New Bird From the Bahamas, this is the Eurasian Collared Dove, with very bright red eyes. This chunky relative of the Mourning Dove gets its name from the black half-collar at the nape of the neck. A few Eurasian Collared-Doves were introduced to the Bahamas in the 1970s. They made their way to Florida by the 1980s and then rapidly colonized most of North America.
One of the things I like to use if available when I am out looking to photograph birds, is to use a bird blind. Some of the campgrounds have them built in the wooded areas, plus you can make one your self at home if you want to. Here is a link to LLano State Park in Texas, that actually had 4 bird blinds to use when you visit this park.
The World of Finches, Finches are a colorful addition to any back yard and to our bird list if we have one. Which I am up to 137 now. There is one bird on this post that I don’t know what it is, mostly black with a bit of yellow under the bill.
Plus a video link to my You Tube channel showing a Green Heron hunting fish, I think I forgot to add this one a few days ago, Link Here; Green Heron
Lesser Goldfinch
Gold Finch
I don’t know what this one is. If anyone has a guess let me know and I will add it to my list.
What I Have Learned, This trip we are on has shown me a world I knew existed but was afraid to walk into. Traveling away from the physical world that I grew up in, has made me realize that my safety net is not where I am but knowing I am in His world where ever I am.
The Cedar Wax Wing Bird A treat to find in your binocular view field, the Cedar Waxwing is a silky, shiny collection of brown, gray, and lemon-yellow, accented with a subdued crest, rakish black mask, and brilliant-red wax droplets on the wing feathers.
We were sitting at a bird blind watching birds come and go, and all of a sudden this small group of Wax Wings flew in to get a drink of water. They are so colorful and yes waxy looking.
In fall these birds gather by the hundreds to eat berries, filling the air with their high, thin, whistles. In summer you’re as likely to find them flitting about over rivers in pursuit of flying insects, where they show off dazzling aeronautics for a forest bird.
It is hard to believe it is the end of April all ready. See you next month and have a wonderful weekend.
Specular Highlight The specular highlight appears on shiny objects. It normally appears on a mirror-like surface. Its appearance is often found on the top of a rounded surface. The incident light hits the object and creates the specular highlight and the light is reflected off the object toward the viewers eye.
Also called catch lights in photography, Without catch lights, “light in the eye” viewers perceive the eye (and thus the bird) to be lifeless.
It takes patience and sunlight, but I like to try and photograph a bird with that touch of catch light on the eye. I think it brightens the eye, even though this Black Swan has such bright eyes even without the spec of light.
The White Ibis When we left the state of Mississippi, I found a small campground in southern Louisiana that was our next stop. On this trip we are doing this year, we try not to travel more than 3 hours on travel day. That way we don’t get so tired when we get to the next spot.
We have been meeting so many nice people this year, everyone is very friendly at the campgrounds, it is such a joy to visit with folks. Plus getting to know some of the campers that live in the areas we are visiting has been so helpful with finding the hot spots for birding and they also share where the good restaurants are and sightseeing locations.
That is what happened here in Louisiana, I was looking on google maps around the area we are camping in and found a National Wildlife Refuge, I am always looking for these. So off we went traveling on a road I found that goes to this park. Well, there was not one bird there and this is back in January, so I thought maybe we were to early to see birds in migration here.
Two days later we got to visiting with some other folks that just pulled into the campground and they were from the area. So, we told them about our lack of birds found at their wildlife refuge. They proceeded to tell us that we were at the wrong side of it. He gave us directions to a road that was very hard to see on the map and we headed out there the next day.
What a surprise for us, this is where I got to see the Ibis for the first time and lots of them. Not only this strange looking bird, but as we entered the Wildlife Refuge, my heart skipped a beat I think, there are so many birds here, many that I have never heard of and the best part is the flock of snow geese we came upon out in a field. I will be showing those photos soon.
As we continue this journey around America, I am so thankful for the people that we are meeting. The kindness from others is a wonderful thing to experience and it gives hope that this world is still a beautiful place.
So much has happened over the last couple of years for everyone. But for me the one constant in my life and in my heart is the faith that I have in our Father and His children.
Sometimes we need to just turn off the news, Go Outside and Breathe, you were not meant to carry the burdens of the whole world.
The Desert Cardinal, Dapper in looks and cheerful in song, the Pyrrhuloxia is a tough-as-nails songbird of baking hot deserts in the American Southwest and northern Mexico.
I finally got a photo of this Desert Cardinal, it was a hard one to find, but it stopped by the bird feeders here at this park. Its beak is thick like a parrots.
They’re closely related to Northern Cardinals, but they are a crisp gray and red, with a longer, elegant crest and a stubby, parrotlike yellow bill. During breeding season Pyrrhuloxias are fiercely and vocally territorial, but in the winter they forget their disputes and join together in large foraging flocks.
The Vermillion Flycatcher, I had heard about this bird when we were in Louisiana. A fellow birder told me about this brilliant red bird, but he said we were to early to see it. When I got back to the RV, I had to look it up and thought how colorful this little bird is.
Well, when we got to southern Texas to Big Bend National park, to my surprise, they were all over the place. Anywhere there was water you could see one of these beautiful birds perched on the small branches over water. They swoop down and catch a bug and go back to their branch.
State Birds, I mentioned a few days ago that we are doing some traveling this winter, trying to avoid winter. But it caught up to us, some snow and lots of ice that many people are experiencing here in the states.
But, during this ice storm as we are hunkered down in our RV, I had a wonderful surprise this morning as I open the shade on my window and saw these beautiful cardinals sitting in a tree. I have not seen a cardinal in months and let me tell you, they are wearing their brightest feathers this month.
Below I picked a couple of my favorite cardinal photos from last summer. I also decided to try and take a picture of every state bird as we travel. Some I have already taken in other areas, but I will list them as we go.
The Cardinal is a state bird to; Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Illinois, Virginia and West Virginia.
Looking Down at Us – Tranquility does exist. Off the beaten path, taking the road less traveled and returning to creation. That is us down there on the left side of the photo. Husband takes care of the photos from above as I photograph from below.
A way to show any one that happens to see these photos that the beauty of creation still exist.
I am the One who gave you hands to use your talents to create life around you.
Stretching Feels So Good even for birds. I took this series of photos as I was watching these Brown Pelicans perched on post in the water. This one started to do a stretch and ended up looking like he was going to dive right into the water. But it was just a stretch.
Sharp Hooked Claws A bird’s talons are the sharp, hooked claws at the end of the toes. Birds have one talon on every toe, and they may differ in overall shape, curvature, and thickness depending on how the bird will use its talons and how worn individual talons may be.
I was walking along a pier and this beautiful Osprey was perched on a pole. It wasn’t to spooked as I got closer and closer so I was able to get a wonderful photo of this beautiful bird.
On tomorrow’s post I will show you this bird going into a head dive to catch a fish. It actually went full body into the water. I thought they just swooped down like an Eagle to get their fish.
New Bird at the Beach, when we got to the end of the Pelican beach, I first noticed all the orange bills again. I knew I had stumbled across more Royal Terns. I had not seen any of them in days and here at the end of this long walk they are hanging out with gulls and pelicans.
But to my surprise after I got home and looked at the photos on the computer there is a new bird in the group. I did not see them when I was out there with them taking photos. I was quite far away from them, hence the blurry photos. But the birds with the black wings are Skimmers. A very unique looking bird with an orange and black bill.
The strange, uneven bill of the skimmer has a purpose: the bird flies low, with the long lower mandible plowing the water, snapping the bill shut when it contacts a fish. Strictly coastal in most areas of North America, Black Skimmers are often seen resting on sandbars and beaches.
It is hard to tell in my photo the bill so I will add a photo off of the internet so you can see it closer.
Unlike most birds, their eyes have vertical pupils, narrowed to slits to cut the glare of water and white sand. Flocks in flight may turn in unison, with synchronized beats of their long wings. The world’s three species of skimmers are sometimes placed in their own separate family, although they are clearly related to the terns.
Its a Bird Its a Plane, its lots of birds with wings down. I have put two videos on my you tube channel showing these little birds roaming around the beaches. Along with my camera settings I typically use while photographing birds. The videos are a little longer than usual so I will just put the links here; 5 Tips for Sharper Wildlife Images and Shutter Speed Settings – New Bird – Sting Rays
Wings up
I can’t remember if I told you all, but I made a list of all the birds in North America, I think it is 900 plus. I made a spread sheet of the names and I check them off as I photograph them. So I have two new birds to add to the list. This one below is called the Greater White Faced Goose. They are found mostly west of the Mississippi.
And these two below are called Black Neck Stilts, I am wondering is it because of their long legs, stilts? But they don’t have black necks either. But that is what they look like when I tried to find what type of bird these are.
I am up to 104 different birds photographed as of today.
Oh and this one below, just two wings. It is kind of a bird in the air.
Piper Plovers, these are the cutest birds on the shores. They are so tiny but move very fast. There are about three dozen species of plovers, 15 to 30 centimetres (6 to 12 inches) long, with long wings, moderately long legs, short necks, and straight bills that are shorter than their heads.
If you look close you can see this Plover pulling a very small worm type thing out of the sand. You can imagine how small this bird is, there is probably no way we could see this little worm in the sand.
I read that birds tuck one foot up in their feathers to preserve their heat. They lose heat through their feet and on this morning it was pretty cold out. But they still stand in the water.
INCOMING!!! Look Out 😉 As the one brown pelican checks its backside to get his tail feathers out of the way for the two diving behind him. Whew, close call.
Happy New Years Eve,
We went for a walk along the beach on a windy day and there were dozens of brown pelicans diving all in one area, but when I looked closer I noticed they appeared to be following some dolphins. As the dolphins moved around the pelicans were not to far behind. A short video below will show this amazing sight we saw.
I mentioned before about how the brown pelicans turn ever so slightly to the left to protect their esophagus. You will see this in the video below.
The Royal Terns Have Left the Court, well this is the closest I have been to these birds this week. I have driven by this marina many times since I took these photos and have not seen any birds there since. But I am always on the look out for the next exciting bird sighting. There are some new birds still to come as we venture along the gulf coast.
The King of the Royalty Court standing above all the others is of course the Brown Pelican. Mostly because of their size, they take what ever post they want and make the other birds leave. But they are such a beautiful bird as well I think. Dressed in all their brown plumage.
They are a facinating bird, especially when they are fishing. But I have noticed one thing here on the gulf coast, when the dolphins are around the pelicans follow them. Looking for the fish the dolphins round up I suspect.
There is More, I took plenty of photos of this beautiful bird in case I never see one again. There is one in the line that is different from the rest. Can you see it? 3rd bird down, he wants to be a Royal Gull I think. Standing with all the other Royals.
Its the Tern’s Turn This Week, The Royal Tern to be exact. We stopped at a marina because we saw a lot of birds flying around down at the end of a dock. So I got my camera out thinking they were all going to be Gulls and Brown Pelicans, but to my surprise there is a new bird at the end that I have never seen before.
The gorgeous birds with the orange bills of course, what a surprise. I love seeing new birds to add to my list. There are a lot of different kinds of Terns like most species, I looked at them all to determine which one this is and I believe it to be the Royals. They do sport a bit of a crown of feathers on their heads.
They seem so arrow dynamic on windy days as they lean into the wind perched on post.
The Great Blue Heron to Music, We were walking back along this boardwalk and this Great Blue was perched on the railing. So I had to just stop and watch it for a bit as the wind blows his gorgeous feathers to the beat of the music in the video below.
What is Snowy and Great, that would be two different species of Egret Birds. The Snowy Egret has a black bill and a touch of yellow around the eyes. Much smaller than the great egret as well.
The Great Egret, as shown below, has always impressed me with their large wing spans. I love to try and photograph these beautiful birds when the are flying over water, to capture the tips of their wings just grazing the water is a fun challenge to do. One has to sit patiently for quite awhile to do this sometimes.
The Snowy Egret below enjoying the fresh catch of the day.
Birds Flying In Sync, I love watching birds in flight, especially in a group or a pair. Amazing how the timeing of their wing beats can be so in sync for just a moment in time as you watch them. To see them fly in formation is breathtaking to me as well.
There are two well-supported and complementary explanations for why birds fly in formation. One is to conserve energy by taking advantage of the upwash vortex fields created by the wings of the birds in front. The other is to facilitate orientation and communication among the birds.
Through the Tunnel & Over the Bridge to New Adventures We Go 😉
Someday is Here
You know how some of us say; ” Someday I am going to go on that big trip”, or Someday I will do __________.
Well, the word someday usually means never. I heard that in a movie that the actor Tom Cruise is in. He said that line.
Someday is here and our journey continues. I look forward to sharing photos of God’s Country along the way. I wish you all a wonderful weekend. Try to never put off what you can do today until someday. Life is a gift,
Life is a gift and death is a homecoming to me. Our body’s are on loan to us just for a short time to enjoy the wonderful things He gives us. I did not grow up in a Christian family at all. A neighbor told me a little bit about it when I was 10 years old and I have been searching for the truth ever since.
He never meant for it to be a mystery; it is the gift of life. Finding my purpose has been the journey, the end will just be the beginning.
