Quintana Concluded

Besides the enthralling hummingbirds and abundance of wildflowers featured in my two previous posts, there were plenty of other wonders to enjoy at the Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary.


Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
There were cardinals and mockingbirds, ever present and always enjoyable.


Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos)
There was a surprising number of Scissor-tailed Flycatchers in and around the area — surprising to me anyway, since I'd never seen them in the area before.


Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus forficatus)
This was my first opportunity to photograph these slender beauties or even to observe them close up, and I was amazed both at how graceful they were in the hard winds blowing in from the gulf and at how quickly they moved in flight. I've decided that I'll need quite a bit more practice and familiarity with these tyrant flycatchers (or a good helping of luck) if I want to capture any shareable pictures of them in flight.

Another treat of the morning's trip was the opportunity to watch five Common Nighthawks wheeling and diving overhead. I climbed to the top of the sanctuary's observation tower and spent a good twenty minutes trailing them as they moved down the island until they finally passed beyond the range of my binoculars. New addition to my life list!


Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor)
There were also plenty of dragonflies and butterflies on hand, busily enjoying the bounty of this small paradise.




Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes)
I ended the day with a quick drive down the road to nearby Bryan Beach, where the tidal pools hiding behind the dunes often attract a variety of shorebirds, herons and such. This particular morning, two lonesome Willets comprised the total count of shorebirds and no waders were in sight, but the sandbars and the far edges of the water were teeming with Laughing Gulls and terns, including Caspians, Royals and even a couple of Sandwich Terns.


Juvenile Laughing Gulls (Larus atricilla)
However, these three young gulls seemed to be the only ones not taking a midday siesta; they were busy cackling and playing in the water like their human counterparts just on the other side of the dunes, enjoying the beautiful weather while the grown-ups lazily soaked up the early summer sun.


"What, you're still here?"

Lunch at Bear Creek

Yesterday was a pretty quiet day at the office, as is normal for the week between Christmas and New Year's. And since the few hearty souls who were there all had diverse lunch plans, I snuck out at noon for a quick jaunt over to Bear Creek Park.

I figured it was a good sign when I saw my first notable before I even got there. This hawk was perched atop a telephone pole just north of the park, and I snapped a quick shot through the truck window while I waited for the light to turn green.


Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)
When I reached Bear Creek Park I found the playground areas quite busy, but the rest of the park was almost empty. I picked a quiet area alongside Langham Creek and headed out. The trees and underbrush were busy with warblers (basically unidentifiable with no binocs and my limited ID-ing skills), cardinals and chickadees.


Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis)
Walking along the edge of the creek, I found mockingbirds, more chickadees, and this busy little Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe), who just refused to sit still long enough for me to get a better picture.


(Click on any image to view a larger version)
As the creek turned away from the clearing to double back into the trees, I came upon a stand of sycamore trees, bare except for their seed balls and peeling bark.


There was activity going on high up in those branches, but it took a few minutes to finally spot just exactly who it was that kept hopping around from trunk to branch and tree to tree. Unfortunately, this fellow was also too shy (or maybe just too hungry?) to let me get a better shot.


Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)
All in all, it was a good outing, if abbreviated. Final list of (identified) birds for this trip:

• Red-shouldered Hawk
• Great Egret
• Common Grackle
• Carolina Chickadee
• Eastern Phoebe
• Northern Cardinal
• Black Vulture
• Northern Mockingbird
• Red-bellied Woodpecker
• American Crow

Bird Photography Weekly: Eastern Phoebe

In honor of the curious little Eastern Phoebe that followed us down the trail at the park last Saturday, here are a handful of phoebes for your enjoyment.

Remember, you can click any image to see a larger version of the photo. Enjoy!


Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe)







For some more great bird photos from around the world, check out Bird Photography Weekly #14.