More from the San Angelo State Park

The San Angelo State Park has been our most productive area in the past couple of weeks of birding.  Here are a few of my most recent images.

This Merlin was really nice to pose for me for several images.  When we spotted it, an American Kestrel was sitting on the same branch.  Upon spotting us, the kestrel immediately flew off.  The Merlin was in the act of finishing a meal, and from the looks of a yellow claw that we saw him devour, I suspect he had just finished off another kestrel.  This turned out to me one of my best photos of this species……..if I do say so myself.

Merlin

A Curve-billed Thrasher, perched in a tree.  It was a chill morning for this one, and he didn’t feel like moving.

Curve-billed Thrasher

The cooler weather didn’t bother this American White Pelican.  Usually they are out more in the middle of the lake, but this one was a bit closer, making for a nice photograph.

American White Pelican

Mourning Doves are very plentiful in the park, and I usually pass them by because they are so common, but I decided that this one deserved to be seen.

Mourning Dove

This Cactus Wren seemed to be working on it’s nearby nest.

Cactus Wren

In one area of the park, there is what we have named our ‘warbler bush’.  It seems that we can always see a warbler, kinglet or some other small bird there.  We just need to park and watch patiently.  This time we were not disappointed and saw many of these Orange-crowned Warblers.

Orange-crowned Warbler

It is always nice to see a Pyrrhuloxia.  Locals that can’t pronounce the name, simply call it the desert cardinal.

Pyrrhuloxia

Click on my “Gallery” button at the top of this page to see more photos, and information for purchase.  I add more images frequently, so keep checking.  I hope you enjoyed these and would love any comments that you wish to make.  Also refer to my last post if you are interested in purchasing one of my 2018 calendars.

Happy Birding!!

Pre-Super Bowl Images

I don’t know if I will go out birding tomorrow, so I will show you some photos from yesterday and this morning.  Of course, there is the possibility that I may get out Sunday morning, but if I do, I will show them in my Post-Super Bowl post. 🙂

These photos were all captured at Spring Creek Park here in San Angelo.  In no particular order, as we were just taking our time driving around.  Click on any image to see enlargements.

This is one of the bluest Western Bluebird that I have ever seen.  It was probably due to the early morning light.

Western Bluebird

We saw this Red-tailed Hawk across the water about 200 yards away.

Red-tailed Hawk

He didn’t hang around long.

Red-tailed Hawk

Also across the water about the same distance, this Great Horned Owl sat on a bunch mistletoe in a mesquite tree.  We had been following him around all morning.

Great Horned Owl

Last but not least, was the cute little Orange-crowned Warbler perched in the early morning sun.

Orange-crowned Warbler

That is probably it for the weekend.  Hope you enjoyed the photos.

Happy Birding!!

Quiz results are in…..

What a fun quiz that was.  Click here to see the original post. The photo is, of course, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet.  It is identified from the Orange-crowned Warbler by the two white wing bars, one of them is usually concealed.  The eye, instead of being barred like the OCW, just has very pale crescents in front of and behind the eye.  The ruby crown can be seen only part of the time, depending on the mood of the bird.  The female has no ruby crown.

The Orange-crowned Warbler is rather plain, dull and unmarked.  Kind of a flat oliveish/green.  The most distinctive part is the bit of yellow under the tail.  But it does have a bar thru the eye that you should look for.

Initially, the Orange-crowned Warbler obtained a prompt 25 votes, making me go back to the guides and see if I had made a monstrous mistake.  But soon, people starting taking a closer look at the guides and the Ruby-crowned Kinglet got 49 correct votes, and the warbler with 36.

There were a five people who were obviously not birders, but enjoyed the quiz just the same.  And I am glad that they did, and hope they will participate in some future quizzes.  They are the ones that failed to see that the Red-topped Titmouse is fictional, and a figment of my own imagination.

Of course, this was not a contest.  Only a fun quiz to test your knowledge.  I will try to come up with another one soon.  I thank everybody for participating.  For my identifications, I usually consult the Stokes Field Guide to Birds of North America.

San Angelo Birding Trip Sat. Dec. 4

I’ve gotten behind on my postss.  This is a busy time of the year for me.  I ‘ve been trying to get some birding time in, so when Suzanne and Sid Johnson said they wanted to get together Saturday it was a welcome respite.  We started at San Angelo State Park, at the bird blind, then  headed for the boat ramp.  I think we saw around 27 species in all at the park.

Following that we head for the park near Spring Creek Marina.  Lots of Eastern Bluebirds, Orange-crowned Warblers, Eastern Phoebes, Golden-fronted Woodpeckers, Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, and several others.  I forgot to mention, that we had stopped at what we call Huntington Lake, and there were waterbirds or ducks of almost every description.  Wigeons, Ducks, Merganzers, just to name a few.

All total for the five hours we spent was 43 species according to Ann’s count.  As for photos, I didn’t get too much as I got into the birding aspect more than usual.  I don’t think that any of what we saw presented a large photograph opportunity.  However, I did come away with a nice small image of a Belted-Kingfisher and a Ladder-backed Woodpecker.

Beltedd Kingfisher

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Click on either image to see an enlargement.

Happy Birding!!

Bell’s Vireos – CORRECTION

Reference my previous post Bell’s Vireos.  Forget everything you ever read there.  Sue Oliver contacted me and brought it to my attention that it is an Orange-crowned Warbler (Vermivora celata).  After she pointed it out and I compared them in my Sibley’s guide, I could easily see the differences.

So again for your immense enjoyment, here again are the photos of the Orange-crowned Warbler.

Orange-crowned Warbler

Orange-crowned Warbler

Happy Birding!!