@Claudia

Kim, love those photos!

Oh my Kim ... that baby Swallow is adorable and so is the little chick!

I was outside with the dog a few minutes ago and snapped a couple of pic's of a hummingbird, from a distance and then closer as I walked toward the tree.

Wow! What great shots above! Love the hummer photos and the baby bird photos! Really fun to view all those photos! Keep up the great job finding these birds and getting some wonderful photos!

Boy I wish I would have had a camera in the car yesterday. I saw a Bald Eagle taking off with a squirrel in its talons! It was right in front of me. Could see its huge beak, its eyes!! Very cool!

Today hardly a bird was seen. Some Mourning Doves, Killdeer, one Chipping Sparrow... not much else. But you know what.. the Monarchs almost seem thick with the small numbers the last few years.

The Bobolinks are one of my favorites and usually we would be seeing and hearing them around the property this time of year, even if they do not nest here. We had some rains late June and this flooded the places where they liked nesting. It is unlikely any eggs or young survived. I am really missing them. There is a chance we can see some migrating birds later.

This was a mom and a young one from last year. The only reason I noticed them, is they were perched near last year's newly fledged brood of Little Taters (what I call the Barn Swallow young.)

I am always trying for a better photo of the male Bobolink. Mine are fuzzy or the lighting is poor. This one was taken by one of my children. If you have never heard the song of the Bobolink, try to find a recording on line. It is amazing!

I never knew what a male Bobolink looked like! What a pretty bird! I do know what they sound like and it IS amazing! Great shot by one of your children!

Their songs are listed here:

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/g...

I never knew either but I used to hear them all the time when I was a kid. Can't even remember when I last heard one. I will have to pay closer attention!

Wow, really nice Kim! That Bobolink is so pretty, that's one that we don't see down here in Florida. Except for their color, the size, shape and bill remind me a lot of the Brown-headed Cowbird ... and I never realized how much they resemble the Lark Buntings too!

The Bobolink really is in peril with the early hay harvests. Their eggs and young get mowed. There is an organization that I wish was out here in Iowa...
http://www.bobolinkproject.com...
@plantladylin (<---First time trying this, hope it works like it should) I do a Guess This game with my birding email list and when I used one of my male Bobolink photos that showed absolutely none of his distinctive markings, people's closest guess was a Cowbird. I could not believe I fooled experienced birders.


The above photo was a special time for me this spring. I was outside weeding and kept hearing a nearby Bobolink. He just kept singing and a singing. I look in the pasture while walking closer to the song, yet fearing I'd scare him away. I couldn't find him right away... that's because I wasn't looking high enough.

I take my camera with me when I am outside, for just such a time. I was befuddled to find him high in this tree, in our yard. They don't go in trees. They are a grassland species, through and through. I could tell he saw me, but he just kept on singing, between snagging flies for a snack. Because he was facing me, I never got a great photo of his colors except when he leaned over to catch a bug.

I took a video, but the breeze made it hard for the camera to pick up the song. This is something I will not likely forget and was and still am blessed to have the experience. I wish others in this area recognized the value of such times. I mourn every time I see freshly mowed fields during early to mid summer.

We had a lot of rain today but I managed to get a few pic's of the backyard birds between the showers ...

Blue Jay


Brown Thrasher ................................... Red-winged Blackbird ....................... Red-bellied Woodpecker


Hummingbirds

Beautiful pictures, Lin. Most of our woodpeckers left they yard, but we still get the occasional Red-bellied. Every fall the young come... they arefun to watch as they explore the world.

We got two inches yesterday and so far, 1/4 inch today. It's really washed the birds away. We went to a flooded field yesterday afternoon and found a goodly amount of frustrating sandpipers. Either they are the Yellowlegs and I am always seeing Yellowlegs, or they are unidentifiable. Overall, Sandpipers do not have a lot of distinct markings.

This is my favorite shorebird seen from the yard. Yeah, a Yellowlegs. The Lesser species. We had a May snow one year and this poor shorebird had no idea what to do about that, so was walking down the road wondering where the shore went. S/He looked afraid to touch the snow.

That Lesser Yellowlegs sure is a beauty! They sometimes visit Florida during winter migration.

Saw the hummingbird head for the firebush as I was taking butterfly photos in between rain showers. It saw me and flew back over the house. I miss the one who wasn't afraid of me and used to fly in circles around my head when I went to work in the morning.

Melanie, that sometimes happens with the hummers in my yard too ... they spot me and zoom off over the roof whereas other times they will let me get fairly close and I really love it when they hover right in front of my face before zooming off! The hummers have been enjoying the Firespike now that it's in bloom. This first photo is from a couple of weeks ago, second one I took today when I spotted a hummer heading to the blooms.


Blue Jay


Red-bellied Woodpecker, male


I spotted a Wood Stork flying overhead, it kept circling and I was hoping it would land but it flew farther away so this distance shot was the only one I could get.

I like the Jay looking down into the feeder, @plantladylin. I sure hope he didn't try and get in that way.

Kim, LOL ... yes, the Jays and Grackles have been diving head first down into that feeder to get at the suet. This isn't the greatest picture but it's that same Jay taking a dive to get at the suet:

That is funny. I assume he got up all right?

A few pic's from this afternoon between our rain storms ....

Northern Cardinal, female


Downy Woodpecker, female - you can see the nictitating membrane covering her eyes in the second photo


Hummingbird


Red-bellied Woodpecker, male (this handsome fella had the reddest belly I've ever seen on a RB

Kim, yes he got out okay. I really need to rig up a lid on that thing ... raccoons confiscated the lid a year or so ago. I have been concerned that a bird is going to get stuck in there so I think I'll go out and take it down right now before I forget ... again! I'd never forgive myself if a bird got stuck and died because of my forgetfulness!

We've had accidents here, but thankfully nothing related to the feeders. It's kind of nuts... how often we do one thing to help one bird and it hurts or aggravates another.

A funny... last year we parked our vehicles outside of the garage in hopes the Barn Swallows would move in. The cars gave Mrs. Cardinal the nerves. She found her reflection in the side mirrors and proceeded to beat up on herself. The cars went back into the garage. No Swallows last year, but a pair moved into the garage, cars and all this year. We just made sure not to run the vehicles, mower in there for long.

A not so funny... We had built two Chimney Swift towers with an attached garage. We're still waiting for the Swifts to move in. Well, a pair of Wood Ducks came over to look for a nesting spot... you might know where this is going. ( I blame habitat loss, if anything.) The female ended up going in and falling to the bottom. One of my children tore off the air vent and she flew out. I suspect it was adrenaline. She and her mate flew off, but then a few minutes later, he flew in another direction by himself. If she was injured and couldn't fly at all, we could have taken her right to a rehabilitator who is just 9 miles away, but in this case we couldn't do anything.

We've thought about putting up a Wood Duck box, but really can't. 1. We're active here and they are afraid of people. Being hunted would do that to a species. 2. We live on a gravel road, but even so, there are crazy drivers out here. Mom and babes would have to walk across the road to get to the creek. I do not feel right about exposing them to a possible smashing.