A Milestone – My 600th Post

I guess it is fitting that I close out 2012 with my 600th post of this blog.  Looking back, I wonder how did I come up with something to write about that many times.  For my first post, back in 2009, I sat and thought for a long time.  How do I get my feet wet here.  But I started typing and the words and thoughts came through.  That’s been the way if has been ever since.  Sometimes, though, I get carried away and let my sense of humor show through.  I can’t say that anybody ever complained, so I guess I am doing it right.

As of this writing, I have had 91,647 hits from readers in 142 countries.  Of the top 1000 birding blogs, Texas Tweeties is number 233.  I wish I could thank all of them in their individual languages, but of course, that is not to be.  But if you can understand my English, I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart.  It is you readers that continue to keep this blog going for another year.

But let’s get back to what I do best.  Make nice wildlife photos for you to see.  Today will be no different from my past posts.  These following photos were taken Saturday morning at Middle Concho and Spring Lake parks right here in San Angelo, Texas.  I hope you enjoy.

American Kestrel

The trees are quite barren now, so it is a bit easier to spot the birds.  Case in point, the American Kestrel above, and the Red-tailed Hawk in the photo below.  However, there is some added difficulty is trying to focus between the branches.

Red-tailed Hawk

One of the Great Horned Owls was all alone during this trip to the park.  He had his eyes open and very much aware of me.

Great-horned Owl

Finally, uncommon for this area, was this Red-breasted Merganzer cruising along the river.  The photo quality is not very great as he was near the opposite river bank and I had to heavily crop it.

Red-breasted Merganzer

Thus ends the year 2013 on this Texas Tweeties blog.  But, stay tuned, I hope to make 2013 better than ever.

Humor in Photography

I just had to show you this photo of a Belted Kingfisherthat I came up with Saturday.  Cruising along the river bank of the Spring Creek, I spotted him in a tree on the opposite bank, about 125 yards away.  As I took a closer look through my binoculars, I realized that he had an enormous fish in it’s bill.  I think he was contemplating on what he was going to do with it.  After getting a few shots, I briefly looked away, and then he was flying down the river.  I don’t know if he still had the fish or if he had dropped it.

Now what do I do??

Here are a few more or less humorous images from the past.  I will let you enjoy the captions.  First this Northern Mockingbird.

Going my way???

This image of the two Prairie Dogs appeared twice in separate issues of National Wildlife Magazine.

“Blow in my ear and I’ll follow you anywhere.”

These, parked for the summer, dueling snowplows were photographed at Traverse City, Michigan on a visit there a few year ago.

Okay, on three………

This Mexican Ground Squirrel seemed to not like me intruding on his meal.

“Must you stare while I’m eating?”……

Wild ride at a Professional Bull Riders event in San Angelo, Texas.

“Whoa, stop this thing and let me off!”

I got lucky and nailed this frog at the instant that he grabbed the butterfly.

“The Princess and the Frog”
“Gotcha, baby”

I hope you enjoyed a bit of my weird humor today.  Click on any image to see an enlargement.

Random Images from the past

I have been going through old images again, simply because it is too danged cold to get out and do what I want, and that is to do more photography.  But, alas, I am stuck inside for a day or two, but with a hot cup of hot chocolate, laced with a smidgeon of Kahlua.

Anyway, these images I plucked from the files of October 15.  I don’t think I have posted them before.

Red-winged Blackbird – female

I usually am not able to get great photos of small birds, but I got lucky with the above female Red-winged Blackbird.  I like the way it is puffed up a bit and showing off more of it’s colors.

juvenile Red-tailed Hawk in tree.

This juvenile Red-tail Hawk was standing in the crook of the mesquite tree and just looking around, really not paying any attention to me.  I wasn’t close of course, but only about 50 yards away.

Red-winged Blackbird

Here I liked the colors in the flowers and habitat where this Red-winged Blackbird was perched.   I also like the way I caught a little eye light.  Click on any of the images to see enlargements.

Well, that’s it for this afternoon.  Time to go freshen my ‘toddy’.

By the way, this is being posted the morning of December 27, but it was written the afternoon before.

PLEASE NOTE:  This is an edited post as of 9:00AM Thursday.  I had originally IDed the female blackbird as a Savannah Sparrow.  Mia McPherson sent me an e-mail and told me of my error.  (I was probably influenced by my little sip of hot chocolate and Kahlua.) 🙂

Juvie Northern Pintails at K-Mart Creek

I am in my continuing education mode in bird identification.  As I have mentioned in previous posts, there is a bit of a ditch adjacent to a now defunct K-mart building.  It usually has a bit of water in it from run-off, etc.  On Christmas morning, as we happened to drive by, Ann and I spotted what at first we believed to be some Gadwalls.  As I always due in these circumstances, I drove closer and got hold my camera that is always with me.  In this case, I grabbed the Canon 7D with the 100-400mm lens attached.  I was able to get several shots, using a smaller aperture for a better depth-of-field, to get all of the ducks in focus.

It wasn’t until I uploaded the images to my computer this morning that I realized that the birds weren’t Gadwalls.  But, I really wasn’t sure still, what they were.  After consulting my Stokes Field Guide to birds of North America, and my Sibley Guide to Birds, I was able to ascertain that they were juvenile Northern Pintails.  They had the gray legs, dark gray bills and more rounded heads than Gadwalls.

juvenile Northern Pintails

So I am learning my lessons.  I found that I shouldn’t be too quick to make identifications.  Especially when it comes to waterfowl. (and Gadwalls).  I do know that I have come a long way in the past four years, getting a little better with my IDs.  I can now, at least, tell the difference between doves and sparrows.  The sparrows are smaller, right??

So, anyway, I thought you would enjoy the photo.  Click on it to see an enlargement.

No Magic with this Merlin

With this little hawk, you get what you see.  The Merlin is a feisty, speedy little hawk that can catch birds and insects in midair, using level sprints or quick turns.  I photographed this one back in October, as he was hanging on in the wind to a small shrub.  At first I thought it may have been a Prairie Falcon, but the spacing of the banded tail and heavy streaking on the breast told me that it was most likely a Merlin.

Merlin

Merlin

Merlin

Click on any image to see an enlargement.

I Heart Hooters

Of course, I am talking about the other kind of hooters.  What did you think I meant?  I am referring to the Great Horned Owls.  I think they are fascinating.  When I see them looking at me, I always wonder what is going on in their little minds.  Maybe they’re wondering what I am thinking, too.

Anyway, there is an area at Spring Creek Park, here in San Angelo, where over the months, a young Great Horned Owl, or GHO, has been seen frequently.  We were in for a surprise yesterday, Friday, when we happened to look up into a tree and saw two of them sitting side-by-side.  One of them, we believe, is the same one that had been seen on a regular basis.  We recognized it because it’s left eye-lid seems to droop most of the time.  I guess the other one just flew in, and decided it need a bit of companionship.  It is just a tad smaller, too.

Great Horned Owls

After getting several images, we decided to leave them alone and cruise on through the park, and maybe return later.  A few minutes later we heard and saw this red-shafted Northern Flicker in the brush.

Northern Flicker – red-shafted

Further along, I couldn’t resist catching a photo of the state bird of Texas, the Northern Mockingbird.

Northern Mockingbird

Turning around, we decided to go back and check in with the owls.  When we returned to their tree, we saw that one had separated itself to another branch about three feet away.  About a month ago, I had purchased a small Leica camera and I thought this might be a good time to try out the zoom lens.  Here is the result, and I guess I made a good investment.

Great Horned Owl

I hope you enjoy these images, and you can click on any of them too see an enlargement.  Then just click your back button to return to this post.  I will take this time to wish all of you readers a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Vermilion Flycatcher and more

First I want to thank all of the well wishers that commented about my surgery last week.  It is nice to know that I have so many loyal followers out there.  So, having said that, on Monday morning after a week of re-cooperating, Ann and I ventured out to do a bit of birding, and maybe get some photo ops.

We first stopped at the San  Angelo State Park, where we haven’t been for several weeks.  There was almost no activity around the bird blind there, so after a quick drive around we headed to Middle Concho and Spring Creek parks.  Never a problem there, when it comes to seeing birds.  Of course, getting some decent photographs is another thing.  I wasn’t very successful in that department.  The highlight was getting this photo of a Vermilion Flycatcher.  If you follow me on Facebook, you probably have already seen it, as I was anxious to show it off yesterday.  I believe it is my best photo of the species to date.

Vermilion Flycatcher

After getting that shot, I figured that would be a hard act to follow.  As usual at those parks, I had another opportunity to photograph a Great Blue Heron.  This one was wading in the Middle Concho River.

Great Blue Heron

Earlier in the day, while we were still out at San Angelo State Park, Ann had to make a pit stop at one of the restrooms.  While I waited in the car, I watched this American Kestrel flying around about 125 yards away.  It would go from one tree to another.  As it finally lit on this fence post for a few seconds, I was able to photograph it with my Canon EOS 7D and 500mm lens and 1.4 tele-converter, from my car window.

American Kestrel on fence post.

I hope you enjoyed these photos.  Click on any of them to see enlargements.  The birding total talley for the morning was 34.  Here is the total list if you are interested.  This includes birds from the parks mentioned above, plus a little pond in The Bluffs residential area.

1. American Coot
2. Ring-necked Duck
3. Gadwall
4. Pied-billed Grebe
5. American Wigeon
6. Northern Mockingbird
7. Hooded Merganzer
8. Golden-fronted Woodpecker
9. House Sparrow
10. House Finch
11. Mourning Dove
12. Northern Cardinal
13. Red-winged Blackbird
14. American Kestrel
15. European Starling
16. Killdeer
17. Belted Kingfisher
18. Double-crested Cormorant
19. Northern Shoveler
20. Great Blue Heron
21. Yellow-rumped Warbler
22. Eastern Bluebird
23. Eastern Phoebe
24. White-winged Dove
25. Ladder-backed Woodpecker
26. Cedar Waxwing
27. Vermilion Flycatcher
28. Western Meadowlark
29. Mute Swan
30. Ruby-crowned Kinglet
31. Red-tailed Hawk
32. Wild Turkey
33. Black Vulture
34. Ring-billed Gulls

Forgotten Red-shouldered Hawks

Photographing raptors, i.e. hawks, owls,eagles, etc. is really my favorite thing.  Sometimes I get these photographs and they disappear into my archives.  Going through those archives I came upon these images of a Red-shouldered Hawk.  I can’t say they are of the same hawk, but I do know that they were all taken in the vicinity of a nest down at Christoval, Texas, on the Dan Brown Ranch.

Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-shouldered Hawk

I hope you enjoy these images.   I may have already posted one of them at an earlier time.  Click on any of them to see some outstanding enlargements.

Back again with a GBH

They say that when you get kicked off of the horse, you should pick yourself up, dust your britches, and git after it again.  So having said that, I did get back out for a little bit yesterday morning.  There were high thin clouds, which I like for lighting, but cool and windy.  The birds were a bit scarce, or in hiding, but I did get a nice shot of this Great Blue Heron.  As you all know, the GBH is one of my favorite birds to photograph.

He was wading in the Middle Concho River on the opposite shore from where I was in my Ford Edge.  I maneuvered the car along the bank and took the shot from my driver’s window, resting my Canon 7D and 500mm lens with a 1.4 tele-converter, on my Noodle.  As you can see, the vegetation is starting to take on it’s winter ‘non-color’.

Click on the image to see a nice enlargement.

Say it isn’t so, Bob, say it isn’t so…..

Yep.  It happened again.  Last Friday morning I had another gall stone attack.  A really, really, bad, wall-clawing type.  This is four months after having my gall bladder removed.  They hauled me away in an ambulance, kicking and screaming.  I know, I am making it sound dramatic, but I am still trying to keep this readable for ages 13 and older.

After arrival at the hospital, they started pumping me full of drugs morphine and sent me to LaLaland.  While in that stupor for the weekend, they ran tests, an X-ray, a sonogram, a CT scan.  Then after finding nothing, they decided on an MRI.  I opted for the open one;  (I don’t want to get stuck in that tube.)  There, they discovered two stones that were missed in the previous surgery.  They were hidden in the viaduct bile duct, what ever that is.

Would you believe that three days before, I had my usual 6 month check-up and was pronounced man-of-the-year in perfect health.  Go figure.

So now you know why you haven’t heard from me for awhile.  As you can understand, it will take me a few days to get back to what is normal for me.  So bear with me and I will be getting back out and trying to get some new photos for you soon.