MORE BIRDS

[karstopography]

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Red shouldered hawk doing red shouldered hawk things, which this time of year is being very noisy.

[worth1]

[bower]

Saw a different woodpecker today - yellow crown and grey wings. I wish I'd gotten a photo but, okay I just stood there and watched. Not running the little chainsaw. This is the second time I've been stopped by a woodpecker, clearing up this patch of woods with so many dead firs. A lot of the fir trees are blue on the inside, and apparently that's a fungus spread by bark beetles, so it appears the bark beetles have really had their way with these vars.
Looked it up and seems to be this one called Black backed woodpecker, although to me it looked a solid grey: I've never seen one like this before.
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bla ... dpecker/id

[worth1]

[karstopography]

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This Pileated Woodpecker was finding all kinds of goodies in the dead water oak limb.

[karstopography]

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Sometimes, you want some turf instead of the surf.

This Great Egret decided it wanted a green anole for lunch and by golly it got one. I was making tuna salad and all this happened just a few feet outside the kitchen window.

[SpookyShoe]

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What kind of ducks are these?

[karstopography]

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. They weren’t around here or the Houston area 50 years ago, but have evidently spread north from Mexico. Hundreds of these tree ducks fly over my house every evening at certain times of the year, all going the same direction, must be a roost somewhere.

They nest in tree cavities and have nested in the trees around my area and lot.

[worth1]

[420Stainless]

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Indigo Bunting - with a Brandymaster Pink (3 weeks after transplant) in the background.

[SpookyShoe]

Two Ibis in the driveway.

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[karstopography]

The neotropical spring warbler migration came through recently. We get a massive influx of warblers passing through from the winter homes in central and South America. I set out in the driveway and watched the show.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bla ... r/overview

The best (most striking) warbler this year was the adult male Blackburnian warbler. Very difficult to actually photograph these. They feed in the tree canopy around my garden for a day or two and off to the north they go. Chesnut sided warblers were also around in numbers along with yellow warblers.

[bower]

The yellow warblers are a favorite here. They often nest in shrubs outside my Mom's house, but I haven't seen them here in the woods in recent years. Incredible flyers, I've watched them catching insects on the wing. Much like dragonflies, it's hard to catch them still! Lovely singers as well, eh.

[worth1]

I know someone that the other day a buzzard crashed through his windshield and got glass all over him.

[worth1]

Look at the one in the middle.

[TomNJ]

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[worth1]

I was dreaming about a friendly wood pecker when my alarm went off.

[worth1]

[SpookyShoe]

Massive migration underway!! They'll fly over me on the Texas Gulf coast.

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[karstopography]

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This fledgling Heron, I think Green Heron, the wildlife people say Yellow Crowned Night Heron, must have fallen out or gotten pushed by a sibling out of the nest.

Either way, the unfortunate bird is on its way to the wildlife rehabilitation center.