Summertime Birding Blues
Last weekend I didn’t do any birding. With the high temps and the sparse e-Bird reports I decided to take the weekend off and sleep in. I did take time to run up to Wild Birds Unlimited and set up a few bird treats in my backyard. I installed a Hummingbird feeder, a Goldfinch feeder, and a water fountain. Within a few days the Goldfinch feeder was mobbed by beautiful Goldfinches and Carolina Chickadees, and I’ve had one Ruby-throated Hummingbird visiting the hummingbird feeder from time to time. The water fountain is primarily being visited by American Robins and Mourning Doves.
During the week I saw reports that Haley Downs had been mowed. With this being my first summer in Kentucky, I did not realize that all the fields get mowed in June and July. It’s really sad because it not only destroys nesting bird habitat but also ruins any birding opportunities in those fields.
With Haley Downs and Masterson Station Park all mowed, I have been struggling to find new areas to bird. I decided this weekend to return to Camp Nelson National Monument, hoping that the fields there would be spared the mower’s blades.
I arrived on a delightfully cool Saturday morning at 07:15. My hopes for fields of waving grass were dashed as I looked out and saw that all of the fields were mowed and the fields were now peppered with bales of hay.
Camp Nelson National Monument. Bales of hay stand on barren fields once full of grass and a variety of bird species. iPhone 14
The fields, once alive with birds and insects, are now practically barren. A few Barn and Tree Swallows were skimming the surface of the ground, and an occasional Red-winged Blackbird or Eastern Meadowlark would fly by, but that’s about it. Gone are the Bobolinks, Henslow’s Sparrows, American Goldfinch, and Common Yellowthroat. The grass will return though - it’s just a matter of time.
Camp Nelson National Monument. Mowed grass drying before baling. About a month ago I took pictures of state-threatened Henslow’s Sparrows in this very spot. iPhone 14
Further down the trail, all the way to the back of the park, I did find some tall grass and a group of trees on an embankment. In the trees I was thrilled to find a male and female Indigo Bunting pair. Both seemed to pay little attention to me as they chased each other from the trees to the nearby brush and back.
Indigo Bunting. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 800mm VR S r/6.3 lens at f/6.3, 1/1600 sec, ISO 1600.
My eye then caught sight of a female and male Blue Grosbeak in the same area. The female flew into some brush while the male flew up to a tree branch. He hopped along it and eventually flew down to the female.
Blue Grosbeak. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 800mm VR S r/6.3 lens at f/6.3, 1/2000 sec, ISO 2200.
On my walk back down the trail I passed another small copse of trees where I spotted a pair of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers working over a tree. These little birds don’t stay still for too long, but I got lucky when this little fella perched out in the open for about 5 seconds. It looks to me like it could be a juvenile.
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 800mm VR S r/6.3 lens at f/6.3, 1/1600 sec, ISO 1600.
The last bird I photographed was a lone Eastern Meadowlark standing in one of the mowed fields. I felt sorry for the little fella.
Eastern Meadowlark. Nikon Z8 with Nikkor 800mm VR S r/6.3 lens at f/6.3, 1/1250 sec, ISO 400.
I think it was apropos that “blue” birds were the dominant bird I saw on this trip given my midsummer birding melancholy. I was honestly happy to find any birds, given the heat wave and the loss of habitat. With all the field mowing, I am surprised birding groups such as local Audubon chapters aren’t more vocal in their support of conserving more habitat for birds, especially in publicly-owned parks. I am admittedly new to the area though, so maybe there are other issues at play. Still, more could be done to help the birds.
Next weekend I will be going to Cadiz, KY to participate in the Land Between the Lakes Hummingbird Festival. I am really looking forward to it.
Happy birding!
