Balance the chaos
  • Balance the Chaos
  • Contact
  • Hobbies/Passions
    • Art >
      • Sculpting and Painting
      • Garage Kits
      • Baseball Reference
      • Chipper's Customs
    • Throwback Baseball Game Database >
      • 1990 - Brewers at White Sox
      • 1991
      • 1992
      • 1993
      • 1994
      • 1995
      • 1996
      • 1997
      • 1998
      • 1999
      • 2000
      • 2001
      • 2002
      • 2003
      • 2004
      • 2005
  • Birding
  • Birding Calhoun County
    • Calhoun County Checklist
    • Birds of Calhoun County >
      • Calhoun County Birds by Code >
        • Yearly Calhoun County Birds
      • Loons (Gaviidae) >
        • Common Loon
      • Grebes (Podicipedidae) >
        • Pied-billed Grebe
      • Pelicans (Pelecanidae)
      • Cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae)
      • New World Vultures (Cathartidae)
      • Bitterns, Herons, and Allies (Ardeidae)
      • Ducks, Geese, and Swans (Anatidae) >
        • Long-tailed Duck
      • Ospreys (Pandionidae)
      • Hawks, Kites, Eagles, and Allies (Accipitridae) >
        • Northern Goshawk
      • Grouse, Pheasants, Quail, and Turkeys >
        • Greater Prairie-Chicken
        • Wild Turkey
      • Flamingos
      • Cranes, Rails, Gallinules and Coots >
        • Yellow Rail
        • King Rail
        • Virginia Rail
        • Sora
        • Common Gallinule
        • American Coot
        • Sandhill Crane
        • Whooping Crane
      • Shorebirds, Gulls and Relatives >
        • Black-necked Stilt
        • Black-bellied Plover
        • American Golden-Plover
        • Semipalmated Plover
        • Killdeer
        • Spotted Sandpiper
        • Solitary Sandpiper
        • Greater Yellowlegs
        • Lesser Yellowlegs
        • Upland Sandpiper
        • Semipalmated Sandpiper
        • Least Sandpiper
        • White-rumped Sandpiper
        • Baird's Sandpiper
        • Pectoral Sandpiper
        • Dunlin
        • Stilt Sandpiper
        • Buff-breasted Sandpiper
        • Short-billed Dowitcher
        • Long-billed Dowitcher
        • Wilson's Snipe
        • American Woodcock
        • Wilson's Phalarope
        • Black-legged Kittiwake
        • Bonaparte's Gull
        • Laughing Gull
        • Franklin's Gull
        • Ring-billed Gull
        • Herring Gull
        • Iceland Gull
        • Lesser Black-backed Gull
        • Glaucous Gull
        • Great Black-backed Gull
        • Caspian Tern
        • Black Tern
        • Common Tern
        • Forster's Tern
        • Dovekie
      • Pigeons and Doves >
        • Rock Pigeon
        • Mourning Dove
      • Cuckoos, Roadrunners and Anis >
        • Yellow-billed Cuckoo
        • Black-billed Cuckoo
      • Owls >
        • Eastern Screech-Owl
        • Great Horned Owl
        • Snowy Owl
        • Barred Owl
        • Long-eared Owl
        • Short-eared Owl
        • Northern Saw-whet Owl
      • Goatsuckers, Nighthawks and Allies >
        • Common Nighthawk
        • Eastern Whip-poor-will
      • Swifts and Hummingbirds >
        • Chimney Swift - Swifts (Apodidae)
        • Ruby-throated Hummingbird
        • Rufous Hummingbird
      • Kingfishers
      • Woodpeckers and Allies >
        • Red-headed Woodpecker
        • Red-bellied Woodpecker
        • Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
        • Downy Woodpecker
        • Hairy Woodpecker
        • Northern Flicker
        • Pileated Woodpecker
      • Perching Birds >
        • Tyrant Flycatchers >
          • Olive-sided Flycatcher
          • Eastern Wood-Pewee
          • Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
          • Acadian Flycatcher
          • Alder Flycatcher
          • Willow Flycatcher
          • Least Flycatcher
          • Eastern Phoebe
          • Great Crested Flycatcher
          • Eastern Kingbird
        • Shrikes >
          • Loggerhead Shrike
          • Northern Shrike
        • Vireos >
          • White-eyed Vireo
          • Yellow-throated Vireo
          • Blue-headed Vireo
          • Warbling Vireo
          • Philadelphia Vireo
          • Red-eyed Vireo
        • Jays, Magpies, Crows and Ravens >
          • Blue Jay
          • American Crow
          • Common Raven
        • Larks
        • Swallows >
          • Purple Martin
          • Tree Swallow
          • Northern Rough-winged Swallow
          • Bank Swallow
          • Cliff Swallow
          • Barn Swallow
        • Titmice and Chickadees >
          • Black-capped Chickadee
          • Tufted Titmouse
        • Nuthatches >
          • Red-breasted Nuthatch
          • White-breasted Nuthatch
        • Creepers
        • Wrens >
          • House Wren
          • Winter Wren
          • Sedge Wren
          • Marsh Wren
          • Carolina Wren
        • Gnatcatchers and Gnatwrens
        • Kinglets >
          • Golden-crowned Kinglet
          • Ruby-crowned Kinglet
        • Thrushes >
          • Eastern Bluebird
          • Veery
          • Gray-cheeked Thrush
          • Swainson's Thrush
          • Hermit Thrush
          • Wood Thrush
          • American Robin
          • Varied Thrush
        • Mockingbirds and Thrashers >
          • Gray Catbird
          • Brown Thrasher
          • Northern Mockingbird
        • Starlings
        • Wagtails and Pipits
        • Waxwings >
          • Cedar Waxwing
        • Longspurs and Snow Buntings >
          • Lapland Longspur
          • Snow Bunting
        • Wood-Warblers >
          • Ovenbird
          • Worm-eating Warbler
          • Louisiana Waterthrush
          • Northern Waterthrush
          • Golden-winged Warbler
          • Blue-winged Warbler
          • Black-and-white Warbler
          • Prothonotary Warbler
          • Tennessee Warbler
          • Orange-crowned Warbler
          • Nashville Warbler
          • Connecticut Warbler
          • Mourning Warbler
          • Common Yellowthroat
          • Hooded Warbler
          • American Redstart
          • Kirtland's Warbler
          • Cape May Warbler
          • Cerulean Warbler
          • Northern Parula
          • Magnolia Warbler
          • Bay-breasted Warbler
          • Blackburnian Warbler
          • Yellow Warbler
          • Chestnut-sided Warbler
          • Blackpoll Warbler
          • Black-throated Blue Warbler
          • Palm Warbler
          • Pine Warbler
          • Yellow-rumped Warbler
          • Prairie Warbler
          • Black-throated Green Warbler
          • Canada Warbler
          • Wilson's Warbler
          • Yellow-breasted Chat
        • Tanagers >
          • Summer Tanager
          • Scarlet Tanager
        • Emberizids >
          • Eastern Towhee
          • American Tree Sparrow
          • Chipping Sparrow
          • Clay-colored Sparrow
          • Field Sparrow
          • Vesper Sparrow
          • Lark Sparrow
          • Lark Bunting
          • Savannah Sparrow
          • Grasshopper Sparrow
          • Henslow's Sparrow
          • Fox Sparrow
          • Song Sparrow
          • Lincoln's Sparrow
          • Swamp Sparrow
          • White-throated Sparrow
          • Harris's Sparrow
          • White-crowned Sparrow
          • Dark-eyed Junco
        • Cardinals, Piranga Tanagers and Allies >
          • Northern Cardinal
          • Rose-breasted Grosbeak
          • Blue Grosbeak
          • Indigo Bunting
          • Dickcissel
        • Blackbirds >
          • Bobolink
          • Red-winged Blackbird
          • Eastern Meadowlark
          • Western Meadowlark
          • Yellow-headed Blackbird
          • Rusty Blackbird
          • Brewer's Blackbird
          • Common Grackle
          • Brown-headed Cowbird
          • Orchard Oriole
          • Baltimore Oriole
        • Fringilline and Cardueline Finches >
          • House Finch
          • Purple Finch
          • Red Crossbill
          • White-winged Crossbill
          • Common Redpoll
          • Hoary Redpoll
          • Pine Siskin
          • American Goldfinch
          • Evening Grosbeak
      • Old World Sparrows
    • Hotspots >
      • 1/2 Mile and Marl Lake Rd
      • 10 Mile Road near G DR S
      • 23 Mile Road Flooded Field
      • Waterfowl
      • Shorebirds
    • ID
  • Macro, Bugs and Moths
    • Moths >
      • Bombycoidea
  • YouTube Links

Birding

[Birding (and more) in Calhoun County and beyond

Trifecta of FOY, trying for Aurora, settling for Milky Way

9/9/2017

0 Comments

 
Decided to do a proper fall route and hit up Woodland Park in the morning of the 8th.  I have a rule that I never seem to follow:  if the Parking lot area is busy, stay there.  Well the Parking lot area was busy, so I thought it would be even better back farther into the park.  It wasn't.  I had Tennessee, Nashville,  FOY Bay-breasted, Black-and-white and Common Yellowthroat within the first few minutes.  Beyond that I snagged and Ovenbird, and a FOY Swainson's Thrush.  The water level was horribly low back near the footbridge, with barely a trickle of water going under it.  I thought I had an outside shot at 40 birds there, but it dried up as quick as the water seemed to.  A Great Egret was a new one for me there though.  

After 2 hours there I hit up the airport, where it seemed like could be some decent shorebird spotting.  Just Killdeer.  Not really much else there.  I then made the trek to Homer in hopes that it still might pay off.  A Least and Semipalmated Sandpiper were joined by a Lesser Yellowlegs as the non-Killdeer shorebirds there.  The Least was still very rufous, and the Semipalmated was very drab grey.  The mirage played havoc with the photos, and I tried to make it into a Sanderling as dull as it was, but it was way too close in size to the Least.  189 Canada Geese showed there are still gathering in some decent sized numbers now.  The extremely skittish Bald Eagle was there along the edge of the North-western lagoon.  

I received an alert on my phone that the KP index was increased and to check for Aurora.  I tried the app, and several sites and never got a good feel of it we should, or should not, be able to see the Northern lights.  I drove out to P DR S between 19.5 and 21 Mile Road to see what I could see.  Shortly after dark a FOY Eastern Screech-Owl gave its trilly call, and I heard several more birds flying overhead while I was out there.  I didn't see any Northern Lights, and the gigantic Moon that rose didn't help I'm sure.  I tallied 4 satellites, 1 shooting star, and 1 very weird "something".  Very slow moving object, slower than the other satellites I had seen, moved from the NE heading slightly South and to the West.  There was a very brief flash in front of it, like a shooting star, but quicker, and then the object disappeared.  I assume it was a satellite that just lost the reflection from the Sun.  Although it was heading towards the Sun.  

I played around with my camera and 18-55mm Kit lens and managed to snag a few shots of the sky, and Milky Way.  So add to the Amazon Wish List a wider angle, faster lens now and some time on the calendar when the Moon is not out.  You can see a satellite in the last picture, compare it to the planes moving through the third one.  
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Here are a few other photos taken recently while looking for Moths, which I will get gathered together on a page(s) at some point.  
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    My exploits in my latest passion, Birding...not Bird-watching;-)
    Attempting to get the Calhoun County life-list to 206 by the end of 2015.....Mission accomplished, 249 and counting.  

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    October 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015

    Categories

    All
    1st County Record
    23 Mile Road
    American Golden Plover
    Big Yard
    Junco
    Lifer
    North Carolina
    Research
    Shorebirds
    Swallow Tailed Kite
    Warblers
    White-winged Junco

    RSS Feed

    iNaturalist.org
    Thumb View chipperatl's observations »
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Balance the Chaos
  • Contact
  • Hobbies/Passions
    • Art >
      • Sculpting and Painting
      • Garage Kits
      • Baseball Reference
      • Chipper's Customs
    • Throwback Baseball Game Database >
      • 1990 - Brewers at White Sox
      • 1991
      • 1992
      • 1993
      • 1994
      • 1995
      • 1996
      • 1997
      • 1998
      • 1999
      • 2000
      • 2001
      • 2002
      • 2003
      • 2004
      • 2005
  • Birding
  • Birding Calhoun County
    • Calhoun County Checklist
    • Birds of Calhoun County >
      • Calhoun County Birds by Code >
        • Yearly Calhoun County Birds
      • Loons (Gaviidae) >
        • Common Loon
      • Grebes (Podicipedidae) >
        • Pied-billed Grebe
      • Pelicans (Pelecanidae)
      • Cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae)
      • New World Vultures (Cathartidae)
      • Bitterns, Herons, and Allies (Ardeidae)
      • Ducks, Geese, and Swans (Anatidae) >
        • Long-tailed Duck
      • Ospreys (Pandionidae)
      • Hawks, Kites, Eagles, and Allies (Accipitridae) >
        • Northern Goshawk
      • Grouse, Pheasants, Quail, and Turkeys >
        • Greater Prairie-Chicken
        • Wild Turkey
      • Flamingos
      • Cranes, Rails, Gallinules and Coots >
        • Yellow Rail
        • King Rail
        • Virginia Rail
        • Sora
        • Common Gallinule
        • American Coot
        • Sandhill Crane
        • Whooping Crane
      • Shorebirds, Gulls and Relatives >
        • Black-necked Stilt
        • Black-bellied Plover
        • American Golden-Plover
        • Semipalmated Plover
        • Killdeer
        • Spotted Sandpiper
        • Solitary Sandpiper
        • Greater Yellowlegs
        • Lesser Yellowlegs
        • Upland Sandpiper
        • Semipalmated Sandpiper
        • Least Sandpiper
        • White-rumped Sandpiper
        • Baird's Sandpiper
        • Pectoral Sandpiper
        • Dunlin
        • Stilt Sandpiper
        • Buff-breasted Sandpiper
        • Short-billed Dowitcher
        • Long-billed Dowitcher
        • Wilson's Snipe
        • American Woodcock
        • Wilson's Phalarope
        • Black-legged Kittiwake
        • Bonaparte's Gull
        • Laughing Gull
        • Franklin's Gull
        • Ring-billed Gull
        • Herring Gull
        • Iceland Gull
        • Lesser Black-backed Gull
        • Glaucous Gull
        • Great Black-backed Gull
        • Caspian Tern
        • Black Tern
        • Common Tern
        • Forster's Tern
        • Dovekie
      • Pigeons and Doves >
        • Rock Pigeon
        • Mourning Dove
      • Cuckoos, Roadrunners and Anis >
        • Yellow-billed Cuckoo
        • Black-billed Cuckoo
      • Owls >
        • Eastern Screech-Owl
        • Great Horned Owl
        • Snowy Owl
        • Barred Owl
        • Long-eared Owl
        • Short-eared Owl
        • Northern Saw-whet Owl
      • Goatsuckers, Nighthawks and Allies >
        • Common Nighthawk
        • Eastern Whip-poor-will
      • Swifts and Hummingbirds >
        • Chimney Swift - Swifts (Apodidae)
        • Ruby-throated Hummingbird
        • Rufous Hummingbird
      • Kingfishers
      • Woodpeckers and Allies >
        • Red-headed Woodpecker
        • Red-bellied Woodpecker
        • Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
        • Downy Woodpecker
        • Hairy Woodpecker
        • Northern Flicker
        • Pileated Woodpecker
      • Perching Birds >
        • Tyrant Flycatchers >
          • Olive-sided Flycatcher
          • Eastern Wood-Pewee
          • Yellow-bellied Flycatcher
          • Acadian Flycatcher
          • Alder Flycatcher
          • Willow Flycatcher
          • Least Flycatcher
          • Eastern Phoebe
          • Great Crested Flycatcher
          • Eastern Kingbird
        • Shrikes >
          • Loggerhead Shrike
          • Northern Shrike
        • Vireos >
          • White-eyed Vireo
          • Yellow-throated Vireo
          • Blue-headed Vireo
          • Warbling Vireo
          • Philadelphia Vireo
          • Red-eyed Vireo
        • Jays, Magpies, Crows and Ravens >
          • Blue Jay
          • American Crow
          • Common Raven
        • Larks
        • Swallows >
          • Purple Martin
          • Tree Swallow
          • Northern Rough-winged Swallow
          • Bank Swallow
          • Cliff Swallow
          • Barn Swallow
        • Titmice and Chickadees >
          • Black-capped Chickadee
          • Tufted Titmouse
        • Nuthatches >
          • Red-breasted Nuthatch
          • White-breasted Nuthatch
        • Creepers
        • Wrens >
          • House Wren
          • Winter Wren
          • Sedge Wren
          • Marsh Wren
          • Carolina Wren
        • Gnatcatchers and Gnatwrens
        • Kinglets >
          • Golden-crowned Kinglet
          • Ruby-crowned Kinglet
        • Thrushes >
          • Eastern Bluebird
          • Veery
          • Gray-cheeked Thrush
          • Swainson's Thrush
          • Hermit Thrush
          • Wood Thrush
          • American Robin
          • Varied Thrush
        • Mockingbirds and Thrashers >
          • Gray Catbird
          • Brown Thrasher
          • Northern Mockingbird
        • Starlings
        • Wagtails and Pipits
        • Waxwings >
          • Cedar Waxwing
        • Longspurs and Snow Buntings >
          • Lapland Longspur
          • Snow Bunting
        • Wood-Warblers >
          • Ovenbird
          • Worm-eating Warbler
          • Louisiana Waterthrush
          • Northern Waterthrush
          • Golden-winged Warbler
          • Blue-winged Warbler
          • Black-and-white Warbler
          • Prothonotary Warbler
          • Tennessee Warbler
          • Orange-crowned Warbler
          • Nashville Warbler
          • Connecticut Warbler
          • Mourning Warbler
          • Common Yellowthroat
          • Hooded Warbler
          • American Redstart
          • Kirtland's Warbler
          • Cape May Warbler
          • Cerulean Warbler
          • Northern Parula
          • Magnolia Warbler
          • Bay-breasted Warbler
          • Blackburnian Warbler
          • Yellow Warbler
          • Chestnut-sided Warbler
          • Blackpoll Warbler
          • Black-throated Blue Warbler
          • Palm Warbler
          • Pine Warbler
          • Yellow-rumped Warbler
          • Prairie Warbler
          • Black-throated Green Warbler
          • Canada Warbler
          • Wilson's Warbler
          • Yellow-breasted Chat
        • Tanagers >
          • Summer Tanager
          • Scarlet Tanager
        • Emberizids >
          • Eastern Towhee
          • American Tree Sparrow
          • Chipping Sparrow
          • Clay-colored Sparrow
          • Field Sparrow
          • Vesper Sparrow
          • Lark Sparrow
          • Lark Bunting
          • Savannah Sparrow
          • Grasshopper Sparrow
          • Henslow's Sparrow
          • Fox Sparrow
          • Song Sparrow
          • Lincoln's Sparrow
          • Swamp Sparrow
          • White-throated Sparrow
          • Harris's Sparrow
          • White-crowned Sparrow
          • Dark-eyed Junco
        • Cardinals, Piranga Tanagers and Allies >
          • Northern Cardinal
          • Rose-breasted Grosbeak
          • Blue Grosbeak
          • Indigo Bunting
          • Dickcissel
        • Blackbirds >
          • Bobolink
          • Red-winged Blackbird
          • Eastern Meadowlark
          • Western Meadowlark
          • Yellow-headed Blackbird
          • Rusty Blackbird
          • Brewer's Blackbird
          • Common Grackle
          • Brown-headed Cowbird
          • Orchard Oriole
          • Baltimore Oriole
        • Fringilline and Cardueline Finches >
          • House Finch
          • Purple Finch
          • Red Crossbill
          • White-winged Crossbill
          • Common Redpoll
          • Hoary Redpoll
          • Pine Siskin
          • American Goldfinch
          • Evening Grosbeak
      • Old World Sparrows
    • Hotspots >
      • 1/2 Mile and Marl Lake Rd
      • 10 Mile Road near G DR S
      • 23 Mile Road Flooded Field
      • Waterfowl
      • Shorebirds
    • ID
  • Macro, Bugs and Moths
    • Moths >
      • Bombycoidea
  • YouTube Links