Sunday Morning Outing

A hint of cool in the air and a gentle breeze made for a delightful morning out.  There was quite a bit of bird activity compared to yesterday morning.  I wished I had taken my scope when I arrived at my first location but had decided against it since I was already hauling two cameras.

I saw more Common Yellowthroats this morning, though they were all female of juveniles than I have seen all year.  They were doing some serious insect hunting in the undergrowth.




The Jewelweed have begun blooming and the number of hummingbirds are increasing.











I saw more Robber Flies today than I have seen in a while.  They were all finding a sunny location to warm.














There was no shortage of horse flies and they too were warming in the sun.  Fortunately they were not interested in biting, just warming.

Begging Baby

Almost the size of the adult, this juvenile Cardinal still begs for food from any passing adult.  I wonder when it will start trying to feed itself?  The behavior of fluttering wings and getting in to the begging position seem to be something the adults cannot pass up.  Adult Cardinals other than the parents have taken time to feed the young one.

Summer Tanager

For the past week, a female Summer Tanager has been coming in the yard early in the morning.  This morning I was washing up so dishes and looked out the window and there she was.  Just as she had flown down to the fountain, one of the workmen hooking up the gas logs needed me to come in the other room so I only got a few shots.







Unfortunately is was cloudy and not daring to raise the window shot through it so a high ISO makes the shots a bit grainy.

American Redstart

I have been very busy this week doing some things in the house in preparation for painting and new carpet.  In the process I am doing a massive de-clutter of stuff.    I want to get down to the bare minimum.  I am really just tired of stuff everywhere that has to be dusted.

The few cool days we had last week that teased us with a prelude to fall weather has gone and the dog days of summer have returned.

Some signs of the impending fall are definite.  A couple of us noted how the dogwood berries are already turning red.  Seems a bit early.  Possible signs of a cold winter?

I am beginning to see more and more warblers  come in.  A pair of Redstarts have been hanging around quite a bit this week.  The male comes late in the afternoon to drink from the fountain and splash around a bit in the water.

A Pleasant Morning

A little sunshine this morning before clouds started moving in turning the sky milky white.The cold front that came through Wednesday still has temperatures pleasant.  Tomorrow should be a wash out so I wanted to get out today and enjoy the nice weather.  As it warmed up the birds became active.

There were several Great Crested Flycatchers searching for insects on the mimosa tree.  They were so busy trying to keep the other bird away neither could search long.

Moving on I watched a Great Blue Gnatcatcher working an area.  There have been more very tiny green tree frogs this year than I have ever seen.  The bird chased, caught, lost and finally re-caught the tiny frog.  Several what appear to be younger birds came in and started begging but the adult gave them a no-no.

I saw a Yellow Warbler in the yard this morning but by the time I could get out with the camera it was gone. I have high hopes that the large number of warblers that came through in the spring will come back through during the fall migration.

A Family Affair

What has their attention?  As I was walking towards the tail camera location something gave my nose a tickle and a sneeze caught their attention.

Young Eastern Bluebird

A young bluebird hunts for insects checking out the various holes in the tree.  It still looks very thrush like with it's dapple markings.