Birding at Lost River Cave
Needing to get out of the Lexington area for a change of pace, I drove my Grech Strada-ion camper van down to Lost River Cave in Bowling Green, Kentucky Saturday evening. I overnight camped in the Cracker Barrel parking lot, sleeping OK.
I awoke Sunday morning a few minutes before sunrise, which was 5:38am. Around 6am, I drove 10 minutes over to the Lost River Cave. After exploring the area around the parking lot I found the Lost River Cave Greenway Hiking Trail, a paved trail that runs next to Lost River Cave. The right side of the trail is a prairie restoration area that was bursting with wildflowers. I started an eBird checklist and this is what I saw:
1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
1 European Starling
6 American Goldfinch
2 Yellow-breasted Chat
2 Red-winged Blackbird
3 Common Yellowthroat
4 Northern Cardinal
2 Indigo Bunting
I walked off the paved trail into the prairie along what looked like ATV ruts. Over the deafening cacophony of cicadas, the first noteworthy bird I heard was an Indigo Bunting. I could see a male perched in some tall grass about 25 meters away, but of course it took off as soon as I got close. But then I heard a Common Yellowthroat. He eventually popped out and flew to a flowering plant about 20 meters away. He flew from one plant to another in the same general area for about 15 minutes and I got some pretty decent shots.
Common Yellowthroat. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/1600 sec, ISO 450.
Common Yellowthroat. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/1600 sec, ISO 500.
Further down the paved trail I spotted a pair of Indigo Buntings. It’s the first time I’ve seen a female in some time.
Indigo Bunting (female). Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/1250 sec, ISO 360. I did a 16x9 panoramic crop to accentuate the horizontal line leading from the bird through the blade of grass.
Indigo Bunting (male). Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/1250 sec, ISO 320.
The last bird I photographed was the Yellow-breasted Chat. There were two chasing each other in a bushy area. They kept flying right into the bush and it was hard getting a shot of the whole bird. The one below is a frontal view with the eyes and face tack sharp.
Yellow-breasted Chat. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 800mm f/6.3VR S lens at f/6.3, 1/1250 sec, ISO 500.
If you are in the Bowling Green area this is definitely a place to check out. It was a bit of a drive for me coming from Lexington, but I wasn’t seeing much of anything locally on the Facebook groups.
This weekend I also visited Masterson Station Park. I was so disappointed to see that ALL of the grass fields have now been mowed. What was once fantastic habitat for a variety of bird species has all been destroyed. I see no reason to return to that park any time soon. Shame on Lexington Parks & Recreation for not showing any concern for the conservation of bird habitat in this park. At the very least they could set aside a few acres and delay mowing to the end of July to allow breeding birds to fledge their young.
This weekend I am seeing some nice photos coming out of Bernheim Arboretum south of Louisville, and at nearby Haley Downs Rd. I’ll visit Haley Downs one day after work, and will likely visit Bernheim next weekend. The Central Kentucky Audubon Society is also holding a bird walk at Talon Winery on Saturday, 20 July from 07:30 to 10:00. The target for that walk will be Henslow’s Sparrows and other grassland birds.
Also, this Thursday at 7pm I will be hosting our monthly Tampa Audubon Society Photo Club meeting via Zoom. The theme of this month’s meeting is “The Importance of Water for Birds and Other Florida Wildlife.” Join if you can!
Happy birding!
