DAILY PICs - VOL. 256

Great pics in the last thread.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1053157/

I will get the party started with a Northern Flicker that came for a drink this morning.

Here is another shot. I like the gold accents with the light hitting him this way.

Nice pics!

Thanks for the new thread Chris...I just love those Flickers! I was out all morning today trying to get a shot of one...I was so frustrated as they kept landing in trees behind me!! I wish I could get them to come to the waterer or feeders.

GP...congrats on the the Hummer on the last thread...lucky you!

Marna...to answer your question: I have never seen an American Tree Sparrow... I know they get them in the northern part of the state. Do you have them in your area?

Resin...thanks for the ID on the hawks on the previous thread!

I got this shot at the brush pile today and I think it is the same male Cardinal that I photographed last winter. You can see he has a deformed beak.

A White-crowned Sparrow from the same area.

From the previous thread:

Margaret, that Kookaburra is really something!

rose, that Eurasian Collared Dove sure looks nice. Easy on the eyes.

reddirtretiree, I've never seen an American Pipit. Nice pic.

gardenpom, last week-end I road as a motorcycle marshall for a bicycle event and saw lots of vultures, but didn't have my camera. Well, I went back on the route the other day and didn't see the first one.

rose, just the other day I saw some kind of hawk make an attempt to land on a street sign, right by my house. But some littler bird chased it away.

Hack

LOL Hack...it is amazing to see a little bird chase a Hawk!! The Red-winged Blackbirds nested on our farm this year and would not allow any Hawks to fly over!!

We still have Cedar Waxwings!

The Waxwings are eating the berries on the Red Cedar (Juniper) trees.

Our regular feeder visitors are active; white breasted nuthatch, chickadee, tufted titmouse. No other type of sparrow although I know they should be in the area.

Hey Rose,

Yes I got the Tree sparrows last year in the winter. Only a few here, but they were everywhere in less urban areas. I counted a bunch for the backyard bird count. Cute little things.

Great pics of the Flicker Chris; Thanks for starting the new thread!

Nice shots of the flying Waxwings Rose!

Got home after being gone for a week and the Bluebirds were still checking out the box. In fact, there were 3 this morning. Also had some House Finches and Cowbirds in the yard. Haven't seen either for awhile.

Wonderful photos in the last thread everyone!!

Chris, great photos to start this new thread. That Flicker is a beauty.
Rose, that Cardinal is stunning and the White crowned is beautiful. Love the waxwings!
Iris, you have a pretty bunch of birds at your feeder!
Red, your BB is beautiful. Glad they're still checking on the house.

This Brewers Blackbird looked pretty in the sunlight.

We took a drive around the northerly end of our lake (Clear Lake) and enjoyed seeing some of our many Coots.

We just found a few Great Egrets along the shore.

I believe this little one was a Snowy Egret among the Mallard ducks.

This Great Blue Heron looked pretty hunting for food.

Here's another one.

I like that last Heron pic, with the neck feathers fluffed

Got out for a hike this morning to take advantage of the unseasonable weather here. I saw quite of few birds but the lighting wasn't cooperating. I missed my chance to get a good picture of a wood thrush. These cedar wax wings were problaby the best photo of the morning and I had higher hopes for it when I was shooting it.

Chris and Rose, I LOVE the Cedar Waxwings. That flicker is fabulous.
Duc, saw most of the same kind of birds yesterday and didn't get a single decent pic! Great job!

I went to Arthur Storey Park to check it out. I intend to go back in the spring to see the Orange Bishops in full color. It doesn't look like much when you get there, but the number and variety of birds was amazing!

I took a bunch that I like of this hawk. I would guess Red-tailed. It was perched right above the path. Here's a pic of it in owl pose.

It looks like he's giving me the evil eye in this one which he did plenty of times, but actually he's looking up at a yellow-rumped warbler that landed right above him.

Last one, I promise! I like this one b/c he has one of his claws drawn up.

Elphaba, that hawk is a beauty! I think I like that first fluffed up one the best. Looks like you're really being watched closely.

Chris, I wouldn't be disappointed getting those pretty Waxwing photos-great job.

I was walking along the lake in Kissimmee, Florida this morning. This single Sandhill Crane was on the grass, only ten feet from the sidewalk. I could tell that something wasn't right, since it was by itself and too close to people.

This message was edited Nov 7, 2009 3:12 PM

It jumped up on one leg, and I saw that the other leg was held tight to the body. I guess it had a broken leg or mangled foot. It doesn't seem to be making any effort to fly. I stopped a park worker, who told me that the decision was made to leave it alone, and it had been hanging around for 2 weeks. Sad.

Ahhh, poor Crane. I wonder if a local rehabilitator had been contacted to help that poor bird. Seems like they should be watching it to see if it's eating.

It might recover and do fine. That's probably why they decided to leave it alone. I have my fingers crossed for it.

Species survive just fine without man's interference. Nature is more in tune with the survival of species rather than individuals. In fact, it's human intervention that has caused the demise of most, if not all, avian species in historic times.

There are still plenty of Sandhills and they are doing fine. I saw thousands a couple of days ago.

Wow. I've never seen so many Sandhills in one place. Are those in the middle of migration? Florida has 2 populations of Sandhills. One group are year round residents. The other group comes for the winter.

Nice Shots All! Went looking for better pictures of Double-crested Cormorants, found the Cormorants and some unexpected birds also. I'll start off with a large group of sunning Cormorants.

lil closer

An ok photo, but most were out of range for a good shot.

Canada Geese

Ruddy Duck, had to keep waiting for him to surface, long shot again.

more Canada's

Ring-billed Gull

The Ruddy was a new one, and so were these Snow Bunting's in (winter plumage) they just showed up out of nowhere while I was giving up on the Ruddy.

pic 2

Last shot.

Size comparison....White-winged Dove and Collared Dove.