-HEADED WOODPECKER. This bird most certainly earns the caps and bold type, as it is not only a beautiful bird, but also now a threatened species, thanks to (of course) humans and their disgusting behavior.

Red-headed Woodpecker

Muttowntown didn't offer much else, except a lone Canada Goose sitting on her nest on an upturned root in a pond. That was nice, but I wanted to move on. 

Canada Goose Nest

And then it was off to my favorite birding spot of all, Tappen Beach. It started before we got to the beach: both Ospreys, were on their nest. They should be ready to lay eggs pretty soon, but for now, I was just thrilled to see them at their old haunts. 

Tappen Beach Osprey Nest

Osprey Close-Up

I pulled over at another nest, this time a Peregrine Falcon nest. This nest is sitting on the smokestack of an abandoned power plant. Stupidly enough, numerous pigeons live and nest right next to the falcons. This is a fantastic grocery store, always stocked, for the nesting falcons. Now, one falcon swooped away, but the other, probably the male, had a pigeon he had procured from the downstairs grocery store and was plucking it. The feathers were flying all over, surrounding the eating falcon and settling on the road. He flew before I could get a picture, but then settled down on his nest, and allowed for some photographic time. 

And then, Tappen Beach itself. It was, unfortunately, dead, except for a bunch (39, to be exact) Brant.

We tried to go down by Duffy's Bait and Tackle, but that, too was dead, with the exception of a few Song Sparrows, Ring-billed and Herring Gulls and a nice view of the two Ospreys on their nest. 

Ospreys on Nest

And that was it. I went home. But not sadly, as I had seen plenty of birds, including the Red-headed Woodpecker which was a lifer. And so it was fine birding for the celebration of John James Audubon. 

Red-headed Woodpecker in flight