Overall the birding was slow at Magee Marsh on Saturday, 04/26/14. It was sunny, but cool. Some would say it was downright cold, but I was comfortable. I went down for a morning of birding with Artemis Eyster and Rodolfo Palma. It was relaxing and enjoyable. We met up with Jerry Jourdan and one of his colleagues who he has gotten interested in photographing birds.
Probably the most concentrated activity for us was at the entrance of the boardwalk where we saw this beautiful Blue-headed Vireo - above and below.
White-throated Sparrows were abundant here, as were one Eastern Phoebe, one scantily seen Nashville Warbler and the above Pine Warbler of which the only photo I could get was the backlit flight photo.
Further on we found a mostly cooperative Palm Warbler.
But the star of the morning was this beautiful Prothonotary Warbler who put on a show for dozens of birders. The photo above and the five below give some idea. This little bird even hopped up on the boardwalk to peck for insects often no more than five feet away.
We closed out the morning at Magee Marsh with a viewing of this Bald Eagle on a new nest just at the edge of the parking lot. Marsh managers a large area of the parking lot taped off to protect the nesting birds from over zealous viewers.
I agree with this strategy, but note that a number of parking spots were also off limits. This may be a problem when it comes to limiting close parking for the Biggest Week in Birding May 6-15, 2014. I feel sure the organizers have planned for this.
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