DAILY BIRD PICS VOL. 410

That last thread was almost too pretty! If you want to take another look, we came from: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1201609/

Share your favs of the day. Here's a White Ibis.

A Tricolored Heron and a Great Egret -- don't they look fascinated with something? I think they are even whispering to each other about it.

Another 2-fer -- one for bird watchers who like mammals too -- even non-native ones like this nutria with a little blue heron. The little blue was wary of me and kept backing off. I thinking he was enjoying the bugs or crawfish that the nutria was unearthing when it yanked up the plant life in this mostly dry pond bed.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron as seen through the reeds.

A juvi heron

A blue-gray gnatcatcher. It's kind of a where's waldo picture.

Wonderful shots Elphaba! Love the White Ibis and the 2-fer's along with the others!

Thanks for starting the new thread!

Another great start! Thank you Elphy for the new thread. Awww, I'd love to see some of those Ibis here.

Anxious for Fall and the start of my birding season. Here is a early morning shot of a Mockingbird.

Oh my! It's been a bit since I have posted any birds. The heat is putting them into hiding. The last thread was great! I enjoyed it all.

Our place was taken over by Starlings for about a week. They seemed to have petered off for now. It was absolutely nuts the way they kept going after the windows (probably the bugs) and the roof has a new all natural coating on it. :P

Here is a mess of them bathing. Did you know a group of Starlings is called a "vulgarity" , "scourge" or "murmuration". There's a couple others, too, but I thought these were the most interesting. Never heard of a murmuration before.

Here is a Chipping Sparrow nest taken this past Saturday. Sunday the last egg was hatched. Oh, they were so sweet with heads about the size of peas.

Sadly, when my boys checked on it today, it was empty. There's no hope they could have fledged already is there? I'm suspecting something got them. It didn't seem very sheltered like they usually are. It was in some kind of flowering shrub with the bottom half dead.

We had some courting Mourning Doves last week. They gave quite a show with their strutting.

Another of the doves in love.

And a last one.

My 9 year old was having fits for a couple days hearing a House Wren and with its hopping about never getting a good picture. He finally got this one.

So many great photos in that last thread. Nice job everyone.

Elphaba, you sure started us off with some nice photos. The ibis and the yellow-crowned heron plus the two-fers were great.

GP, I'm still enjoying the warm sun, please don't ask for fall yet.lol

Chillybean, sorry about the nest-you're guess is probably right. Cute pictures, tell your son he did wonderful with his photo too.

This bushtit was one of several that enjoyed a shower this morning.

Our wood ducks are beginning to show up on the lake. I'm hoping for a good photo of a make soon.

We found this Western Grebe on a nest with one egg. Unfortunately this nest is too shallow and an anxious fisherman in a bass boat will probably wash the egg right into the water.

Here's a great egret that was chasing another one through the trees.

And last, a Canada Goose.

ducbucin, That shower looks so refreshing. I am a bit jealous of your Wood Ducks. They are a most beautiful duck. We had a male and female pair in our tree early one Saturday morning in May, but since we don't have any nearby bodies of water, they moved on. I have been tempted to see if we could mess up the field tile system around here to get a nice pond on our place, but I a sure that would be making someone upset.

Great start! Lots of neat birds. We hiked Santa Fe Mountain this morning and flushed a covey of six Dusky Grouse. I spotted them on the ground and did a slow motion chase, following along trying to get a clear shot without flushing them, but stumbled over one I hadn't seen and they took wing. One flew into a tree and I got a pic anyway.

Now, where did dad go--I'm still hungry!!

Great photos for the new thread, Elphaba. Thanks for switching us over.

Chilli, the Starlings showed up here too last week, but left again. It won't be long, before they return. Almost as soon as the Grackles leave. They'll have the run of the yard again.:(

Some juvie Merganser scrambling to get away from me. Wish the pic was better.

Goldfinch having a lunch.

A juvenile Grackle in the Crabapple tree.

Juvie Chipping Sparrow.

Some very nice pics. of nesting activity there everyone. It's such a joy to witness successful fledglings, and I do get very blue when I see those that didn't have a chance at the start. A juvie Housefinch discovering the feeder this morning.

Wonderful shots guys!

Red, great photo of the grouse!

Burn, love all your birds too. That grackle looks so cute.

Lily, cute little finch in the feeder.

Here's a young brown-headed cowbird.

A juvenile pied-billed grebe. I'm hoping to find a younger one soon.

A Black-crowned Night Heron.

Big Foot had an itch...

A great blue heron.

My close encounter with a hawk...

A few evenings ago, I was at my "secret pond" location. My Green Heron kids had already fledged, and I wasn't getting any shots of them around the pond. I was taking pics of dragonflies, and had walked back one last time to the GH nesting tree to see if they would return there to roost. I saw a bird in the tree, and was trying to get a closer look when something flew in from my left and hit the bird on the limb! There was a splash, and I was thinking that two GHs just hit the water. I moved a few feet to my right to get a better look... and this guy landed on the bank at my feet, not more than eight feet away! He was stunned... I was stunned! I managed to get this one shot before he flew off (full frame). I did manage to see that the bird he had in his talons was too small to be a Greenie. A few minutes later, I spotted an Eastern Kingbird calling and calling in distress from the top of a tree nearby. I think she lost her mate, or an offspring in the encounter. ID'd as a Cooper's Hawk.

What welcome home! 109 degree heat and the market tanks 500 points. I was on the road yesterday, so no pics. Here is another shot of one of the Bushtits in Santa Fe from a few days ago.

Such a cute pic Red. Are those lacewing eggs he's about to eat? Awesome shot of that grouse!

Duc, nice capture of the black cap on that Night Heron and love the grebe.

Chilly, sorry about the nest. Everything has to eat something. Wish they'd eat house sparrows and doves though!

VA -- had a similar close encounter with a Cooper's Hawk myself a few days ago. Made my heart skip a beat too. They are so awesome. I didn't get a pic though -- nice shot.

Red, welcome back home. It really terrible the market tanks! Hope things are worse -- getting bottom out before it gets better? Thank you for having shared so many interesting birds from Santa Fe. I just love it to find birds hang up side down, right side up for whatever they were going after! Bushtit would be one of my lifer if I see one. Looking forward to seeing them and Western hummingbirds on my trip out West. Nice pics. Chilly, Duc and VA.

Ah hah, finally I found someone who's enjoying my figs before they go to waste. lol The fruits are tastety, but they're too high up to reach. Not so high and out of reach for this juvie Cardinal. ^_^

This message was edited Aug 5, 2011 7:46 AM

elphaba, not sure what that is that Bushtit is eating. I didn't see it until I was editing pics.

lily, earlier you asked me what kind of tree the finch and tanager were in. I don't know. I asked a couple of yard guys that were doing the lawn and the one I asked said he didn't know, he is from Mexico. I asked the other guy if he knew and he didn't answer, the first said "He don't know either. He is from Guatamala." I tried.:-)

Since I'm on here and it's so hot, I'm going to post something that reminds us this will pass.

Wonderful shots, everyone. Great start, Elphaba. Things are pretty quiet around here, bird wise, but I managed a couple of shots of a couple of Little Corellas in the yard yesterday.

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