Downy Woodpecker (male)

I am something of a lazy birder. I spend a lot of time and energy maintaining and enjoying my bird feeders, as well as photographing the birds in my backyard. But I rarely ever go out into the field–and when I do, “the field” is a park with a lake and hiking trails that’s less than a mile from my home.

Birding, for me, usually consists of sitting on my back deck with a cup of coffee and my camera and waiting to see who is going to pay me (or, rather, my bird feeders) a visit that day. Lucky for me, I typically have an abundance of visitors. But, at the moment, not so much.

This is the time of year when bird feeding slows temporarily due to fall migration, an abundance of natural food sources, like acorns, and other factors. And my feeders are so quiet, which has been a bit frustrating for me, as I’ve really been wanting to practice with my camera.

So, this morning, I decided to go out into the field. I went hiking and spent several hours birding with some success. I spotted the Downy Woodpecker above engaged in a heated dispute with another woodpecker along one of the hiking trails. I saw some migrating Palm Warblers, which was exciting. (I may actually go back tomorrow morning to see if I can get some better photographs of them.) And I managed to get up close with a Great Blue Heron. I also saw some birds I didn’t get to photograph (another reason I’ll likely go back tomorrow), including a thrush that I didn’t see well enough to identify, several Yellow-rumped Warblers, and some kinglets.

I hope you enjoy these photographs. Some were taken in my backyard and some during my visit to the park today. I also included views from my hike.