Those two guys were on scopes and I was stalking feeding birds with my Canon rig.  The best moments for me were hearing the Whimbrel in my sights talk to three others winging by, then lofting to meet them.  And, then, just before we left the beach, a Stilt Sandpiper dropped in very briefly to join two SB Dows.

Whimbrel, Short-billed Dows - so much for the ID factor of the ratio of white to black in the tail feathers, one Semi sandpiper, Greater Yellowlegs and a Stilt Sandpiper … not bad for a trio of bird geeks on a July morning on the Vineyard.

By the way, if you are on the Vineyard this weekend, come to my artist reception Sunday 5-7 at the Simon Gallery in Vineyard Haven on Main Street.  That’s August 2nd.

See you there.  It is a weeklong show for Lanny McDowell Avian Art, bird photographs among the Reggae and rock and roll photos of the Vineyard’s own Peter Simon.  His wife Ronni exhibits an extensive line of her own jewelry creations and jewel-like sculptures.

Birds are cool!  Lanny

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There will be framed prints on the walls and a lot of unframed, mounted and shrink-wrapped items in the bins.  The price range goes from $95 for a simple print up to $775 for a beautifully printed and framed 16″ X 24″ shot.  The overall dimensions of the large framed prints are 27″ X 34.75″.

Here is a sampling of the smaller prints available unframed, typically in a 11″ X 17″ image size,  including the really BIG oystercatcher at the end:

Birds are that cool!    And hope to see you all at the show this Sunday.                     Lanny

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I saw a Ruff once before in the US. It was really, really far away, through my scope at the John Forsythe NWR at Brigantine, NJ.   The Reeve we saw yesterday and today in Edgartown was much easier to see, although it was very foggy at Katama and it took us a while to catch on to what we had in our sights.

These images and Avian Art fine art prints are available for purchase. Contact me or View my gallery.

Birds are cool!  Lanny

I have a list of folks who get an emailed notice from me with a URL to click on when I have posted a new blog.  There are also times when I just send out photos to the list without bothering to blog about them or post them to a listserve.  Not on the list?  Want to be? Just contact me  saying you want to be on the list or, better yet,  subscribe to Feedburner above, in the right side column for automatic blog feeds to your email.  Getting off the list is just as simple.

Related posts:

1. Martha’s Vineyard, morning birding at Katama The beach drive out to Norton Point on the...
2. bird photos in Vineyard Gazette feature … iconic shorebirds nesting on martha’s vineyard Every once in a while I do a piece for...
3. Martha’s Vineyard Sandhill today… Hot off the presses, straight from the fields of...

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The young Cooper’s Hawks at the nest near Abel’s Hill in Chilmark on Martha’s Vineyard are up and out and lounging in adjacent trees.  The last time I was there, on July fifth, the female allowed herself to be seen, keeping a quiet eye on things, then audibly admonishing her brood, or maybe me, from deeper back in the oak forest.  I had never seen her before.  I have never seen the male; and so I have never been aware of more than one adult.  Of course, I could be mistaken, if the two adults are close in size.

In the dappled light of the woods it is pretty hard to make out any of these raptors when they are still, especially if you don’t have advanced knowledge of where to look.  But, boy, are they nice to watch when you do find them.

I do not really expect to find them near the nest,  should I go back.  There is too much to see and do … and to eat.

1st sighting of the adult female after she cruised out of the woods:

so easy to miss back in the woods

so young and so serious

One thing you notice right away, looking at the young hawks, is that they are armed with adult weaponry:

A gray squirrel making his rounds tentatively approached one of the young Coops, not the best idea with one of the parents nearby.  When it got close enough, the youngster flared its wings and the encounter ended with the squirrel parting company.

This Madonna, short of there being a Great Horned Owl in the neighborhood, which I doubt, will have fledged four new hawks into the growing company of Cooper’s Hawks established on Martha’s Vineyard.

These images and Avian Art fine art prints are available for purchase. Contact me or View my gallery.

Birds are cool!  Lanny

I have a list of folks who get an emailed notice from me with a URL to click on when I have posted a new blog.  There are also times when I just send out photos to the list without bothering to blog about them or post them to a listserve.  Not on the list?  Want to be? Just contact me  saying you want to be on the list or, better yet,  subscribe to Feedburner above, in the right side column for automatic blog feeds to your email.  Getting off the list is just as simple.

Related posts:

1. raptor photos … young Cooper’s Hawks on Martha’s Vineyard It has been a bonanza year for raptor nests...
2. bird photos in Vineyard Gazette feature … iconic shorebirds nesting on martha’s vineyard Every once in a while I do a piece for...
3. Martha’s Vineyard Sandhill today… Hot off the presses, straight from the fields of...

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