New Bird Pics

Some from around here, and some from our recent trip to Florida.

First up, the Carolina Wren:

Belted Kingfishers in flight:

A Red-Tailed Hawk overhead:

A Wood Duck on the pond at Okehocking:

And, for you non-birders, a chipmunk, just for fun:

And from Florida, a Common Moorhen (or Common Gallinule):

A Black-Crowned Night Heron:

And a Palm Warbler:

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From our walk in Tyler Arboretum this morning

It was a chilly but beautiful morning for a walk in the fields and woods of Tyler Arboretum. Not too much was stirring, but there were a few of our friends about.  Here’s a little fox:

This one decided to have a nap in a nice warm spot of sun:

And this Red Tailed Hawk kept watch in the woods:

Some Recent Birding Pics

First up, from the Ridley Creek Bridle Trail, a female Downy Woodpecker posing for the camera:

Next up, a beautiful Eastern Bluebird:

How about a Fox Sparrow?

Or a Red Tailed Hawk, perched?

A Carolina Wren…perhaps looking you right in the eye?

Not impressed yet?  How about a Gray Catbird? Sure, dime a dozen…but not in February! (We’ve been seeing them in various places over the last few weeks, one at a time except for today, when we saw three together.)

[GRCA Okehocking, 2/21/12 4:30 pm]

If that weren’t enough, last week we saw a Northern Parula! Sorry, no pic. I was too busy trying to i.d a bird that shouldn’t’ve been there, so you will have to take our word for it. But whether you do or don’t, spring is coming, and these seasonal rarities will be beautifully abundant and abundantly beautiful!

Turkey Vultures

Perhaps they don’t get one feeling all warm and fuzzy, but TV’s are fairly magnificent in their own way.  They are not raptors like hawks and eagles (they are more like storks), but are always included in raptor migration counts.  At least around where I live, they are very common year round.  They can be a bit, shall we say, disgusting (check out their defense mechanism).  But I like them.

Here are a couple of shots I took at the Okehocking Nature Preserve (click for a full-sized view):