Category Archives: Birding

Images of birds and birding activities.

An afternoon at the zoo

Robin at zoo-7840-2

Tuesday was a cold, cloudy, winter day, so I went to the zoo. Any day is a good day for the zoo. But in the middle of winter, there are far fewer people. Many of the animals were out and I got some great shots. Standing around watching the Red Panda, I noticed a Robin having dinner on a nearby branch. He must have been very hungry because he let me get to within four feet and take pictures. He stayed around for several minutes allowing me to get some nice colorful pics. Even at the zoo, not every shot has to be an exotic critter.

A Warbler

Warbler feeding

On the return leg of my Montana vacation, I stopped at Fort Peck. In the vicinity of the lake are several camp sites. I pulled into one and soon saw a group of these warblers flitting about a tree. They were very excited flying between the trees and twittering away. I don’t know if the lady bugs were the object of the excitement or not. I didn’t see the birds eat the bugs. Other assorted birds were visiting the trees, too. I don’t have a Western bird book with me so I’m uncertain what they are.

Weekend Birding

bobolink, female, birding, Clarke County, pond, creek,

Female Bobolink

Went birding this past weekend looking specifically for Bobolinks and Dickcissels. We got lucky on one account, a female Bobolink. It was a beautiful location to spend four/five hours. Along with the Bobolink, we spotted: Kingfisher, Cardinal, Canada Goose, Gold Finch, Towhee, Orchard Oriole, Red-winged Blackbird, Song Sparrow, Indigo Bunting, snapping turtle, Eastern Blue tails, and others. The Blue tails were especially friendly. At any one time I had at least one on me and often had five.

Lunch!

Normally a Great Blue Heron snatches a fish from the water and then gulps it down. This bird managed to spear the fish and then had to figure out how to eat it. It took several minutes but finally the bird tossed the fish off and quickly snatched it up and gulped it down. yum!

Lunch Time!

New to the Neighborhood

There’s no shortage of new home construction in this neighborhood. Not if you’re a migratory bird that is! After selecting the perfect bit of grass, a Yellow Warbler (or is it a female Orchard Oriole?) pauses to make sure no predators are watching before disappearing into the shrubs to work on the new nest. Welcome to the neighborhood!

New Home Construction - Warbler Style