Wednesday, June 15, 2011

From water everywhere to scorching heat

After a long while of having many of my birding spots under water, the waters have finally receded. This had left behind lots of mud, and some mud loving shorebirds.

I walked right up to this Least Sandpiper which was sleeping in the mud. I did not see it till it lifted its head. I was so close, I had a hard time focusing my camera!

Least Sandpiper

I startled it up, it walked around me till it was later spooked to flight by a person with a dog. Was able to get a good shot of it.

Least Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper

Also spotted these Semipalmated Plovers in the mud. They are so small when seen up close. They look and move like little wind up toys.

Semipalmated Plovers

Semipalmated Plover
Semipalmated Plover

One flew to the lake to take a bath, here it is taking off.

Semipalmated Plover


The swallows were also taking advantage of the abundant food available left by the receding waters. I was able to see Bank, Cliff, Barn, Northern Rough-winged, and Tree swallows at the same time.

Barn Swallow
Barn Swallow


This was the first time that I seen a Cliff Swallow close up. It just started to rain when I took this picture. They are a nice looking bird!

Cliff Swallow
Cliff Swallow



The receded waters must have left an abundance of food around. Here are some pics of birds seen in the remnants of the flooded woods.

Pileated Woodpecker - this bird was on the side of the road!

Pileated Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker



These birds were everywhere!

Baltimore Oriole
Baltimore Oriole


Red-eyed Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo


Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher


Eastern Kingbird
Eastern Kingbird


Then came the heat. Temps in the high 80's and then 90's quickly turned the good birding off. It left a lot of amphibians and reptiles high and dry. Here are a few that I had come across.

Found this Painted Turtle in the middle of the road while out birding. I had put him back in the pond. Love this turtle's colors.

Painted Turtle
Painted Turtle


My nephews had found this little Western Chorus Frog (at least I think it is) on the patio. It was small enough to fit on my thumbnail.

Western Chorus Frog
Western Chorus Frog?



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9 comments:

  1. Wow Donald, what a great selection of birds. I love the shot of the Barn Swallow.

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  2. What an awesome series of bird pictures! I love that Barn Swallow, too!

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  3. Excellent catches Donald! Boy, I wish I could get a Barn swallow to slow down for a portrait!

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  4. Great diversity of birds..thanks for sharing!

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  5. ...your sandpiper shots are beautiful! ...and the plovers are so cute. I love your description of wind-up toys--perfect! (The temps this week have been really nice, haven't they? I wonder how long they will hold... I bet we will be burning up again soon!)

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  6. Great shots of all he birds Don. My favorite is the Pileated Woodpecker. I have never seen a photo of one from that angle.

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  7. Super collection of bird pictures! I'm amazed that you were able to get swallows standing still!
    Kay

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  8. So many birds ! Wonderful. It is very much the dry season here, not a drop of water to be found anywhere.

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  9. What a wonderful variety there!
    Love them all, but the Pileated Woodpecker has to be my favorite.
    Cool turtle too :)

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