The last few days

Well, sad to say my last camera is no more (spilled hairspray is not good for electronics :( , that is what I get for traveling with it my purse rather than in a case). I am breaking in a replacement one but am not sure I like it as well. Went down to Galveston and did not notice any migrating songbirds so I drove up and down some marshy areas.

There were lots of Western Willets on the fence posts!



The Roseate Spoonbills were very brightly colored!

"Jaws" has nothing on him!

Barn swallows really are pretty birds, if you can get them to hold still long enough to have a look!

This flotilla of Black-bellied Whistling ducklings had ten a few days ago :( ... My creek is a dangerous place with many hawks and other predators.

I will not tell where this nest is... but not far from home.

What did surprise me is that the male was much smaller than the female...

... but she appears to be a young Red-Shouldered Hawk.

She really has some beautiful markings.

The yellow crowned Night Heron was perfectly balanced on the wire!

They make the funniest sound, kind of between a bark and a quack: kwowk!!

Yes, birding in Israel

I was so happy to be back in Israel - and amazed by all the different birds I saw. This is the Hooded Crow, which were numerous.

This Laughing Dove was really brightly colored.
This is the Common Myna - one actually flew up to the hotel window to welcome us when we first arrived.

I nearly jumped out of the taxi heading to eat dinner the first night
when I saw my first Eurasian Hoopoe... he was in the median between two busy streets.

The Hoopoe is the national bird of Israel, quite handsome I must admit!

I am not sure of the name of the lovely purple flowering trees, but there were always a lot of birds hanging around them!




These are Common Swifts.

Here is a House Sparrow - where he belongs!

This one made me smile, on a quick stop at Caesarea I found this Spectacled Bulbul.

Isn't he cute!!!!

The day we visited the Biblical Zoo turned out to be very hot. It was worth it to see the magnificant Asian Lion.





This Lioness was also amazing to see.

These Mute Swans did not mind the heat...

...nor did the Great Cormorant.

The African crowned-crane is really something to see.

White Storks migrate though here by the thousands.

This is the Great White Pelican, with a huge wingspan that can be over 11'.

What beautiful color! This is the Greater Flamingo.

This is the Black-Necked Swan, not a native here.

I was suprised that Common Moorhen do live here.

The Eurasian Jay would not pose for me, but he did have a bit of blue on the sides.

I don't know what these are but they were stunning.

They sure would look nice in my yard...

Owls have always fascinated me, this is a young Spotted Eagle Owl.

This is a mature Spotted Eagle Owl, quite impressive claws!

Ok, could not resist the Baboon.

I think this was the Longlegged Buzzard.













One of the neatest birds is this Griffon Vulture. They are nearly extinct in the wild here which would be a terrible shame. They have about an 8' wingspan.

See how perfectly the Ibex blends into the surrounding?














I am always fascinated by the sprouts of the Olive Tree.

These are the Rock doves, in their original range.

This Spur-Winged Plover was resting in the shade of an olive tree.

This Eurasian Blackbird has a bright yellow eye-ring.













This is the female Eurasian Blackbird.

As you can see, I really enjoyed the bird and animal life in Israel - it makes me appreciate the creativity of Adonai even more. Stay tuned for more photos....

Rockport meeting, day 3: Corpus Christi birding

This great birding day started with a pretty nasty thunderstorm - which caused the birds to drop in like rain in Blucher Park! Lots of them were congregating at the mulberry tree, there were so many colorful migrating birds my head was spinning. Here is the Blue-Winged Warbler.

This is a changing Summer Tanager male, soon he will be completely red.

The Summer Tanager and female Rose-Breasted Grosbeak liked the mulberries too!

Let me tell you a secret - Great Crested Flycatchers like berries too.

Wow, these birds are so beautiful! This Scarlet Tanager had landed nearby, surely exhausted from his long flight.

It was just great that they could find some snacks here as they rested from their difficult trip through the approaching storm.

There were Golden-fronted woodpeckers hopping about,

not seeming to mind all the visitors who had stopped in too much!

Here is another White-Eyed Vireo,
I was glad to get the photo so I could really have a long look at this lovely bird.

This was a surprise - a Chuck Wills Widow snoozing up in the tree.

This is the Bronzed Cowbird with the red eyes.

The fields were really alive with colorful Indigo Buntings - and House Sparrows.

This is a close up of the female Indigo Bunting from the photo above.

This was my first ever Blue-Headed Vireo.

There were lots of Swainson's Thrushes around. They are another bird that is often hard to get a good look at - so I am happy to have the photos.

He has his "spectacles" on.

It was so great to end a GREAT birding weekend with the Blue Grosbeak - what an awesome bird.

Remember this - "Look at the birds of the air, that they do now sow, nor reap nor gather into Barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?" Matthew 5:26

Get out there and enjoy them!

My next post will be from about 8 time zones east.... stay tuned!