Kayak Adventure IV

We failed in our last attempt to photograph the Belted Kingfisher and Pileated Woodpecker. So Meg and Mark went out with their good cameras and no dog to try and get some decent pictures. It was a three hour round trip float along the Lamprey River from the Moody Point Dock all the way to NewMahket. We left just after low tide, so the tide carried us into town. We were hoping to catch the birds that fished the changing tide.

Seagull

One of the first birds we saw was a seagull. There are many varieties of seagull but we didn’t try to specifically id this bird.

Mallard

There are both Mallards and American Black Ducks in Great Bay but what we saw more closely resembled Mallards. The two species also hybridize but the Mallard is gradually taking over.

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Eastern Phoebe

Cedar Waxwings

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Yellow-rumped Warbler

Not a great picture but I thought this was interesting. I thought it was likely a pine siskin but Merlin suggested otherwise: Yellow-rumped Warbler. We will need to get better pictures to make a positive id.

Spotted Sandpiper

We had a little trouble i.d.ing this guy. It is in its nonbreeding plumage.

Nuthatch

Turkeys

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Unidentified Bird of Prey

Cormorants

There are two types of cormorants that live in Great Bay, the Greater Cormorant and the Double Crested Cormorant. Each has age and seasonal variations. Great Cormorants are listed as rare for Great Bay. Initially I thought we had a picture of one, but decided they were all variants of the double crested cormorant.

The cormorants are deep divers and their feathers get wet when they swim. As a result they need to get out of the water to dry off.

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Belted Kingfisher

One of the objectives of this trip was to get a better picture of a belted kingfisher.

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We had a measure of success right away. The kingfishers come in an array of plumages depending on age and sex. The age differentiation tends to end around September.

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We saw more than a dozen different kingfishers. We got so that we could identify their calls as they would complain about our presence before taking off out of picture range. They were pretty shy, so it was hard to get close ups.

One encouraging thing was the bay seems to have enough bait fish to support a thriving population of kingfishers. They seem to have little trouble doing what they are named for, fishing.

So we saw some Belted Kingfishers.

Pileated Woodpecker

None.

We failed in a mission objective for the second paddle in a row. I guess there is only one thing to do, go back out and try again. I don’t think the woodpecker is as sensitive to tidal conditions as the kingfishers.

Grump! Grump!

Mark, Wink and Meg