Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Signs of Spring: Yellow-Rumped Warblers
I'm beginning to see more and more of these little fellows all over town. We must be getting closer to spring.
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
Taken last spring at the Smith Oaks sanctuary in High Island, Texas.
As always, you can click on any image to see a larger version. Also, check out Bird Photography Weekly #127 for more great bird photos from around the world.
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata)
Taken last spring at the Smith Oaks sanctuary in High Island, Texas.
As always, you can click on any image to see a larger version. Also, check out Bird Photography Weekly #127 for more great bird photos from around the world.
Friday, January 28, 2011
#200
Last Saturday was an odd day, with nothing on the calendar until late morning. So I took advantage of the free morning, sneaked out of the house before the sun came up and headed for Bear Creek Park. My mission: the Rusty Blackbirds and Purple Finches that had been reported there for the past two weeks.
I arrived not long after the park gates were opened and began checking the reported hot spots. Maybe it was the temperature (I know 28F is nothing compared to what many of you tolerate every winter, but down here that's almost unheard of!), or maybe the recent lack of rain, or maybe just the luck of the draw, but there was not a single rusty or finch to be found.
Not that the morning was completely birdless. There were handfuls of crows and pine warblers, a couple of Caroline Chickadees, a little Downy Woodpecker and several Red-bellieds. I even watched as several dozen robins flew over, some lighting briefly in the treetops far above and filling the otherwise quiet morning with bursts of sound. But none of the stars, the celebrities that I had ventured out into the frozen morning in hopes of seeing.
As it neared my predetermined cut-off time — when I absolutely had to leave in order to make it home and shower before the kids' basketball games — I decided to make one last pass around the inner loop of the park. Coming upon a couple of birders with a scope, my hopes began inching up. Had they found the Rusty Blackbirds I had been seeking all morning? But no, their scope was trained on a tree full of starlings and grackles; it appeared my slow morning was being shared by all. But then ... "Oh, did you see the Merlin perched on the snag at Brandt Road?"
"Waitaminit. So you guys are standing here in the cold looking at starlings when there's a freaking Merlin a half mile away?!?" This of course was kept to myself as I sprinted back to my truck and headed across the park. And there she was, just as they had said. Life list #200, and what a beauty!
Merlin (Falco columbarius)
What can I say? Some days life gives you lemons, other days it send you Merlins!
I arrived not long after the park gates were opened and began checking the reported hot spots. Maybe it was the temperature (I know 28F is nothing compared to what many of you tolerate every winter, but down here that's almost unheard of!), or maybe the recent lack of rain, or maybe just the luck of the draw, but there was not a single rusty or finch to be found.
Not that the morning was completely birdless. There were handfuls of crows and pine warblers, a couple of Caroline Chickadees, a little Downy Woodpecker and several Red-bellieds. I even watched as several dozen robins flew over, some lighting briefly in the treetops far above and filling the otherwise quiet morning with bursts of sound. But none of the stars, the celebrities that I had ventured out into the frozen morning in hopes of seeing.
As it neared my predetermined cut-off time — when I absolutely had to leave in order to make it home and shower before the kids' basketball games — I decided to make one last pass around the inner loop of the park. Coming upon a couple of birders with a scope, my hopes began inching up. Had they found the Rusty Blackbirds I had been seeking all morning? But no, their scope was trained on a tree full of starlings and grackles; it appeared my slow morning was being shared by all. But then ... "Oh, did you see the Merlin perched on the snag at Brandt Road?"
"Waitaminit. So you guys are standing here in the cold looking at starlings when there's a freaking Merlin a half mile away?!?" This of course was kept to myself as I sprinted back to my truck and headed across the park. And there she was, just as they had said. Life list #200, and what a beauty!
Merlin (Falco columbarius)
What can I say? Some days life gives you lemons, other days it send you Merlins!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
The Daily Bird: Pied-billed Grebe
Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
Taken last spring at the San Bernard National Wildlife Reserve near Lake Jackson, Texas.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Hazy Morning Sunrise
Our friends often ask why we live "so far away" from town and the center of life as we know it. Here's one reason:
No, it's not our land — that life is still just a dream for now — but there's nothing like being able to drive five minutes from home to see sights like this.
As always, you can click the image for a larger view. And for more intriguing images of the skies above our world, check out the SkyWatch Friday home page.
No, it's not our land — that life is still just a dream for now — but there's nothing like being able to drive five minutes from home to see sights like this.
As always, you can click the image for a larger view. And for more intriguing images of the skies above our world, check out the SkyWatch Friday home page.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
The Daily Bird: Swamp Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)
Taken last spring at Boy Scout Woods in High Island, Texas.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Little Lark on the Prairie
Not the greatest shots, but the best I have been able to manage so far from the roadside out on the Katy Prairie.
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)
Friday, January 14, 2011
The Daily Bird: Blue-winged Teal
Blue-winged Teal male (Anas discors)
... and the female
Pictures taken at the San Bernard National Wildlife Reserve near Lake Jackson, Texas. Click any image to see a larger version.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Avocets on Bolivar Peninsula
In a return to last year's spring migration, I took an afternoon one day and trawled along the mudflats and beaches of Bolivar Peninsula — just across the channel from Galveston Island — searching for shorebirds, terns and gulls. The weather was nice and a strong southerly wind was blowing in from the gulf, so most of the migrating birds were high above, taking full advantage of the wind currents. However, I did happen on a small group of avocets taking a break from their long journey to hunt for food in the Texas surf.
American Avocets (Recurvirostra americana)
males
female
This is actually the only time I've found these beautiful shorebirds in the area, and it was an exciting addition to my life list.
As always, you can click on any image to see a larger version. Also, check out Bird Photography Weekly #123 for more great bird photos from around the world.
American Avocets (Recurvirostra americana)
males
female
This is actually the only time I've found these beautiful shorebirds in the area, and it was an exciting addition to my life list.
As always, you can click on any image to see a larger version. Also, check out Bird Photography Weekly #123 for more great bird photos from around the world.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
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