Some great pictures for the Summer.

Hey everybody!

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. I have been really enjoying the Summer weather. We took a vacation to Ashland. I saw two life birds, an Acorn Woodpecker and a Western Kingbird!

I have a whole bunch of cool pictures to share from the summer.

A house finch enjoying some sunflower.

A silhouetted song sparrow.

Picturesque grass.

A female Mallard quacking at me.

We saw this strange bee group. Any ideas why they are on the ground like this? Please let me know!

A pretty little ladybug

This is a near perfect shot! A rainbow going around the sun in a perfect circle! I forget what you call this.

A big worm!

A little Annas hummer.

A daylily in our yard.

A male Annas hummer

A juvenile dark-eyed junco!

Black-headed grosbeaks have become regulars.

One of the juvenile red-tailed hawks from the nest in Greenway park! This guy was looking straight at me! They look really healthy!

An Osprey over Emigrant Lake in Ashland.

An Acorn woodpecker! A life bird! I am pleased at the way this turned out!

Enjoy the Summer!

Catch up post.

Hey everybody!

Sorry for the lack of posting. Since I haven't posted for a while I decided to make a catch up post.

A mother mallard with her ducklings!

This red-winged blackbird does not like people. He always chirps and hovers right over your head when anybody walks over "the beaver bridge". I don't blame him. He has a nest right next to it! We heard the babies chirping yesterday.

A mallard nest in Greenway.

Look at the size of the goslings!

Another huge "gosling".

Yes! I got a picture of one of the male black-headed grosbeaks that have arrived!

We have also spotted a mother wood duck with 11 babies in Greenway park! She is very good at hiding. A good skill to have when there are so many predators around.

Have a great week! :-)

Waterfowl, shorebirds, swallows and blackbirds.

I just thought you might enjoy some evening wetland birds.

See Mr. mallard looking at us?

The first time I've been able to capture (a picture of course) a swallow perching!

A short-billed dowitcher.

Look at all that red on this blackbird!

And finally, wigeon.

Have a great week!

Close encounters at the wetlands.

Yesterday afternoon we payed a short visit to Koll wetlands. As soon as we got out of the car and walked to the edge of the pond there was a red-tailed hawk that swooped down in a mudflat near a killdeer. When he saw us the hawk took flight. We were worried he grabbed one of the killdeer but he ended up only getting a talon full of weeds. Although he only got plants the killdeer were calling rapidly to one another; "Killdeer, Killdeer". They were calling to each other the whole time we were there. Since the killdeer were disoriented I was able to get a rare up close encounter with the bird!

Enjoy!

Hello Mrs. killdeer!

Cool! That's a pintail!

Mrs. killdeer again.

Pintail, a mallard and short-billed dowitchers.

Lots of wigeon!

More wigeon. Also a female Eurasian wigeon! (bottom left).

The male cinnamon teal.

Look who's coming in!

Huh?

Oh no!

Two red-tailed hawks!

Hello!

No don't go in the parking lot!

What?

I can't quite tell what these are.

Me walking up to the male killdeer didn't even phase him! This is not zoomed in!

Bird list for the visit:

• Killdeer
  
• Red-tailed hawk
• Canvasback
• Bufflehead
  
• Western Canada goose
• Cackling goose
• Norther pintail
• American wigeon
• Gadwall
• Mallard
• Great-blue heron
• American coot
• Ruddy duck
• Ring-necked duck
• Greater scaup
• Lesser scaup
• Green-winged teal
• Cinnamon teal
• Northern shoveler
• Eurasian wigeon
• Wilson's snipe
• Short-billed dowitcher
• Tree swallow
• Violet-green swallow
  

Have a great weekend!

Mallard ducklings.

Hi everyone!

Sorry for the lack of posting lately.

I just thought you might enjoy seeing this mallard duckling accompanied by it's parents!

And away they go!

Bird list for the short birding trip,

• Mallard
• Ruddy duck
• Bufflehead
• Green-winged teal
• Cinnamon teal
• Western Canada goose
• Cackling goose
• Marsh wren
• Song sparrow
• Killdeer
• American robin
• Great-blue heron
• Short-billed dowitcher
• Wilson's snipe
• Canvasback
• Lesser scaup
• Greater scaup
• American coot
• Bewick's wren
• Violet-green swallow
• Tree swallow
• Gadwall
• Yellow-rumped warbler
• Black capped chickadee
• Golden-crowned sparrow
• Northern shoveler
• Bushtit
• European starling
• Red-winged blackbird
• American crow
• Western scrub jay
• Northern flicker
• Pied-billed grebe
• Ring-necked duck
• Spotted towhee
• American goldfinch
• Lesser goldfinch
• Mourning dove
• House finch
• English house sparrow
• Dark-eyed junco
• Ruby-crowned kinglet