Thursday, June 4, 2009

Looking Up can be Rewarding....

Sometimes when we are searching for the unusual,
the rare, the migrant, the lifer bird we fail to just
look up at the birds that are visible everyday.
Beautiful birds like the RW Blackbird. In the right
light you can't get a prettier bird.
Glossy-black males have scarlet-and-yellow shoulder patches
they can puff up or hide depending on how confident they feel

Red-winged Blackbirds often show a hump-backed silhouette
while perched


Male Red-winged Blackbirds do everything they can to get noticed,
sitting on high perches and belting out their conk-la-ree!
song all day long.

Louder and louder and over and over... looking for the female
to notice

On a sunny day he shines


Another bird I especially like is the Grey Catbird. They were
numerous at Wildwood Lake.

I was trying to capture him eating mulberries in the
top of the tree


Finally got a shot of him actually plucking one from the tree....

When, nearby I see a Cedar Waxwing in the very top of
another tree. That certainly got my attention and I shot off
a burst of photos.


I actually thought there just one bird in the tree...

But later found out there were many up there among the leaves.

I wish I would have known that at the time..

And then, in another tree nearby I see orange and black
movement..


An Oriole had landed and was looking among the leaves for
a tasty morsel for lunch.

Wildwood is never a boring place to visit... I can't
help but wish it was nearer my house.



My daughter and I did a 3+ mile walk and there was
lots more to see and photograph.


To God Be The Glory ~~ Great Things He Hath Done

6 comments:

Linnee said...

What great photos and pretty birds... as usual!

(I replied about the cupcakes on my blog.)

:)

Shelley said...

Those Redwing blackbird photos were so vibrant and beautiful! You have a lot of pretty birds in your trees!

Tina said...

J,
You are so right..I think those rwbb are very pretty and you certainly caught this guy at his best!!! You did a wonderful job of capturing all those waxwings..I do believe they are one of my favorite birds to find and TRY to capture with my lens..they sit sooo high up in the trees which makes it diff to get them..nice job!
...and that Baltimore O. ohhh such a wonderful looking bird..I would say you and your daughter had a pretty good 3+ mile hike!!

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

Gorgeous shots.I agree,sometimes we overlook the more common birds in search of that one special one.The Red-winged Blackbird is a perfect example.So colorful and yet so commnon.
Blessings,Ruth

Marsha said...

Such beauty in all these shots...and I got to enjoy them without walking 3 miles ;) My favorite is the RW blackbird singing.

I just love coming to visit and seeing what you share - sorry for the lack of comments lately things are just so busy here with work, keeping up with the gardens and our upcoming wedding in the family. I have been reading and appreciating each and every post!

Anonymous said...

And to think that I did have a mulberry tree once upon a time. And took it down when still small. Didn't want to be bothered with the mess associated with so much fruit falling on the ground. I wish I had it now. You certainly did get an assortment of nice birds.

You might like to read the story about us almost moving to Alaska...

Homesteading in Alaska

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