Daily Bird Pics Vol. 432

Excellent shots Gary! Congratulations!!!

Great shots everyone! Gary, congrats! Can't believe you had to come to the lower 50 to see a Snowy!

I went and got the Snowy too! It was a 4 hour drive for me but so worth it! I went on Sunday which was a gorgeous day and birded the area as much as I could since I didn't really know where to go. Birds abounded though! If any one else goes to see the Snowy in Rowlett, that tree line as you are leaving the park area toward 30 is full of great little birds -- warblers, sparrows, bluebirds, creepers. Jeepers!

Here are some of my favs.

Here are few birds that were in the same area as the Snowy Owl: Double-crested Cormorants, Brown Creeper, Eastern Bluebird, Pine Warbler, and Song Sparrow.

This last little group is from a really cool park that I stumbled onto by accident called Lake White Rock Park. Got my second lifer for the day there, a Bonaparte's Gull. Didn't get a very good pic of him, but did get the proof pic! The park had GREAT birds though! There were people everywhere, and the birds didn't care. I should have taken a pic of these kids on the pier in front of the pelicans in this pic. In fact, 2 Ring-billed Ducks swam right by even with about a dozen kids shouting and pointing.

White Pelicans
Bufflehead -- never been that close to one!
Fox Sparrow -- you kind of have to look for him. He was foraging in those leaves.

Gary, had to make one more comment about your Snowy pics and that is that I love those 2 shots where you can see its feathered feet! That is so cool. Can't believe people were that close to one too. We were trying to stay back and not disturb the owl but then no one wants to be the person who scares it away so no one else can see it as we are unlikely to get more than 1 in Texas.

Red, your pics are amazing! I was going to ask when you were there and point out that I was the one in the funny hat but then I realized that a funny hat wouldn't really be a unique identifier in a group of birders!

Elphaba, I was there on Sunday afternoon. Saw a couple birding the tree line with the little birds, could have been you. My dau said the owl was on the Dallas TV stations Sunday evening. Had a friend that tried for it yesterday morning and couldn't locate it.

Had a couple of rare birds for OK yesterday on a meandering route home. Two caracaras in Bryan Co. Oklahoma and a Say's Phoebe at Tishomingo WR. Got rarity photos, but not worth posting here.

Some birds from South Texas. Hope I haven't already posted these, hard to keep track. A chachalaca, White Ibis and a nesting Common Pauraque.

I enjoyed the snowys, too, Gary. I probably should have chased some of those on the prairie in northern OK.


This message was edited Feb 21, 2012 9:53 AM

Excellent pictures, all. Really impressed by the Snowy owl pics.

This really has been the year of the Snowy Owl!

Congrats Elphaba, wonderful shots!

Red, Love that Chachalaca!

Resin wrote

It was the typo 'slop' that had me LOL'ing ;-)

Hope you manage to get there!

Resin

Great photos everyone! Been busy...Have a few new birds added to my Life List..will hopefully post soon.
Keep the great photos and stories coming...loving every minute I get to spend here!

Some more pics from last week in South Texas. An OC Warbler, lots of these guys down there. A female Ladder-backed WP and a Male.

I think I heard somewhere that Robins were a sign of spring, well I went strolling around the neighborhood and saw these two guys. Also my hubby put out a apple and is trying to entice a cedar waxwing to come to it. I am really surprised that it is still there, I thought sure a squirrel or a raccoon would try to take off with it, but it is still there.

Some robins stay for the winter. Sign of silliness?

Sorry, I got behind and missed so many beautiful photos. Well done everyone. I had surgery on my hand and it's hard to type, plus I'm trying my best to keep the house sparrows from nesting in our 6 houses but it's taking all day everyday to chase them off and clean out the houses they do get in. My poor tree swallows keep coming to pick their houses but are getting chased off.

Here's some of my adorable tree swallows.

A male and a female Nuttall's woodpeckers have started coming up to our peanut butter logs on our deck.

Here's a Bewick;s Wren and a Brewer's Blackbird showing off for a female-must be the start of spring here.
Also, during the Backyard Bird Count, I was happy to count these two Bald Eagles on two of the days.

This message was edited Feb 23, 2012 10:22 PM

Nice pics and birds, duc. Hope your hand heals quickly.

A preening pintail.

Wonderful shots folks. Hope your hand heals quickly duc.

Lovely pictures--+ hopeful healing.

Congratulations to everyone that got to see the Snowy Owl. amazing shots of it too!
Duc, hope everything is going well with your hand, take good care of it.
Lovely pictures everyone.

Love that Dee, Burn.

Another beautiful thread with some great pics...thanks for the start Elphaba! I am very envious of the variety of birds you have in your area...must visit someday.

Duc...hope your hand heals quickly but it seems to be working very well!

Like most of the country we are having spring-like weather. The Turkey Vultures, Robins and Kildeer have returned and I am hoping that spring is here.

How about this treat. The rare Walmart Warbler.

Great shots guys!

Duc, Hope you heal quickly. Love your shots.

Red, Good ones of the Northern Pintail. Their my favorite NA duck.

Hi all, thank Elphy for such a colorful new thread. It's most interesting with a wide variety of birds. Too many to mention each and everyone, so let's me say thanks to each and everyone for the wonderful job! Welcome back to Burd from a long absence.

I was delighted to have added this cutie into my 'lifer' list. The Brown Creeper on Feb. 22nd.

Red, Walmart Warbler?

A few shots I took at the Water Ranch yesterday, in Gilbert, AZ. A Neotropic Cormorant, a Peach-faced Lovebird, and a Verdin. Nice to go from three feet of snow on the ground to 78 degrees F.

On vacation Gary? Great shots! Oh I can imagine going from 3 feet of snow to the desert warmth. I'm rubbing it in for those that still experiencing winter else where -- it's almost spring here, my Blue bird says so. lol

Mine too, Lily. He sat on the fence, guarding both nest boxes for most of the morning.

Dave, papa Blue is so so bright looking this morning! Here is my gal, she's soo sooo sweet.

Yes, there were house sparrows in the vicinity and he was really guarding this nest box. Here he is as he exited the box. You may not be able to see it, but he has a tiny piece of grass in his beak. This recent warm weather has to him thinking of nesting, but I suspect she knows it's still too early.

Here is my female, sitting, and then as she flies.

Guess there is still hope for Spring. I see some, are already seeing leaves, and migrating birds in their yard. :) The Goldfinch are showing a little bit of yellow.

The Goldfinch pic was rejected as not being a JPG. But the info of the pic says it is. Anyone else had this happen?

Red, great shots of the pintails.

Lily, cute little creeper. Your buds are larger than ours-hope this isn't a false spring. I have daffodils in bloom.

Gary, love the cormorant and verdin.

Dave beautiful shots of the bbs.

I'm still contending with the HOSP, but my tree swallows don't seem too worried. They're not ready to bring nesting into the houses but will fly up and cover the holes on the houses.

Then there's the daily visits from the Red-tailed and Sharp-shinned Hawks.

The crow are trying to help by diving at the hawks.

Got this bewick's wren this morning.

Nice shots duc. Especially liked the Bewick's. Hope your hand is continuing to mend.

Beautiful, Duc.