Fall is in The Air

After having family visit us from out of town for the past week, I was itching to get out with Kim to do a little birding.

We made our usual first stop at Elgin Park where I observed my first ‘life bird’ of the day, a Yellow Warbler. A tough one to photograph but I managed to snap a few.

I then spotted a Common Yellow Throat playing peek-a-boo through the leaves..

A shaggy looking Rufous Hummingbird perched for a bit on a shaded branch..

Kim and I then made our way through a very overgrown path to one of a few ponds to observe some Lesser Yellow Legs, up close and personal. We were amazed to see them come so close to the shore we were standing on. 

After a good little while of time at Elgin, Kim and I headed off to Reifel Bird Sanctuary to see what was in store for us on this day. Reifel did not disappoint. I was fortunate enough to observe life bird number two and three of the day.

As I got out of the car, one of my favorite little white mallard came waddling up to greet me.

And of course, many of the usual suspects were there to say hello as well….

…and some too tired to care.

We were happy to see many Long-billed Dowitchers, and Lesser Yellowlegs

Moving along to the next pond, as we spied through our binoculars to the opposite side, we spotted something different. Life bird number two for me, a Pectoral Sandpiper.

Kim and I were also very happy to see the return of a familiar favorite, the American Coot

Then again we spotted something different. Life birds for both of us, making number three for myself, a pair of Cackling Geese, a rare find for these areas.

I must say that I quite like the Cackling Goose, it’s much smaller and cuter then the Canada Gooses and a whole lot less aggressive.

Our bird full day was coming to an end as we slowly made our way to the car. We were thrilled with what we had seen and capture in our view finders and most definitly did not leave disappointed. With the return of some of our favorites, we knew that fall was certainly in the air!

Bye-bye…see you again soon!!!!