I realized today that I’ve been quite lax in uploading my pictures for you all to see. So here is a post on some of my recent favorites.
If anyone can tell me what this insect is, that would be great. They are abundant in my backyard and seem pretty harmless, but I’m just curious.
I was walking outside my dad’s house and saw this squirrel. He posed for a while and eventually jumped off the roof onto a nearby power line, of which I unfortunately did not get a good picture.
Later in the day Dad and I went to Ollie’s Pond Park and saw these delicate flowers. They are so beautiful!
We tried to find the source of a mysterious call we heard, but instead discovered an American Bald Eagle! He was quite well camouflaged… the only reason I saw him was because he moved his head. A fatal mistake. Just kidding, we were shooting with cameras. 🙂
Then we saw a Black Vulture on top of an old dead tree, which was pretty commonplace. What was interesting was after we had walked past him, we turned around and saw a Northern Mockingbird dive-bombing him! Suddenly he took off and turned the tables on the poor protective mama Mocker. It was so cool!
Then after we watched that we noticed another Black Vulture sitting on a low branch over the water. But as Vultures are, as I previously mentioned, regulars around here, we didn’t stay long.
Ibis! White ones and Glossy ones. (actual names for you non-birders, not just capitalized adjectives)
The next thing that caught our eyes was a Black-Necked Stilt! My dad got a video and after post-park viewing, he realized that she had chicks behind her! (not pictured)
This explained her odd behavior; squawking and flapping threateningly at the Little Blue Heron. (pictured below)
She soon flew away, leaving the Heron to gloat. (notice his cute little tongue)
More Black-Bellied Whistling Ducks. They’ve become regular visitors to our little park.
Moorhens with chicks! They were so cute!
The last bird of the day was a Brown Thrasher!
God sure blessed us that day!
-Squid
Squid's Cup of Tea 
You sure have some interesting birds where you live. I have never seen most of those. Glad you had a nice day with your Dad. 🙂
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For the birds, I say thank you. 🙂 They are pretty cool. You probably have some really neat birds near you too, you just have to look! We almost missed the Thrasher. Thanks!
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It’s true. We do have some interesting birds here and I enjoy them too. We have magpies, crows, goldfinches, american robins, sparrows of all kinds, nuthatches, black capped chickadees, wrens, purple finches, bald eagles, hawks, bohemian waxwings, herons, evening grosbeaks, starlings, red winged blackbirds, stellar jays, tree swallows, woodpeckers of all kinds, hummingbirds, owls, common terns, mallard ducks, canadian geese, swans, and many more too, BUT yours are different than ours and therefore a tad more interesting. 🙂
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Stellar Jays!!!!!!! I’ve seen those in my bird books and (almost) cried when I realized that they didn’t love anywhere close to me. Isn’t that how it is? If we don’t have it here, it has a higher priority on our life list… If only I had one… 🙂 Good luck on your birding adventures with all of your awesome western birds! 😀
-Squid
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Thanks, lovely. 🙂
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When we slow down and actually watch and listen it is amazing what we can hear and see… lovely pictures! The Bald Eagle was especially amazing!
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Yes it is amazing! Its at the very core of birdwatching. 🙂 Thank you! I really liked the eagle too.
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Nice pictures Syd!! I love the squirrel, the bald eagle, and the vulture on the log about the water! Those are my favorites!!
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Thanks! Those were my favorites too!
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Wow! You did have an AWESOME day! So many birds! Beautiful photos. I have never seen a Vulture except in a book. You say they are common where you live?
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I know right? What a day! Thank you, I am pretty pleased with two they turned out myself! Yes, we have Black Vultures and Turkey Vultures, which I just finally found out how to tell apart. They are as common as the crows, but you don’t find large flocks of vultures like the crows.
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Some cool shots. I’m an avid bird-lover myself, but I need to upgrade my camera soon.
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Thank you. Birds are great, right? 🙂 A good camera does help when identifying birds, so upgrades are nice. I got this D80 in February, and it has made a big difference in my ability to track what I’m seeing.
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