Coots and Coots and more Coots...

Feeling like an old Coot today...

Did I mention the fact that we saw a couple of American Coots at Sandy Ridge in my last post?
We did.

This was the Coots party central.
Lots of diving and laughing and splashing and big Coot fun.

Speaking of diving...

Gotta get that big kick first...

Then the push...

Just like Johnny Weismuller...
( Gotta be old to get that one!)

bloop!

"I'm glad I'm not a turkey..."

Sand Hills at Sandy Ridge..."The Longest Twitch" Continues!

"I am the master of the castle!...er, nest..."

Sandy Ridge Reservation is one of our favorite areas close to home. It's made up of reclaimed farm land and is now wetlands, woods and a large meadow. AND it's part of the Lake Erie Birding Trail, so this will be part of "The Longest Twitch!

"On this visit we made our way through the woods and on to grandmothers house...no, no, no...to the wetlands. Silly people.

Among all of the ducks and coots and the Mute Swans of the last post...we had the pleasure of watching the resident pair of Sand Hill Cranes dancing, preening and working on their nest. Did I mention we saw coots? That'll be in the next post. Meanwhile back to the Cranes...

*I just heard from Tim Fairweather, the resident naturalist at Sandy Ridge. The "nest" is actually a Muskrat lodge. I guess the Cranes where helping with the fall redecorating...

It was a beautiful autumn day and the colors added warmth to the chilly woods.

These Cranes are very used to people. Their latest nest in within 15 feet of the multipurpose trial.
Dogs are not allowed into the woods or marsh area.

There's always a supervisor to watch the construction.

Here you can see the size of the nest on the right compared to the Crane.

Big birds don't hide very well...

Two are even worse at hide an seek...

The Doodles gives this park a four bench rating...

You have to clean up after al of that hard nest building.

I didn't get close enough in time to watch the dance routines.
I did get one silly hop.

Gotta make sure the booty is in order...

Mute...

The Further Adventures of..."The Longest Twitch!"

Click here to learn more about this historical site!

"The Longest Twitch" continues...another stop on our long draw out goal of visiting all of the Lake Erie Birding Trail sites was Bradstreet's Landing in Rocky River. This is a great site...mostly because it's walking distance from home...but there's been an amazing amount of "odd ducks" spotted from the pier. Other than me of course. Since me and The Doodles showed up on this bright autumn day...only one duck came into view. Oh well...next time.

Lots of those gray birds were out.
Some were light gray.
Some were dark gray.
Some couldn't believe I was looking at them.
Ring-billed Gulls.
I didn't see them wearing any rings.

This is the creek that runs into Lake Erie through Bradstreet's Landing.
It has a name.
If you remember it, let me know.
Thanks.

White-throated Sparrows enjoy playing hide and seek.
I don't particularly enjoy it.

This pier is great for spotting things out on the lake.
Also for fishing.
For fish.
Duh.

Did I mention all of the gray birds that can be seen out here?
In January there's even more gray birds.
And it's cold.

Hey.
That's a duck.
It's a Ruddy Duck.
And a couple more gray birds.

Every step on our journey has to end with a butt shot!
A little Ring-billed Booty for you!

You can tell this is Rocky River Park because the sign says so.

Next stop on this sunny day was Rocky River Park...in Rocky River. There are great overlooks in sheltered areas to view the lake when the weather is a little rough. Luckily this day was sunny and warm. And busy. I've only been here in the winter and fall and have never seen the place so busy. We once visited with Kelly from "Red and the Peanut"...in January...brrrr. We did see hundreds of Mergansers sailing past among other ducks close to shore. We'll definitely be back in the winter.

Soon these beautiful colors will be gone...and covered in white stuff.

Great. More hide and seek.
This time I waited out this Hermit Thrush and caught him!
Ha.
Your it.

The Blue Jay wasn't as easy to catch...
I like the color contrast.

This shot is for my Euro friends.
They like the Starling more than we do...

Speaking of Euro friends.
This is one of the few times you'll ever see me on the phone.
I'm talking to our buddy Roger from England.
Hi Rog!

No natives home.
Just an empty driftwood teepee.

The Doodles gives this park five stars for the number and variety of benches.
That will be a new feature in our Twitch series...

This is the booty shot for Rocky River!
Know what it is yet?

"WHAT WAS THAT CLICK?"

"At least you could have asked first!"

The squirrel laughed.
"Birders...silly humans."