One afternoon in late December (near San Angelo, TX) I finally got a chance to take some time to sit and watch an area where I always notice a great variety of birds when I pass through. In less than an hour, I saw a fantastic variety, several of which were on my "I'd love to see one day" list. Here are a few pics I got.
First, the Northern Flicker I have seen there on several occasions, always flying away as I approach. I went there specifically to take pictures of this guy (girl?).
Another of the Flicker
A Golden Fronted Woodpecker.
(Feel free to correct me if I misidentify any of these)
The woodpeckers seemed to love this little area.
Here is a Ladderback.
And another woodpecker. I'm not sure about this one. Female Ladderback?
Same bird as above.
One more of the same bird as the last two.
Here was a pretty little blue and gray bird. I'm not sure what he is. This is not a great picture of him, but the best I could do.
The cardinals seemed extremely bright red in this area. Perhaps it was the gray surroundings, but they just GLOWED!
I believe this is a pair of Flickers. Am I correct?
A pretty bright blue Jay. I believe he is a Western Scrub Jay.
This was the one I was really excited about. The Pyrrhuloxia has been on my "wanna see" list for a long time. I've thought I've seen them flying through the trees, but was never sure before.
This is a terrible, out of focus pic that belongs in the dreadful pics thread, but I'm curious if anyone can identify this cute little bird for me.
None of these photos are spectacular. They serve more as documentation of a really nice birding experience. All of these different birds were pretty much in the same place at the same time. Of course there were lots of others there too, including many cardinals and mockingbirds.
Oops! Almost forgot the adorable little quail who greeted me.
Scaled Quail? Dad called them Blue Quail, but I didn't see Blue Quail in iBird South. Is that just a layman term for them?
Wonderful pics Peeper! :)
I tried to figure out your unknown bird pics and I can't figure them out. I'm sure someone here will be able to help. I'm not familiar with those birds...sorry. I'm thrilled you were able to see that bird for your "lifer" list! :)
This message was edited Jan 26, 2011 12:04 AM
Looks like a good area to go birding, Peeper. Congratulations on seeing and photographing the Pyrrhuloxia.
Hi Peeper, Nice pics. You sure get a good variety of birds. I love the Pyrrhuloxia, congrats on that one. Sorry I can't make out the one in the photo after that.
Maybe Resin or someone else will be able to tell.
Good set of pics!
"A Golden Fronted Woodpecker" - Yep! Male.
"Here is a Ladderback" - Not sure, I'm thinking another male Golden-fronted
"And another woodpecker. I'm not sure about this one. Female Ladderback?" - Yep!
"Here was a pretty little blue and gray bird. I'm not sure what he is" - Woodhouse's Scrub Jay, as below
"I believe this is a pair of Flickers. Am I correct?" - Yep!
"A pretty bright blue Jay. I believe he is a Western Scrub Jay" - Yep; except now (since Western Scrub Jay was split recently) Woodhouse's Scrub Jay.
"This is a terrible, out of focus pic that belongs in the dreadful pics thread, but I'm curious if anyone can identify this cute little bird for me" - Verdin
"Oops! Almost forgot the adorable little quail who greeted me. Scaled Quail?" - Yep!
Resin
Peeper, very nice interesting thread - love the quails.
Indeed, one lovely afternoon you've had. Thank you for sharing the photos. I'd love to see those birds somedays.
Looks like you had a great day of birding!
