celery bog

It's the end of May already. Memorial Day, official start of summer ... and I've barely been out of the house lately. Happily, Mike and Liam took pity on me today and accompanied me to the Celery Bog, a nature preserve in West Lafayette. We left very early because the birding is better earlier in the day.

First bird of the day was sighted before we even left the driveway:

Note: This bird is domesticated, or as domesticated as a bird can be. Our neighbors have chickens, and this one apparently decided to come over for a visit.

At the Celery Bog, we found a whole bunch of muck. It has been raining a lot lately, so we had to tromp around on some muddy, squishy, boggy ground. (Yeah, the name should have been a clue.) BUT we also saw some great birds, including one I had never seen in person before (the blue-gray gnatcatcher).

black-capped chickadee

double-crested cormorants

cedar waxwings sharing breakfast

blue-gray gnatcatcher

house wren

red-winged blackbird with turtle friend

great blue heron with swallow fly-by

"I find this bench placement completely impractical."

The great blue herons put on amazing show for us. The first heron, let's call him Harry, caught a fish right in front of us! Then he carried the fish over to the bank of the pond to eat it. He had just barely managed to gulp it down when another heron, let's call him Harvey, came swooping in, hoping to steal Harry's breakfast. A brief tussle ensued, lots of wet feathers flapping around. Ultimately, of course, Harry prevailed and flew off, still with a fish-shaped lump in his throat, leaving poor Harvey on his own to go fishing. Impressive, sirs!

Until next time, our avian friends!