Least Sandpipers

We found twelve of these least sandpipers yesterday morning at Falls of the Ohio State Park, directly across the River from Louisville in Jeffersonville, Indiana. In the birding world, little sandpipers like this are called “peeps,” for obvious reasons. This group is passing through on their southerly migration. Wading birds like this migrate north through Louisville in late April and early May, stay just long enough for their chicks to fledge, then head south again. As the name suggests, the least sandpiper is the smallest of the sandpipers. This was as close as I had ever been to one, and they are tiny - barely bigger than a sparrow!

Relax with one minute of video of these little guys and gals peacefully preening themselves with the sounds of the rushing water in the background.

White-Breasted Nuthatch

One of our backyard white-breasted nuthatches doing what nuthatches do - running up and down trees, most often upside-down, stashing seeds and nuts. This is a young one - one of this year’s brood that hatched nearby just a few weeks ago. The 70-ish-year old American elm on which it is perched is unfortunately not long for this world. Like most American elms, it has been destroyed by Dutch elm disease, and with large limbs hanging over our house, we are having it removed next week.

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White-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) | My Backyard | Louisville, KY

500mm | 1/250th second | f/8.0 | ISO4500

Barred Owl

We are currently at 83°F with 95% relative humidity, and the wind is dead calm here in Louisville. “Muggy” would have been an understatement this afternoon when I walked practically right underneath this barred owl perched near a trail at Cherokee Park. It’s not often that I have to actually step back to get the shot!

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Barred Owl (Strix varia) | Cherokee Park | Louisville, KY

500mm | 1/200th second | f/8.0 | ISO1600