“And here is where nature mocks you absolutely. Birds don’t work on your schedule. They don’t care an iota for your plans or desires. They ridicule your fantasy that you are in control of what it is you see. They appear when they want to and disappear accordingly.” Julia Zarankin in Field Notes from an Unintentional Birder
Wood Ducks. Very cloudy day, so hard to get great pictures of these ducks in a tree. There are two pairs though one of the females has her back to us.
Red-shouldered Hawk
Great Egret
“Every time you feel in God’s creatures something pleasing and attractive, do not let your attention be arrested by them alone, but, passing them by, transfer your thought to God and say: ‘O my God, if Thy creations are so full of beauty, delight and joy, how infinitely more full of beauty, delight and joy art Thou Thyself, Creator of all!’ Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain
Prothonotary Warbler eating a juicy caterpillar for lunch!
Summer Tanager (female) eating a bee.
Green Heron looking for lunch.
Common Yellowthroat
Indigo Bunting
Blue Grosbeak (male)
Blue Grosbeak (female)
Belted Kingfishers (male above and female below)
Pileated Woodpecker (male)
Young Wood Ducks. Male on Left and Female on Right.
Mama Wood Ducks and offspring
Juvenile male Ruby-throated Hummingbird (showing off his red)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (female)
Eastern Kingbird
“At whatever moment you read these words, day or night, there are birds aloft in the skies of the Western Hemisphere, migrating.” Scott Weidensaul in Living on the Wind Across the Hemisphere with Migratory Birds
So many good pictures this month, I finally decided to post in more than one part. These pictures serve as a personal journal for me since I have been very unorganized with keeping up with my pictures. Blogging on a regular basis helps me to remember which birds I saw in different parts of the year as I learn more about birds–how to identify them and their habits.
Fall is a fun time of year to look for birds (I’ll probably say that every season) as many are migrating. Trying to sort out the different warblers has been a challenge, but a fun one. I have to thank my birding friends on Instagram for helping me out at times.
October 5 was the last day I saw two hummingbirds. The same for last year. Juvenile males are the last to leave on their great journey and in this first picture, you can see the little bit of red the young male has on his neck.
juvenile male ruby-throated hummingbird
The black-throated blue warbler was a first for me. He really is blue if you catch him in the light. One of my pictures on Instagram shows his blue. Unfortunately, it’s a bit blurry, so I didn’t include it here.
Black-throated blue warbler
The downy woodpeckers often visit my feeders, but I still enjoy capturing them (in pictures) when I see them in the woods while out walking. They are one bird I don’t have a problem identifying!
Downy Woodpecker
I’ve only seen a black and white warbler two other times, but wasn’t able to get a picture either time. On this day, one landed on a tree right in front of me and gave me a few seconds to take a few shots.
Black and white warbler
The Cape May Warbler is one of those I can often confuse with others. This is a female.
Cape May Warbler
This juvenile waxwing was hard to see in the trees, so glad to get a shot.
Cedar waxwing
I had taken several pictures of this brown thrasher in the trees; at first, not even sure what I was seeing. Then he came out and gave me several nice poses. Not a bit shy.
Brown thrasher
The Great Egret and his reflection; looking contemplative.
Great Egret
Often when I’m out birding, I don’t pay much attention to the cardinals and chickadees because I see them so often. I’m glad I took this shot though as this male cardinal really stood out eating his snack in the yellow leaves.
Northern Cardinal
Getting a good shot of the kingfisher is always a challenge I enjoy. They are so noisy and fast as they twitter across the water.
Belted Kingfisher
I hope you enjoy seeing some of these birds. October has been a good month, so more coming soon.
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Psalm 19:1
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