Checking the migrants in Henderson, KY......

We drove over to Henderson, KY last week to check on the migrating geese and ducks.  I figured the Snow Geese were probably on their way back home, but you never know until you go look!  We also wanted to check on the eagle's nests in the heron rookery just over the river to see if there was any sign of activity.

 First stop: the heron rookery.  All those empty nests will be filling up in another month of so (this is only a fraction of them).  It is so exciting when the herons come and live there and raise their young.  The old eagle's nest in the top photo (the big nest in the center) had an adult eagle sitting on it when we drove up but it flew away before I could even lift the camera.  At least we know they are thinking about using that nest!  It is the closer of the two nests and right in the middle of all the heron nests.

The newer eagle's nest is further back and easy to see, but we didn't see any eagle's there that day.

On over to the Henderson river bottoms area and the Slough preserve area.  We arrived at this first small flooded field to find that the White-front Geese were still around in fairly large numbers!

 I was so busy looking at all the geese and checking for Snow Geese......there were at least 3 still in the mixture....that I didn't pay enough attention to the ducks until I got home on the computer.  The Mallards and Shovelers are always obvious, but it turns out there were some others in the mix.

 Mostly Mallards in this shot....

 There are three Northern Pintail ducks swimming through the middle right of this photo.

 It think that one in the front is a female American Wigeon.  I have other shots with the Wigeons.  Snow Goose on the bank.

 Pintail right in front.

American Wigeon, Gadwall, and Shovelers in this one.  There were more ducks by themselves on the other side of the road in another flooded field, but the light was poor in that direction and my shots weren't very good.  Mostly Shovelers and Mallards on that side.

 We stopped near the river to watch a barge going by.

 This barn is slowing falling down.  I have a photo from when we first went over to this area and it looks much better a few years ago!  Someone has bought some of the farm land in the area and is tearing out lots of trees and clearing the area.  My favorite barn to find Swallows has been torn down.  I was sad to see that.

 There were huge clouds of blackbirds in the trees and fields.  Mostly Grackles in the closest shot I have, but there is one flash of red-wing in this photo, so I imagine there were Red-wing Blackbirds and Starlings  mixed in.

This hawk was flying with the blackbirds.  Easy pickings if he was looking for lunch!  We saw an immature eagle flying in a thermal with a couple of hawks, but they were too far away for a photo.  It was a good birding day!  Spring is on the way and the birds are moving about a lot.

I almost forgot this one little sparrow sitting on a pile of trees that had been uprooted and cleared from a field.  I think it is a Tree Sparrow, but not positive.