Daily Bird Pics Vol. 432

Wow Nanny, just love that shot of the Nuthatch! Great catch.

From west side of Tampa Bay in January. Wind was blowing pretty stiff off the water.

Purely accidental shot GG!!

Wow...nice one Julie!!

Haven't been here much, been busy looking at real birds instead of pics. Lots of birds in the Rio Grande Valley. Don't know where to start. Everybody loves Green Jays for sure.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! I just responded to everyone's photos and Safari quite unexpectedly. I can't start all over again, but wonderful shots, one and all.

I went back to the river yesterday afternoon - saw two Ospreys off in the distance playing in the air. I specifically wanted to see if I could see the Nankeen Night Heron again and sure enough, as the sun was getting lower, out he came and onto a better pole than the one he was on the other day.

I've cropped the second shot to show the nictitating membrane coming across his eye.

In the last two shots, he flew over to the jetty I was on. The lighting was at the wrong angle, but the fourth shot shows his nuchal plume. There're supposed to be two in the breeding season, but unless they're stuck together, I can only see one - I guess one could have fallen out.

The last shot, one eye is lit by the sun and the other is in shadow, and each pupil is a different size (the one in the sun being more constricted).

Three Black Swans very purposefully swam to an area of the limestone retaining wall near the jetty. Next thing, they took it in turns to poke their heads into an opening in the wall to have a drink of the obviously fresh water that was almost seeping out.

Great shots everyone!

Red, Beautiful Green Jay!

Margaret, Love the Heron and Swans!

Julie, Beautiful Egret shot!

Terrific pics guys!

Margaret, these shots are amazing and educational. I was wondering what that white plume was on the Nankeen Night Heron. Those Black Swans are gorgeous. How interesting, they found some fresh water coming through the wall.

Margaret, interesting that your night herons closely resemble our Black-crowned Night Herons. A shot of one with an alligator underneath.

Beautiful Margaret!!

We heard Sandhill Cranes earlier today....so they are on the move!!

I really do have an alligator thing...eeek! lol

Carolina Wren

Here are a few shots from yesterday.

Carolina Wren, wet Blue Jays, and a Tufted Titmouse with a snow beard.

Nice wren shots. I saw a Carolina this week, but could never get a clear shot of it through thick brush.

A couple of shots of a preening Blue-wing Teal taken at Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge, Pharr, TX.

LOL @ the snow beard GG!! Gee, we were warm & sunny here today.

Really nice shots red!

They do look similar, don't they, red? Nice shot of the smiling 'gator. Gorgeous Teal.

Nice shots, GG. Love the moustachioed Titmouse.

From the osprey nest tree this afternoon, a Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike, which is neither Shrike nor Cuckoo.

And from a few days ago, a juvenile Nankeen Night Heron.

The first picture is Rocky just took a peanut off my foot, the second is where he is trying to hide it, and the last one he just took one out of my hand, he is so gentle, I took a few out to where the bench is and had one on the seat and he climbed up and sat just beside me and took it out of my fingers. He is a sweetie and someone on here said they would like to see more pics of him, so here they are. Enjoy! I have put the bench where I can see the Irises around the iron pole, I can also lean forward or move the bench so I can see the hummingbird feeders. And sometimes the hummers fly right past us when we are sitting out! I am going to try to find some cheap chairs and place them where I can sit and watch the birds and flowers, have to be careful, unfortunately there are some people who will steal things like that, we had a umbrella in one of those octagonal tables, and someone stole the umbrella! That is pathetic! Waiting impatiently for spring!

Red, Iove your alligator shot! The Teal is pretty too.

Nanny and Granny, nice ones!

Margaret, LOVE those birds of yours especially that Night Heron.

My little girl dog is yappin' at me for her dinner, so must be quick. Cooper's Hawk keeping the count down for the GBBC!

I was very fortunate to be able to see the Snowy Owl this morning in Rowlett, TX. He/she sure was beautiful. The circumstances weren't ideal for photos, but I did manage to get some distinguishable pictures. Here's one.

Well Missy, your picture is better than mine. Here's a somewhat local snowy that I saw today. Life List!

Thank you Margaret, and you for the bear thing! lol

WOW...Congrats Missy & Mrs Ed!!

Nice shots everyone. Congrats. to the lucky Snowy Owl folks.

Teddy, nice shots of Rocky. He is really neat. Nice to see him again.

Missy and Mrs. Ed, I'm sooo jealous! I'm going for the Snowy tomorrow! I can hardly wait. Hope it's still there. Thanks for sharing your pics.

Congratulations to Mrs Ed and Missy for sighting the Snowy Owl. That's a feather in each of your caps.

I went down the river this morning - I was going to say early, but decided that would be stretching the truth a bit. First off, four images of a Little Pied Cormorant and then a pair of Pacific Black Ducks.

#1 Juvenile Nankeen Night Heron being chased by a Magpie Lark.
#2 Juvenile Nankeen Night Heron. They have an impressive wingspan.
#3 Nankeen Night Heron feather
#4 Black Swans swimming over to have a drink from the wall.

Then, a bird I have been trying to locate for ages. Not a lifer, but I haven't seen one for about three years. Sacred Kingfisher. It's scary when you see the amount of fishing tackle tangled in power lines and trees.

Congrats Mrs Ed and Missy!

Margaret, I love that Little Pied Cormorant. So beautiful! Great you got to see the Kingfisher again.

That Little Pied Cormorant really posed for you. Love it. And the Black Swans are heading for another drink of fresh water. Hope you get to see the Sacred Kingfisher again. Shame it has to share its perch on a man-made mess. How wonderful to see all of the beautiful blue water in these shots. Love them all.

Missy, just sent you a Dmail, I'm in McKinney today, wouldn't mind taking a crack at that snowy.

A couple of shots from South Texas-- Golden-fronted Woodpecker and a Black-crested Titmouse.

Very nice ones red!

Beautiful shots Red.

Congratulation Missy and Mrs-Ed. Nice one to get for a life list.
Love the little Pied Comorant and the Sacred Kingfisher, Margaret. I can understand, how that fishing line. can cause some problems, for the birds.
Red, great shots of the Golden-fronted WP and Titmouse, nice ones to see.
Cute C Wren GG and Nanny.
Elphaba, I think I saw one of those Cooper's again today, I have a lot of their favorite preys here.

Rock Pigeon take a lot of spce on the plateform feeder.
Then a Downy WP showing his sweet side.
Starling in the snow.

Nice shots Burn. That Rock Pigeon is beautiful.

A couple of Cardinals, a Mourning Dove, a male House Finch and a Gold Finch.

Thanks to Missy for the tip on the snowy. Got on texbirds and found his location, only 27 miles from me. Found the owl and got a few pics. It's in Robinson Park on Lake Hubbard in Rowlett, TX. Has been there a few days. The map on flickr is accurate. Copy and past this address to get the map if you want to chase this bird.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/reddirtpics/6905942655/" title="Snowy Owl by reddirtpics, on Flickr">

Alright red...Congrats to you too!

Congrats. Red.

Here are some of my many Titmice residents.

One more, same bird.

Good job guys. Beautiful shots!

I didn't have any local Snowy Owls to photograph. So, on my way to vacation in warm Arizona, I stopped in Washington, and drove to Ocean Shores. At the end of Damon Point in Ocean Shores, there are suppose to be eleven Snowy Owls. I didn’t know ahead of time that it was a two mile hike to the end of the point. That is a long ways for an old man with flat feet, sore legs. It was worth the hike, I photographer at least five different Snowys yesterday. I would have gone again today but it is too dark and rainy. But, I did add the Snowys to my life list. I would still like to go to Alaska’s north slop, see them nesting on the tundra some day.