Happy Thanksgiving

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone... I didn't have fast enough internet to upload these wild turkeys who were hiding in the woods on Thanksgiving Day.
This little Black Crested Titmouse was far off, but I was very happy to find it!

While up near Abilene, a cold front dropped the temperature from 82 to 22... It has been terribly dry in this area, and so I had great birding along one of the shrinking ponds on the place. Here is a beautiful hermit thrush.
Wow, I was delighted to find a spotted Towhee visiting with this Cardinal.
Isn't he beautiful!!!
Unlike people, the birds didn't seem to mind sharing the little water that remains in the pond.
I think this is a song sparrow.
Before my trip to the Abilene area, I was up in NE Oklahoma (painting)... ok, I was birding out the window as I was painting... this is the Tufted Titmouse.
The Northern Flicker was digging up bugs.
He is really colorful!
The dark eyed juncos were also hunting bugs on the ground.

The Eastern Bluebird always stops me in my tracks.
Beautiful!
And I love the funny sound of the White Breasted Nuthatch. They do not hold still, ever.
Grand Lake at sunset is quite a sight to see...
Mmmmmm, white pelicans and fall color! A good combination.

Taking a break from painting

Ok, we had the choice of continuing the painting marathon, or accepting an invitation from friends to go pontooning on Grand Lake, so off we went :) This spider was having lunch near the boat dock - anyone know what kind it is?
Boy, I asked if there were any birds on the lake, and so off we went to a roosting area for migrating Double Crested Cormorants. 100's of them enjoying a nice 70 degree sunny day.
There were lots of White pelicans coming in too.
This was just amazing, watching them diving for fish and roosting up in the trees! They eat so many fish they are a problem here!

A Herring gull, enjoying the beautiful day.


How tiny the double crested cormorants and ring billed gulls look next to the white pelicans!
This great blue Heron was well camouflaged along the rocks.
The leaves are just starting to turn in NE Oklahoma.
Here is a nice country lane with mailboxes (we counted 38 but they would not all fit in the photo!).


Click to play a couple videos of the birds here at Grand Lake.

Fun in Oklahoma!

Having fun up here... love the state bird, the scissortailed flycatcher!

We ate lunch in a park and were mobbed by geese...
and ducks
The double crested cormorants were diving for their lunches.
Natural Falls State Park has a 77' waterfall!
I am always happy to hear an eastern meadowlark.
This is the strangest house I have ever seen.


We saw 3 coyotes last night.
Tonight's sunset was spectacular - wow.

Long time since my last post!

In spite of the rain, there was a lot going in my backyard today... this Gulf Fritillary seemed more beautiful than usual with the overcast sky!


I had many juvenile cardinals at my feeders too, I think there are 6 youngsters from 2 successful clutches learning to feed themselves... she was waiting for the gang of white winged doves to leave the feeder.
This young cardinal is looking quite handsome! I could see the adult male watching them from further back in my yard. I have been totally impressed with the devotion of the cardinal pair to their young.


The Ruby-throated hummingbirds were enjoying the Turk's cap. The yard was buzzing with hummers, fattening up so they can migrate south soon. :( I will miss them!
This walking stick was in my Mom's freshly painted (by me) garage - does anyone know which end is up? Wonder what he was doing in there anyway, since walking sticks eat leaves!



I rode my bike over to the high school, and noticed they had mowed the whole pond. Still there were a lot of birds at the retention pond - synchronized feeding by the white ibis' - and a little blue heron checking things out.This unfortunate turtle was flattened by the mower - very sad to see.
How many bird species can you find here?
Sure hope the yellow crowned night herons were done nesting before the mowing...
...as well as the Killdeer.

My beagles evacuated to the hallway during the thunderstorm, but didn't seem to mind too much!

Lake Ontario & western New York

Being a birder brings me a lot of joy, but also sadness and even anger... I was enjoying a great day at Lakeside Beach State Park in Waterport, NY on the shores of Lake Ontario with my extended family, when my cousin-in-law (is that the right word?) noticed this baby bird on the ground in a freshly mowed area 20' or so off the road. Someone had mowed over the nest, and the frantic Indigo Bunting parents were feeding this little one. Investigating further we found the nest upside down nearby, yet this very young bird did not seem to be injured. After we moved the nest to a safer place nearby, I noticed another baby bird under the grass (in the area to the right and beneath this bird). It was weaker, and I suspect that the parents were not able to get to it to feed it. We put it in the nest too.


My sister Suzy found a third baby bird under the grass, it had a slight injury and was smaller and weaker than the others. It will be at least 10 days before they are able to fly - I don't know if they will survive but we tried. We watched the parents continuing to feed the largest baby, and hoped they would find the nest to tend to the other 2. YOU WOULD THINK A STATE PARK WOULD KNOW BETTER THAN TO MOW A NESTING AREA IN AUGUST. There was also a frantic pair of Common Yellowthroats searching for their young, but we couldn't find the nest. It was probably run over.

It was a wonderful day for a hike, with the temperature about 70 degrees, and the Queen Anne's Lace in full bloom.
Was the Praying Mantis praying that no one would mow HIS field?
This was just what I needed - lovely chicory and queen anne's lace. Ahhhhh.
We also saw American Goldfinch in their summer splendor.
This Lesser Yellowlegs was feeding in the shallow water at the edge.
He really is a handsome bird.
This beauty is the Banded Purple Butterfly.
I think this is a Least Sandpiper.
It has an interesting pattern of feathers!
The upper one is the Semipalmated Sandpiper, with the slightly smaller Least Sandpiper below.
Henrey showed me these Mute Swans out in Lake Ontario!
Is it just me or are these wildflowers terrific!!