DAILY PICS VOL. #246

Great pics ! Man I want to go to the zoo now!

So jealous Rose that you had a Summer Tanager and still have buntings!!

A Northern Flicker I saw on my walk in the rain on Thursday. I was amazed at the number of birds I saw on my walk that day!

This should be on the pic thread...but I even saw the Pileated Woodpecker on the rain walk...too bad it was so far away and raining!

Oh...can't forget the Tennessee Warbler!

HOUSTON area LOOK UP RIGHT NOW!!! Broad-winged Hawk migration went by my house (near 290 and the north loop) about 30 minutes ago. Sorry for delay -- computer problems!!! Now I can go look at all your fab pictures. I can already tell that I'm going to love your Tennesse Warbler Nanny!

Wow that is impressive Elphaba!

Love your Tennessee Warbler nanny!

Oh wow Elphaba...how cool!!!! I would love to see that someday!

LOTS of Tennessee Warblers right now!!

Nanny...I am so jealous of your Warblers!!

Elphaba...Wow...very cool shot. Must have been awesome to witness!

The first House Finch showed up yesterday after being absent for six months.

I watched this Red-bellied Woodpecker taking peanuts and storing them under the roof of the church marquee yesterday!! Hope I don't go to hell for not telling on him!

This male American Goldfinch is looking kind of scary!!

rose, you haven't seen a House Finch for six months because they're all hanging around my feeders. I got more House Finches and House Sparrows than you can shake a stick at.

Hack

I haven't seen many of the usual suspects at my feeders either except the gold finch, couple doves and a few Cardinals; I here the chicadees and titmouse but don't see them. Although I saw lots of feathers on my deck which makes me think a Hawk may have gotten one of the doves.

I hadn't been in the field in good while so I went to Great Falls yesterday. I didn't get many bird shots but I got lots of great water fall shots.

But here are a few Turkey Vultures that were flying around the falls.

This message was edited Sep 27, 2009 10:44 AM

here's the 2nd shot

Here's the 3rd shot

Last shot

Nice!! I've been trying all summer to get a shot of them...they're gone now so I have to wait 'til next summer.

Elphaba, that must have been a fantastic sight.

Rose, your place really is bird heaven. LOL about the Woodpecker.

I'd love to see a Flicker, Nanny. They always look as if they've been painted by an imaginative school child.

Great shots of the Turkey Vultures Methodical. Cop the ear hole on the last one!

Met, I love those TV shots...just beautiful!

The Flickers seem to have had a very successful summer breeding this year. I have seen more flickers in the last week than I have all year!

Not a good one but this shows 3 Northern Flickers....

Maybe the same 3 in a different location but in the same area....

Great shots Al!

Nanny you are so lucky to see the Flickers..I haven't seen one in ages.

One of the backyard birds from this morning...female Eastern Bluebird.

A very noisy Carolina Wren! Such a comical bird to hear and watch!!

And the elusive Tufted Titmouse.

A young Spotted Towhee

adelbertcat - that Spotted Towhee looks good. I've never seen one.

But have had my fair share of Eastern Towhees, though. (AKA Rufous-sided Towhee)

Hack

Outstanding pics everyone!!

Rose, I love that Goldfinch!

I would love to see a Flicker.

I was getting into my ute to head off to the Osprey nest this afternoon when I heard a mobbing racket over the road. We've been hearing Southern Boobook Owls (Mopokes) and Tawny Frogmouths most nights and I suspected that was what the commotion was all about. There were Butcherbirds, Wattlebirds, Australian Ravens, Magpie Larks and even a Kookaburra relentlessly swooping what turned out to be a Southern Boobook. The mob eventually drove it into a tree in our backyard where it ended up high in the canopy and would have been impossible to see if it wasn't for the continued harassment of the other birds, allowing me to zero in on it. This is the least dodgy of a few very dodgy shots I took.

Nice Mopoke! What a tiny beak.

For those of you in the states, UTE=Truck.

Look at me! I speak Australian!

Nice Margaret!!

Thanks for the translation Mrs. Ed....I was going to ask what the heck is a ute!! :)

I spotted this female Eastern Towhee the other day!

Cool looking bird Margaret...and glad to know what a ute is!!

Nice to see shots of the Towhees...since I haven't seen one in weeks.

It seems that the yard is empty of birds except for the migrating Hummers and of course House Sparrows. I ventured to the tree lines on the farm and saw this young male Common Yellow-throated Warbler.

Naturally he spent most of his time moving about in the shade.

Also spotted a Ruby-crowned Kinglet..in the shade of course.

Nice grab Margaret!

Rose, I love the male Common Yellowthroat! I think I've only seen females. Still keeping an eye out for Kinglets!

Rose, your Kinglet shot is fab. They are so hard to get. That's a really great picture of the Common Yellowthroat. It looks different than the ones that I've seen, but very cool.

Margaret, I LOVE that Boobook! That's a great shot.

I went to Sheldon Lake area yesterday hoping to see some migrating birds. Saw some orioles but not too much else. The frogs and spiders were fabulous though and just in time for Halloween! Got a couple bird shots. Here's Little Blue Heron as seen through the trees.

I've never seen a Golden-Crowned Night Heron drying his wings like this.

Last one, a couple of very well hidden immature Golden-crowned Night Herons at least that's what they look like to me.

I was happy to see a lot of people there with small children since I was just reading about the children's dictionary taking out words like "wren" to make room for "MP3 Player." Then I realized that it was really hot and humid and almost all the kids were crying or complaining. Oh well. Good for the parents for making the attempt.

Nothing new around the feeders today. Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, Carolina Wrens, Goldfinches, Mourning Doves, Northern Cardinals, House Finches, House Sparrows and a Gray Catbird.

I dIgiscoped this dove from 25 yards away. The faint red line from the corner of the mouth has me puzzled. It's not a photo aberration, the dove had it in all my photos. Anyone have a clue?

This pic was taken with the scope on 20x and the Nikon 5100 zoomed max on optical.

Hack

I took the spotting scope up to a higher power for the heck of it (I think around 40x) and got this pic. I haven't cropped it, this is how the camera got it. The red line is more prominent.

Hack

Dog-gone-it if the two pics don't look like the same scene, But they really are two different shoots. The dove appeared to be posing, It stood real still for a long time. Now, why can't his other feathered buddies be as cooperative.

Hack

I saw no Common Yellow-throated Warblers this spring., now that I think about it. REally hoping got see a kinglet again this fall.

A shot of a Wilson's Warbler from this morning....

I love them all!!