Pass Out the Cigars, We Are Parents!

                                                        Juvenile Red-winged Blackbird

                                                                    Great Blue Heron
                                                                "Silent Sentinel Series"

                                                      Great-tailed Grackles(parent on left)

                                                                Male Baltimore Oriole

                                                                   Green Heron

                                                                       Great Egret

Red Eared Slider

                                                                           

Great Egret in Flight

                                                                 

                                                               Red-bellied Woodpecker

                                                       Juvenile Red-bellied Woodpecker

                                                                      Great Egret

                                                                   Juvenile Mallard

                                                                     Eastern Kingbird

                                                             Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
                                                                       Yellow Form

                                                               Fledgling Green Heron


June 6 through June 9, 2016 photos

mean temperature average 71-83 degrees F/0650-0945 hrs./partly cloudy/10 mph S winds

The past several days were worth their weight in gold.  There are plenty of young birds on the east
side of the lake, as well as Boomer Creek.  An educated guess regarding youngsters is one hundred
to one hundred twenty birds, and that is a very conservative estimate.  Everywhere one turns, the
sounds of food demands is heard.  All one must do is look around and it isn't hard to see the bird
that belongs to the voice being heard.

The most prevalent fledges at the moment are those of the woodpecker family, which I had a grave
concern about over the winter, due to the European Starlings that tend to kill woodpeckers and take
over their cavities.  I'm certain that some of this did occur, but there are good numbers of young
woodpeckers this year.  It is a pleasure to report three Red-bellied Woodpeckers and six Taiga Northern Flickers on Boomer Creek alone, and that is without venturing into the wooded area.

Great Egrets have emerged from the rookery and are fishing on the main part of the lake.  All of
these shots were obtained over a two day period with many more to follow as these birds are used
to me as a permanent fixture.

It is generally hard to find an Eastern Kingbird that will look you in the eye, but it can be done, as
photographed here.

This Eastern Tiger Swallowtail followed me at the creek until I photographed it, and it gave me
the perfect scenery for that.  Butterflies have their time with my lens, too.

The best news I saved for last.  We are parents again with young Green Herons!  Pictures for the
second youngster, who fledged this morning will be coming soon.  Congratulations to Green Heron
family #1!

Young Scissor-tailed Flycatchers Lead the Pack

                                                    Five Nestling Scissor-tailed Flycatchers

                                                      Nestling Scissor-tailed Flycatchers

                                               Eldest of Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Nestlings



Sunday July 5, 2015
75-81 degrees/0640-0930/mostly cloudy/20 mph wind gusts

This was yesterday's grouping of photos.  It was the first day of discovery of the mockingbird nest,
and I was very surprised to find five little bodies in there.  As far as I know, they are still in there.




Today
77-83 degrees/0655-0955/partly cloudy/20 mph wind gusts

                                                          Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Youngsters
                                                                         All Out of Nest
                                           

                                                               Red-headed Woodpecker

                                                    Red-headed Woodpecker with mole cricket

                                                 Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Yellow Form

                                                       Young Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

                                                    All Three Scissor-tailed Flycatchers

                                              Father Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Has Arrived
                                                                      With a Meal

                                                               One Youngster Eats

                                                   Father flycatcher with the Youngsters

As was proven, today was a fine day for photo ops.  The Red-headed Woodpecker is learning to
trust after a good week, and I'm hoping for more chances.  There are at least three more of them.
These woodpeckers are monochromatic, which means that they wear the same kinds of feathers
and they cannot be told apart visually.  If observed long enough, the male will be discovered, as
he is usually more aggressive and bolder.

The flycatchers are rapidly growing.  Today, the little mockingbirds were asleep, so I left them
alone.  If the weather holds out for me, I'll try to get a shot of them tomorrow, as their growth spurts are going to be very rapid.  I expect that one or two will end up out of the nest, due to lack of space.

Beauty In the Endzone

                                                                  Eastern Kingbird

                                                                 Juvenile Mallards

                                                            Native Oklahoma Milkweed

                                                                Great Blue Heron

                                                              Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

                                                             Juvenile American Robin

                                                                      Red Admiral

                                                          Male Red-winged Blackbird

                                                 Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Yellow Form

                                                           Red-headed Woodpecker


0640-0915/77-82 degrees/partly cloudy/light and variable winds

Not an outstanding photo of the Red-headed Woodpecker, but this is at least something
to introduce the species, as it hasn't been seen on Boomer Lake for a couple of years.
Butterflies are also coming in, and that is a good sign, as Monsanto, Syngenta, and Dow
have caused an upheaval in the population of all flying flowers.  However, some of the
largest sellers of these dastardly chemicals has refused to sell them any longer.  This will help
save butterflies, beneficial insects, and birds lives.

The Beautiful Signature of Nature

                                                             Variegated Fritillary

                                                 Black Form Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

                                                             Juvenile Snowy Egret

                                                              Red Eared Slider

                                                                  Checkered White

                                                                     Monarch

                                                              One of Two Coyotes

                                                 Great Egret(Left) and Great Blue Heron

                                                              Juvenile Snowy Egrets
                                                                  "I'm Not a Girl!"

                                                                    Snowy Egret

                                                                           Ditto

                                                            "Coming In For a Landing!"

                                                              Female Yellow Warbler

                                                            Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk

                                                                  Northern Flicker

                                                                  Great Blue Heron
                                                                 "Silent Sentinel II"

                                                            Northern Cardinal Bathing

                                                            Red-bellied Woodpecker

                                                                    Baltimore Oriole

                                                         Great Egret "Silent Sentinel III"

The Snowy Egret is a handsome bird.  It was so sought after for its beautiful plumes in the 1920s and 1930s, it almost destroyed the bird as a species.  Fortunately, the Federal government took action and passed laws to protect our wonderful birds from harm.