Cindy and I decided to head up to Ft. Desoto County Park for the afternoon of our anniversary. The drive up was part of the fun.
We drove across the Sunshine Skyway Bridge
We’re Not in Kansas Anymore – Part two
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Category Archives: Birds
We’re Not in Kansas Anymore – Part one
Well, we’ve never been to Kansas, but we’re not in north Georgia, where we live, either. That’s pretty clear from this photo from yesterday morning.
Willet eating a coquina
Turkey Vulture #WingsOnWednesday
My grandson Isaac and I were driving along the Snake River near Swan Falls Dam on June 15, 2011, and saw a flock in a parking area near the dam. They all left as we drove up except for this one, who started walking away as I stopped to take this photo.
Turkey Vulture - Cathartes aura
Interesting Robin – Leucistic?
I was heading out to work this morning and saw this very oddly colored bird in my neighbor’s yard. I pulled my camera out of the backpack; unfortunately a 90mm macro lens without VR is not the right lens for a bird at 60 feet. But I didn’t have time to dig out the longer lens and change it; I was on the way to work after all. This is a significant crop of a photo of a very interesting American Robin – Turdus migratorius. Presumably this is a case of leucism.
Leucistic American Robin - Turdus migratorius
Click on the photo to go to Flickr where you can display a larger image.
Chukar #Birds #WingsOnWednesday
The Chukar (Alectoris chukar) is a bird that was imported from Pakistan many years ago as a game bird. It has naturalized in dry mountainous parts of the United States. My wife photographed this one along the long driveway to the World Center for Birds of Prey in Boise, Idaho on June 14. This was our first time to see this bird.
Chukar – Alectoris chukar
Green Heron #Birds #WingsOnWednesday
My wife and I spent a couple of days at The Ridges Resort in Hiawassee, Georgia this week. Tuesday morning a green heron (Butorides virescens) on the hunt for breakfast joined me as I was having devotions by the lake. I took a break for a couple of photos when the heron showed up on the hunt. Read on to see if he was successful.
Green Heron on the hunt
Western Tanager #Birds #WingsOnWednesday
We’re heading back to Idaho in early June to meet a new grandson, who should arrive a couple of before weeks we get there (if he’s not, Lynn will probably have some harsh words for him.) In anticipation of the upcoming trip, I thought of the many Western Tanagers we saw while out there last year about the same time. Apparently the tanagers hanging around last year was due to the unusually late spring; too cold to move on to their normal summer territory. I don’t expect the same good fortune this year, and am grateful for last year’s opportunity. Here are a few photos.
Western Tanager - Piranga ludoviciana
Western Tanager - Piranga ludoviciana
Western Tanager - Piranga ludoviciana
Carolina Wren #Birds #WingsOnWednesday
This Carolina wren – Thryothorus ludovicianus – was active around our house last year. I hope for his return this year.
Carolina Wren - Thryothorus ludovicianus
The Sentinel – American Crow #Birds #WingsOnWednesday
I was raised on a dairy farm, and the American Crow was the enemy of our corn crop. One of my jobs – or maybe pastimes, because I enjoyed it – was hunting the crows to try to reduce the crop damage. Fortunately most of the crows survived – I was never a very good hunter, and the crows were smart. One of the things they did was to post a sentinel in a tree. This sentinel would raise a ruckus when it spotted me, and the flock would fly noisily away from the corn field, usually in the same number as they arrived.
This may be the city version of my sentinel crow, watching out for marauders. There are a couple more photos down the page…
American Crow - Corvus brachyrhynchos - The Sentinel
American Robin in my Yard #Birds #WingsOnWednesday
The American Robin (Turdus migratorius) is perhaps the best-known bird in the United States. Although it is migratory (take a look at that species epithet) and the winter range maps I’ve seen show it as not being a normal resident of North Georgia during the winter, we’ve had robins in our yard all winter this year in spite of it being a rather cold, snowy winter. I photographed robins in our yard in December 2010, and January and February of this year.
These pictures were taken last spring, however, not this winter. Every time I see this first photo, I’m struck at the eye crescents. I’m not really a very observant person unless at a particular circumstance I make a conscious choice, and honestly I’d never really noticed them before. More photos are included…
American Robin - Turdus migratorius