18 | September | 2012 | Texas Tweeties by Bob Zeller

One of my favorites of the tiny birds is the Vermilion Flycatcher, (Pyrocephalus rubinus). At only 6 inches, it is surprisingly feisty. I was fortunate to find this one at Middle Conco Park, just lazing on a tree branch. I was also lucky to be able to pull my vehicle within 25 feet of it, so I could comfortably take this series of photos with my Canon 7D and 500mm lens, with a 1.4 teleconverter. I could have removed the TC, but with leaving it attached, I could nearly fill the frame.

Vermilion Flycatcher

Click on any image to see an enlargement.

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We are finally starting to see some more birds arriving again. Where we would see just empty waters at Middle Concho Park, here in San Angelo, Texas, we are seeing now a few more waterbirds, and other migratories.

Wood Ducks

Our latest trip allowed us to see some Least Sandpipers, Spotted Sandpipers, Greater Yellowlegs, and four Wood Ducks. On that latter one, I got an improved photo over the one I showed in a previous post. We also saw a Red-bellied Woodpecker, and possibly a second one. I was unable to get a photo, but the red nape and center white feathers on it’s back were pretty distinctive.

Swainson’s Hawk

We also saw a flyover of about a dozen geese, but I was unable to identify them, as they were moving pretty fast. I got a pretty good image of a Swainson’s Hawk, and also one of a Belted Kingfisher as he was intent on watching for a meal in the waters below him.

Belted Kingfisher

In the case of the Wood Ducks and the Belted Kingfisher, the birds were quite a distance away and I had to rely on some creative cropping to get these close-up images. My old friend, the Great Egret, was still hanging around and I have a hard time resisting getting more images of him.