Gotta Love Goose Pond!

Mississippi Kite... patiently waiting to feed her young a Cicada.

I was FINALLY able to get out and bird in my own state. It has been an extremely busy summer that has left little time for birds so I was more than ready. I decided to head down to Goose Pond since there there was a chance for me to see an active Mississippi Kite nest, something I had never seen. To make the occasion even more special, this particular species would be a life bird for me.

So, off I went. My first stop was the nest. I was so anxious to see it that I was unable to read my directions correctly and passed the bird by about a mile while looking for it. I finally had to call for some help and afterward quickly found the nest. I was a little nervous approaching the area because I knew the young were getting pretty big and were probably getting close to leaving home. I lucked out, they were still in the nest! I was even more pleased to see the parent patiently overlooking her nest waiting to feed the young a fresh Cicada that she had in her beak. What a great bird!

Mississippi Kites... the youngens'.

I left the site of the Kites and headed to Main Pond West. As with most visits to Goose Pond, I am instantly smiling as there are usually birds everywhere. I was instantly greeted by Song Sparrows, Indigo Buntings, Red-winged Blackbirds, and Common Yellowthroats. In fact, these four species were everywhere the entire visit. What a great problem to have!

Great Egrets were everywhere! In my short time I counted about 48 Egrets. It didn't matter where you looked, there were Great Egrets. Some of the other fantastic birds that made their way into my view were Black-necked Stilt, Northern Harrier, Great Blue Heron, Wood Duck, Mallard, Eastern Kingbird, Barn Swallow, Tree Swallow, and Canada Goose.

It was only about an hour and a half before I sweat out my last drop of energy so I ended my trip a little short of plan but I was extremely pleased with what I had saw on just a short stretch of land which covered about a 1/2 mile in total.

There are allot of good places to bird in Indiana and Goose Pond is one of them. This project has to be one of the best things to have ever happened in our state. If you have not been, I would strongly encourage you to go. If you want more information just click here.

Indigo Bunting and Common Yellowthroat... two of my favorites. Not sure how anyone could get tired of these two birds.

Great Egrets! Holy smokes, I count 14 in this picture... there are many more surrounding me. This place is wonderful.

Black Swallowtail

Barn Swallows and Tree Swallows... there were actually 13 additional Tree Swallows sitting in the grass but I could not get them all in the picture. They were flying everywhere. A family reunion I think.