mourning dove

Boardwalk Birding /  by Todd Henson

Morning call of a red-winged blackbird

One of the many joys of photography for me is pulling out the big lens and going birding. Granted, I often photograph more than birds on these trips, but birds are what I most expect to find and photograph. There’s just something about them I love. Perhaps it’s because they are the most accessible wildlife for most of us so they provide a plentiful range of subjects.

A red-winged blackbird calling from a bush

Red-winged blackbird and the field of green

A glimpse of a yellow warbler before it flew away

On this particular day I walked the Neabsco Creek Boardwalk with my father. This is a somewhat new boardwalk built across the wide wetlands expanse of Neabsco Creek in Woodbridge, Virginia. They did a great job designing it, weaving the boardwalk along different portions of the wetlands, giving views of beaver lodges, the creek, marshy areas, and sections of raised land and trees where you can sometimes see deer. The boardwalk goes up and down in elevation, as well, allowing different views. In the sections that are down low you can photograph treefrogs and insects on the various plants. In the slightly raised sections you can look out in the distance or down at the water below.

An eastern phoebe perched above the wetlands

An eastern phoebe viewed through the mimosa. Look closely to see an insect in its mouth, which it will bring back to its nest under the boardwalk.

Portrait of an eastern phoebe

I love the variety wetlands provide. Some days you might see many, many species, others less so, but there’s always something to see. In this post are photographs I created of red-winged blackbirds, yellow warblers, eastern phoebes and mourning doves. Not a huge number of species, but I’m very happy with those I saw and photographed. It was a beautiful morning, watching the sun rise over the trees, illuminating sections of the wetlands, sometimes giving that nice glow, other times less so when the sun went behind clouds. But regardless of where the sun was the light was great.

I hope you enjoy this small selection of birds found one morning on the Neabsco Creek Boardwalk.

Early morning mourning dove with a single trumpet vine flower in the lower left

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Baby Mourning Dove /  by Todd Henson

I stopped by my folks place one day in early June, and was walking around behind their house when I saw my mother through the deck window waving her arms to get my attention. Then she began pointing at a spot on the deck. I had no idea what she wanted me to see, but I walked further around to look where she was pointing. It didn’t take me long to spot this small, newly fledged, bird resting quietly atop a box of sproutlings.

A young, newly fledged, Mourning Dove resting atop some sprouting plants.

The baby bird didn’t move as I walked around it, up the deck stairs, and inside. My mother gave me her camera and I went back out to see if I could capture a few images of this amazing little bird. It never moved as I approached, slowly and cautiously, not wanting to frighten it or draw the ire of its parents. I could see it following me with its eyes, but it stayed quiet and still. My mother had said it had been there for a while now, and that a Robin had landed beside it and she thought it had actually pecked at the little bird’s head. Interestingly, a nest of Robins directly overhead had just fledged the week before.

A side view of the baby Mourning Dove, seen through the sproutlings. Notice the red patch on the back of its neck.

If you look closely at the photo taken from the side and slightly to the back you can see a red spot on the back of its head. I’m not sure if that’s the result of the Robin or if it was already there.

I didn’t spend long photographing it. I didn’t want to draw the attention of any predators that might be attracted to a defenseless baby bird. There are outdoor cats in that neighborhood and any one of them would just love this little bird as a snack. I went back inside and began researching what it could be. Though a Robin had approached it, it looked nothing like a Robin to me. I thought it had the body type of a Mourning Dove, and when I researched online that is, in fact, what it was.

A parting shot of the young Mourning Dove resting atop the box of sprouts.

We waited and watched through the window, hoping to see it fly away or a parent return to care for it. Several times it stood, moved in circles, and stretched it wings, but then sat back down. We thought perhaps it was just resting and gaining enough strength to fly. Eventually an adult Mourning Dove flew into a nearby tree. That was all it took. The fledgling stood, stretched, and flew up into the tree beside its parent.

We never saw the bird again, at least not in its fledgling state. Who knows, perhaps it’s now one of the many Mourning Doves who frequent my folks yard. I cherish moments like these, when you have the opportunity to witness something special, something you don’t see every day. My folks had the same experience with the Robins when they fledged. Beautiful moments.

You don’t always have to travel to witness the wonders of wildlife. Keep your eyes open in your own neighborhood. You never know what you might see.