Dreaming of Spring

Today's downpour and the promise of more rain and cold over the next week have me dreaming of warmer, sunnier days. And nothing warms the soul like the radiant colors of tanagers during spring migration.


Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea)
These two fellows were both life birds for me, seen last spring at Boy Scout Woods in High Island, Texas, just up the coast a couple of hours from Houston.


Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra)


For more great bird photos from around the world, check out this week's installment of World Bird Wednesday.

Blackburnian Warbler

This weekend I got to meet and spend the afternoon with fellow bloggers Dawn and Jeff Fine (of Dawn's bloggy blog) out at High Island, Texas. Dawn and Jeff are the nicest folks you could ever meet, and were quite willing to help this poor little warbler-ignorant blogger find a few treasures. And treasures there were aplenty!

The morning was a bit nasty, with rain and then a heavy foggy mist covering the area like the proverbial pea soup. Which, to our luck, turned out to be the perfect weather for bringing migrants in for our viewing pleasure. There were warblers, warblers everywhere! One of my favorites — a new addition to my life list, in fact — was this male Blackburnian Warbler:


Blackburnian Warbler (Dendroica fusca)




I'll post a few more pics from the High Island Migrant Extravaganza as soon as I have time to get them uploaded. In the meantime, check out Bird Photography Weekly #88 for more great bird photos from around the world.