Life at Boomer Lake with Deb, Wednesday August 20, 2014

Solar Power Plants Scorching Birds?

This could be the location or the technology, but it looks like solar power plants are scorching birds in the air above them. This is food for thought if you want to go solar, and you might want to query the company that you’re interested in.

The India Times says that ten major wetlands supports most of the water birds there. If you’re in India, you could be in for a wonderful surprise right in your own back yard.

From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, here are the best phone apps available to learn bird songs. This can take you from a beginning birder to the intermediate level. Many times, you will hear a bird before you see it, or you might not see it at the time.

Time comes and goes at Boomer Lake, and each day holds more in the life of our beautiful Green Heron family. All four youngsters are doing well, learning more and preparing for their lives every day. They are successfully fishing, feeding themselves, and rapidly growing. Their flight is improving and they are growing stronger with every passing day. They could be ready for a short southbound voyage in another six weeks or so, if they choose to migrate. If the parents decide to move on, the youngsters will go with them, then next summer, they should return to the area.

Chances are excellent that our Black-crowned Night-Heron that was seen a few days ago has returned to our lake. It scared our little Green Herons, as it is nearly double their size. They looked at it in awe and were very silent, as they weren’t sure if it was friend or foe. When it disappeared into the area where they have been living, both parents took action. They followed it, then re-emerged twenty minutes later. I’m not certain what happened to the night heron. There was a young Black-crowned Night-Heron that overwintered on the Southern Cove, so I’m hoping that they will be back.

The Belted Kingfisher has also been visiting the main part of the park, which is highly irregular. They don’t come out of The Northern Reaches until December. Since we have a large number of Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets there this year, it almost makes me wonder how the food supply is faring. There is certainly plenty of fish and other tidbits available at the main part of the lake, so that could be why the kingfisher has come out. I have only heard it, just barely catching a glimpse of it speeding off. As time progresses, the kingfisher usually handles my presence rather well. We’ll just have to see how this scenario plays out and hope that I am able to get some good clicks for you this upcoming season.

Since we are surrounded by the heron clan, I also wanted to let you know that the adult Great Egrets are now going through their molt. This bird is very bedraggled, ridding itself of old feathers while the new are coming in. Many pinfeathers are obvious, which means that once the new feathers are in, off they head for the south.

Assorted sandpipers and warblers are coming through the area, so it is best to be watchful at this time. I have only seen the Yellow Warbler over the week, but there are some people that are in hotter areas than I have been. The American Crow is hovering around the lake as an opportunist, and there will be an assortment of sparrows coming into the vicinity, too. Here was a lone Double-crested Cormorant that didn't stay long.

The Dickcissel hasn’t been as common this year as it was last, but I have heard that the White-faced Ibis had flown over the lake, so that more than makes up for that. There are still plenty of Eastern Kingbirds, but the Great-tailed Grackle population had been nothing like normal. There are some years that are better than others for certain birds, and this was definitely the Northern Cardinal and Brown Thrasher year.

Keep your eyes on the ground, and your head in the clouds. Happy birding until next time!