Great Horned Owl

Finally, a spring day it wasn't raining and the temperature was a warm 60 degrees.  While walking in the woods, we found this Great Horned Owl.  It was a big sized one, and very handsome.  The pictures have the right "horn" bent but that was due to the 30 mph wind that was blowing the feathers.  

First Warbler of the Spring

I was happy to find my first Warbler of the spring today.  He is a Yellow-rumped Warbler.  You cannot see it in either one of these shots, but he also has a bright yellow patch just above his tail, hence the yellow-rumped name.  A faint yellow spot can also be found on top of his head.  He was busy finding insects on the leaves and branches.

He is just passing through the midwest on his way north  and west to the Rockies for breeding season.  We will see him again in the fall on his trip south.

Hawks and others

Bufflehead Ducks, two male and a female(top one) taking off in the early morning haze.

A female Bluebird.

A Garter Snake.  He was about two feet long, a big guy!

Northern Flickers doing a mating dance.  I never knew they flared their red triangular feathers on the back of their heads to entice  a mate.

A Flicker love triangle.   I think the one on the right branch was the female.  The other two danced around her.

A Cooper Hawk taking flight.

A Sharp-shinned Hawk.  He must have just eaten something, perhaps a mouse, as he has grey fur in his beak.

A pair of Blue-Winged Teal.  Unfortunately, the pretty blue wing only shows when they fly.

A bird that I have tried and tried to capture, the Belted Kingfisher.  I was happy to catch this male  in a halfway decent photo.  This is not my last attempt though,  I will still keep trying for that perfect shot.  It was overcast when I seen him this close, but I seized the moment.

Another glimpse of the Kingfisher.  Of course a stick was in the way..........

Lesser Scaups, a male center, flanked by females.

The Cooper Hawk resting on a branch.  

Some new spring arrivals

The Tree Swallows have returned!  I guess that means we have enough bugs  starting to also show up for them to eat.   You don't usually see these birds sitting still for too long except on a wire high above you.  This one was resting in the warm sun so I thought I would try to capture him.  He was tough to focus on as he was  a distance away and so tiny.  His blue feathers were so brilliant in the sun though!

A Northern Shoveler  hen feeding along a bank.  

This Red-Winged Blackbird landed in front of me on the rail of a foot bridge I was crossing.  I was able to get about five feet away from him.  It was as if he wanted me to take his picture.

Just practicing capturing a moving target.  This Red-Tailed Hawk was looking for  a meal.  He was a handsome one!

While walking, we came across Osprey that are building a nest on one of those very tall high voltage towers.  This style tower  has a flat top.  Not too much will bother the nest here, just watch out for a good windstorm!  I will monitor this nesting site and see if I can post any updates on the birds in the future.

A Black-Capped Chickadee.

Today we found three Yellow Bellied Sapsuckers in our yard!  They are migrating through to their nesting grounds in the northern states and into Canada.  We spotted this female about 10AM this morning.  It is now almost 4 PM and she is still in the same spot!  She will take a drink of sap from one of the holes she drilled, wait a minute or so for more to drain and then drink again.  I am sure she was probably pretty hungry from her trip north.  

The male Sapsuckers have red on their throats also.  This is the only woodpecker in the Eastern United States that migrates.  Once in awhile, you might find a brave one who does not though.  

You can see many small random placed holes also and I believe these are from the Downy Woodpeckers that frequent my yard.  The Sapsucker holes are the larger ones in a straight row.  Last year, the Sapsucker stayed about three days before moving on.