Seeing A New Bird In A New Spot

Last year when on a hike in Happy Hollow Park with my daughter and her class I thought that it could be a great place to photograph birds. My time was limited last year, but this year I have had some time to get out and explore it. I have not had enough time though to say whether or not it is great. My first impression is that it will have some new birds for me to find and photograph. This Louisiana Waterthrush is one of those. I saw it hop up on a branch and pose for me. I was behind it hoping that it would turn. When I realized that it would not I made the photo above of it.

A New Toy

I have used an app called Merlin for a while now to identify birds. I run a photo through it, and it tells me with some accuracy what I have seen. Now they have a sound id option that is amazing. When this bird called it answered the question that was going through my mind. Was this too white to be a Northern Waterthrush? Apparently it was. The tool is both amazing and maddening at the same time. It is amazing for what it can do. It is maddening because you see by looking at it just how many birds that you miss as you walk through the woods.