One rainy afternoon

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It was an unusually dark Friday afternoon just a week or two ago, light rain falling, when this male Yellow-rumped Warbler descended from their usual stomping grounds up in the tops of the conifers to forage on insects in the cattails along the edge of the pond.

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Taking their time they perused the area and picked out the most buggy of the areas to work over.

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Like a true warbler they rarely held still but we were lucky enough to get a nice long look of this beautiful bird before they took off to the tree tops above.

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Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend.

Eared Grebes

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A small group of Eared Grebes patrolling the waters on a nearby reservoir as they migrate north towards their breeding grounds. I guess it’s those cinnamon red-hot eyes that give them such an intense look as well as their alert posture but they sure look like  a tough lot to me.

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According to the All About Birds website eared Grebes spend 9-10 months of the year flightless. This is the longest period of flightlessness of any bird species capable of flight. Beautiful Birds and always a pleasure to observe.

Broad Tailed Hummingbird

Given my poor skills at identifying Hummingbirds, especially the females, please correct me if I am wrong again this time.

While we were out hiking last weekend this Broad tailed Hummingbird landed on a branch right in front of us on a very windy afternoon. I can’t imagine being a bird that weighs mere ounces buzzing about on a day with the wind as strong as that day but she was sure putting in a great effort. After a short rest she was off with that familiar hummingbird buzz and buzzed away on a breezy day.

The Charmer

Some guys just know that they have the stuff to get the ladies and this is one of those guys…The Charmer. There were numerous Red Winged Blackbirds on the pond this day all strutting there stuff but to my untrained eye, heck i’m a human not a female Red Winged Blackbird, this guy just stood out.

He sang his song like no others birds on the pond and with a style non could match.

When he finished singing he put his brilliant red wings on display which none of the other males were doing. Most just sang and sang.

Yes…this guy knows he is The Charmer.

 

Yellow Rumped (Myrtle) Warbler

A male Yellow Rumped Warbler of the Myrtle variety give us both a right and left profile as we followed him through the woods as he passed through our area on his spring migration. These little guys only hang around for a few weeks so it was nice albeit frustrating at times to get a little looks as these every busy and moving little birds.