There Is Plenty of Light on Boomer Lakefront

                                                               Yellow-billed Cuckoo

                                                                   Green Heron Pair

                                                                       Green Heron

                                                               Female Orchard Oriole

                                                                   Canada Gosling

                                                                     Least Flycatcher

                                                                Female Orchard Oriole

                                                                        Ditto

                                                                  Great-tailed Grackle                                                              
                                                   
       

                                                          Female Red-winged Blackbird

                                                                    Great Blue Heron

                                                             Prothonotary Warbler

                                                           Scissor-tailed Flycatchers

                                                                Green Heron on Nest

                                                                 Male Orchard Oriole

                                                                    Least Flycatcher

                                                                     Great Blue Heron


05-22 through 05-26-17

This was an impressive workweek, as far as I am concerned.  The trumpet vine bush on Boomer
Lake's east side is nearly in full bloom, which invited the Orchard Orioles that nest nearby to partake.
They have nested in the area for years, most likely because this bush exists there, as well as the fact that their site is in the willows by the water, which really attracts a number of good birds to its habitat.

Another wonderful piece of habitat is Heron Cove and the surrounding area, which has native trees, mulberries, and plenty of wetland habitat, which attracts my beautiful Heron colony.  Right now, there are two pairs of Green Herons there, which perturbs my Great Blue Heron.  He just doesn't have the freedom to come and go as he pleases, but he really does accommodate his Green Heron cousins quite well.

Our usual suspects also enjoy the area, which includes the grackles, blackbirds, warblers, flycatchers, warblers, and when in the area, the catbirds.

Boomer Creek also has dense habitat for those birds that prefer those kinds of areas, like the breeding birds, the shy Yellow-billed Cuckoo, this year's first Least Bittern, and a good group of migratories when they come through.

There are still a few more photos in the camera, which I will save until a later date.  These include a few that are a bit on the unusual side, but I'm sure that you'll be pleased.

Until then, enjoy your own private birding areas, and as always, let me know what you are observing.

The Northern Reaches Brings Us Closer

                                                                    Green Heron

                                                                          Great Egret

                                                              Common Snapping Turtle

                                                                     Great Blue Heron

                                                              Scissor-tailed Flycatchers

                                                                      Great Egret


0730-0950 hrs./65-75 degrees F/partly cloudy/light and variable winds

An interesting week overall, but unable to photograph the Nashville Warbler and Prothonotary
Warblers.  They were just moving too fast in cottonwood trees.  Perhaps I'll get lucky soon.

The highlight of the week was this beautiful common snapping turtle, who led me to a forest with
a pond in the center of it.  This would be a good hot spot for warblers in the spring.

The time for the Scissor-tailed Flycatchers is numbered, as they will be heading for all points south
in a short while.

The woodpeckers and their clan have been out in the open more and they are drumming.  Soon they
will be taking mates.  The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker will be around soon, too, so I hope to photograph this woodpecker, too.

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.