Lake Ontario & western New York

Being a birder brings me a lot of joy, but also sadness and even anger... I was enjoying a great day at Lakeside Beach State Park in Waterport, NY on the shores of Lake Ontario with my extended family, when my cousin-in-law (is that the right word?) noticed this baby bird on the ground in a freshly mowed area 20' or so off the road. Someone had mowed over the nest, and the frantic Indigo Bunting parents were feeding this little one. Investigating further we found the nest upside down nearby, yet this very young bird did not seem to be injured. After we moved the nest to a safer place nearby, I noticed another baby bird under the grass (in the area to the right and beneath this bird). It was weaker, and I suspect that the parents were not able to get to it to feed it. We put it in the nest too.


My sister Suzy found a third baby bird under the grass, it had a slight injury and was smaller and weaker than the others. It will be at least 10 days before they are able to fly - I don't know if they will survive but we tried. We watched the parents continuing to feed the largest baby, and hoped they would find the nest to tend to the other 2. YOU WOULD THINK A STATE PARK WOULD KNOW BETTER THAN TO MOW A NESTING AREA IN AUGUST. There was also a frantic pair of Common Yellowthroats searching for their young, but we couldn't find the nest. It was probably run over.

It was a wonderful day for a hike, with the temperature about 70 degrees, and the Queen Anne's Lace in full bloom.
Was the Praying Mantis praying that no one would mow HIS field?
This was just what I needed - lovely chicory and queen anne's lace. Ahhhhh.
We also saw American Goldfinch in their summer splendor.
This Lesser Yellowlegs was feeding in the shallow water at the edge.
He really is a handsome bird.
This beauty is the Banded Purple Butterfly.
I think this is a Least Sandpiper.
It has an interesting pattern of feathers!
The upper one is the Semipalmated Sandpiper, with the slightly smaller Least Sandpiper below.
Henrey showed me these Mute Swans out in Lake Ontario!
Is it just me or are these wildflowers terrific!!