We spotted this guy patrolling along an irrigated ditch on a quiet country road in last weekend looking for a meal. Such a wonderful and beautiful bird and I sure hope to spot a few more this spring just for the fun of it.
Tag: bird
Dried Fruit
A Black Caped Chickadee enjoying a small but tasty dried berry on a warm and sunny April Morning.
Mighty Hunter
Bugs beware as the Mountain Bluebirds have firmly established themselves in the area.
Common Yellowthroat
A common Yellowthroat hiding in the reeds. This guys was darting around from cattail to cattail for what seemed like eternity but finally held still for just a moment to allow us to take his portrait and get a good look. It is always tons of fun to be able to observe an bird not familiar to you. A little surprise that makes the day distinct.
Willet
A willet enjoys the temporary ponds and the meals within created by spring rains before migrating to a more suitable habitat along further north.
A basket full of color
Not easter eggs but from eggs.
Western Tanager
Western Bluebird
American Redstart
Yellow Warbler
Portrait
This grey goose is the king/queen of the local pond.
The snood
Ah the snood. That fleshy protuberance that hangs down over a wild turkeys beak. On males Turkeys the snood can grows up to 5 inches in length. When a male is trying to impress a female the snood turns bright red and elongates even further. The males with the longest, brightest snoods tend to attract the most mates.
Here two males are in full display mode however it is curious that one of the males snoods is blue the other red.
While mature female turkeys develop a short snood three evolutionary function remains a mystery.
Strutting
Over the course of about fifteen minutes we were also privy to his show. Each display period only lasted a few seconds or so but boy what a show.
From a remarkable collection of feathers and unique anatomical features Wild Turkeys are fascinating birds.
At rest
A Northern Rough Winged Swallow settles down next to a Barn Swallow for a much needed rest after buzzing about trying to catch some early season insects hatching on a small pond.
