Beautiful Morning Along the Maple River

I almost turned in at the Wastewater entrance this morning, but I already had the Ruff.  I continued on to State Game Area headquarters and walked the south bank of the Maple River out to the snipe field and back.  Excellent decision!

Daddy Eastern Bluebird by the parking lot.

Highlights included Eastern Phoebes hawking insects; Song Sparrows singing variations on their theme; Blue Jays singing, jaying, throat-clucking and hawk-mimicking; a pair of Northern Flickers playing tag; a male Rusty Blackbird singing from the top of a tree at the Messinger Road gate; Sandhill Cranes kar-OOk'ing all around (3 on the snipe field; 1 high overhead heading north); 

... a Pied-billed Grebe submerging like a miniature submarine into the still waters of the river never to be seen again; one Wilson's Snipe winnowing over the snipe field (west of headquarters, east of Lane's Landing), eighteen others spooking from the field before I could spot them on the muck ...

"Invisible" Wilson Snipes on their muddy field.

... a shadow crossing mine, feathers swishing from the young Bald Eagle hunting low over the snipe field; a Virginia Rail grunting from the shallow water north of the path and a minute later it or another grunting from the south side of the path; LBJ's flying into thickets everywhere, Song Sparrows when identifiable, wagtails (I presume) when not.

It's not that there were 33 species.  It's not that there were five Year Birds (I'm at 82 now, but who's counting).  It's just that it was a beautiful walk through lovely habitat among common wonderful birds and frogs and trees, and I'm still geeked!