Tag Archives: birds
More From the Dogwood Tree
Yesterday, there was a flurry of activity in the dogwood tree (the same one from Saturday’s post). Several juvenile tufted titmice were flitting around the branches for a few minutes, so I grabbed my camera and started snapping pictures (see below for a couple of different shots of one of the birds). In the midst of all of that, a hummingbird landed on a branch long enough for me to get a pretty good shot (see header photo above).
A Hawk in the Rain
This hawk sat on the same branch for over an hour in the rain, yesterday. For most of that time, it was standing on one foot. According to The Cornell Lab of Ornithology website “Birds will often stand on one foot to minimize heat loss.”
Two Green Herons
Saturday morning, I was taking photos of a green heron at Lake Tamarack (see first photo below), trying to follow it as it flew from branch to branch along the shore. After a while, a second green heron came onto the scene (see second photo below). At one point, I was able to get them both in one photo (see photo above). Click here to link to a post with more green heron photos that were taken in May.
Cleared for Takeoff
Fishing
Yesterday, this female Belted Kingfisher swooped down in Lake Tamarack and came back up with a fish in her mouth. She headed to the top of a wood duck box and sat there for a few minutes before flying off again (with the fish still in her mouth). The belted kingfisher is one of the few species of birds where the female is more colorful than the male. Click here for more information.
Sunbathing
A couple of weeks ago, some turkey vultures were hanging out in trees along the edge of Lake Tamarack. It was mostly cloudy, but everytime the sun peeked out, the turkey vultures would spread their wings (second photo below). As soon as the sun disappeared, the wings would go back down.
A Full Nest
It turns out that the soggy chickadee from last week has a nest full of babies.