I had a good couple of days birding-wise this week. The migrations are ramping up and I’m seeing lots of waterfowl and Sandhill Cranes as well as a few songbirds coming though. The first Bald Eagle that I’ve seen at Meredith this year showed up on Wednesday (10/10/12). Of course the regulars like Great Blue Herons and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers are still posing for me. Enough talk, here’s the photos.

Great Blue Heron

Sandhill Cranes

A Ladder-backed Woodpecker

A Common Grackle. They somehow seem less annoying out here than when they are scarfing french fries in McD’s parking lot.

A Western Meadowlark. They are hard to tell from the Eastern Meadowlarks until you hear them sing. Westerns have a more intricate song.

A Swamp Sparrow strikes a dramatic pose for me. A Townsend’s Solitaire. He has peach colored patches on his wings that are mostly hidden here, but are very noticeable when he flies.

An Osprey fishing for breakfast.

American Coot. I like the way the one front and center is eye-ballin’ me.

A pair of sleeping Pied-billed Grebes on a foggy morning just as the sun rose. The red is from the red-clay bluffs that the sun is reflecting off of across the pond. This is why I get up early.

Another Pied-billed Grebe. Pretty perky for this early. I like the way the still water reflects the red from the bluffs, but the wake of the grebe reflects the blue morning sky.

The fog was clearing as these Ring-necked Ducks, a Pied-billed Grebe and an American Coot made plans for the day.

A Forester’s Tern and a Killdeer share a sandbar .

More American Coots and who-knows-what-else.

Northern Shovelers at Spring Canyon.

The first Bald Eagle of the Winter.

See the Galleries for more photos.