Birds - Song, Water and Woodpeckers
Even at a young age I enjoyed watching and feeding the birds. I love observing their behaviors. I get really excited when I see a new bird that I'm not familiar with and am excited to photograph and identify it.
I'm devoting this page to Song Birds, Water Birds and Woodpeckers.
Killdeer displays a perfect reflection in still water.
During the fall migration I started seeing some new shore birds that I don't usually see in my area, such as this Solitary Sandpiper.
A new bird for me during the fall migration is this Pectoral Sandpiper. I lover the details of his feathers.
I spotted this juvenile Spotted Sandpiper trotting along a log at the edge of the water.
I love this time of summer when the wild flowers are in bloom. Indigo Buntings are my favorite when they fly down into the prairie and pose for me.
A couple of Sedge Wrens appeared in my favorite prairie. This perky little guy was difficult to see but he finally popped up a little bit amongst the blades of tall grass.
This spring the Henslow's Sparrow appeared in the prairie. They were also very difficult to photograph as they tend to stay low in the grass. But I waited and eventually this one popped up on a branch for me.
I love when I'm at the prairie and the Song Sparrows are singing.
The Prairie Warbler was playing hard to get this spring. I could hear it but not find it. Suddenly one popped up and gave me some beautiful shots.
I absolutely love the Eastern Towhee with their bold colors and unique "Drink Your Tea" song. On this particular morning I was out early when this one landed 10 feet from me with a worm in its beak.
The Yellow Breasted Chat has such a unique chatter. Sometimes I really have to search to find them. This one put on quite a show. I love how his neck feathers display when he is chatting.
The prairie where I was birding has a lot of Common Yellowthroats. Personally I think they are beautiful and not common at all. This one was spotted catching bugs for its babies.
While out birding the other day I spotted my first Eastern Kingbird of the season. I loved how the limbs of the tree framed him.
The Kingbird flew to another tree and gave me another pose. They are quite beautiful.
Spring Warbler Migration
The spring Warbler migration has begun. It's been pretty exciting to spot this little guys at they pass through our area.
Yellow Throated Warbler
Yellow Rumped Warbler
Palm Warbler
Northern Parula
Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher
Louisiana Waterthrush
This year was the first time I saw and was able to photograph Wood Ducks in a tree.
Here the female Wood Duck had her leg up to scratch.
While watching the Wood Duck pair, the female flew into a tree cavity. We can only assume she was checking it out as a spot to lay her eggs,
On another day, at a different location, I captured this male Wood Duck, just as he was launching himself off the side of a tree.
Waterfowl Migration
Every spring a variety of waterfowl stop at Eagle Creek Reservoir in Indianapolis on their way north. This is a very exciting time to see birds that we normally don't get to see very often.
Row 1 - Redhead, Ring Necked Duck, American Coot
Row 2 - Blue Winged Teal, White Pelican, Common Loon
Row 3 - Red Breasted Merganser, Male Hooded Merganser, Female Hooded Merganser
A Chickadee grabs a peanut and takes his breakfast to go.
A Tufted Titmouse selects his favorite breakfast.
The female Cardinal looks beautiful in the morning light.
The male Cardinal enjoys breakfast from the seed pile in the frosty morning.
On a short walk through the park I heard an unusual bird making all sorts of noise at me. I suspect I was unknowingly close to its nest.
I located the bird and discovered that it was this Kentucky Warbler. It was a new bird for me and quite exciting.
Spring Migration!
The Spring Migration is such an exciting time. Birds will visit my yard for a very short time that I don't get to normally see. I will share several of the exciting birds that I was able to see this spring.
Summer Tanager
I did a doubletake when I saw a red bird in my yard, I normally see a lot of Cardinals but I new the profile was different.
Indigo Bunting
While out for a walk near my house, this beautiful Indigo Bunting landed right in front of me and started to sing!
Nashville Warbler
This Nashville Warbler led me around the yard for some time while I was trying to locate it.
Northern Parula
Every spring I hear the distinctive call of the Northern Parula and could never spot it hidden in the trees. This year while on a walk in a park, it finally showed itself.
Yellow Rumped Warbler
The Yellow Rumped Warblers appeared in force this spring. One morning on a walk I saw about 8 of them hopping around the trees.
Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher
The buzzing sound of the Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher is an almost constant sound in my yard. They are hard to spot as they are very tiny and spend most of their time high in the trees. Thankfully this one came down to eye leve.
Prothonotary Warbler
The vibrant yellow and amazing song of the Prothonotary Warbler always makes me so excited when it first appears in the spring.
Eastern Towhee
I love the "drink your tea" call of the Eastern Towhee. I have some that live fairly near to my home and I enjoy hearing their daily calls.
Red Headed Woodpecker
I love the bold colors of the Red Headed Woodpecker and was very excited when it make its appearance in my yard.
We recently had a six inch snow fall. The birds were out in force visiting my feeders and eating off the ground. The male Cardinals and a House Finch hung out together in a tree waiting their turn.
A pair of Goldfinches perched in a tree waiting out the snow.
This Coopers Hawk was attracted to my yard with all the bird commotion. I opened a bedroom window in order to photograph him. We looked at each other eye to eye.
All the birds were out in force looking for food during the snow. This Tufted Titmouse was negotiating with the female Cardinal for a a snack.
The Pileated Woodpecker came out on this snowy blustery day looking for a meal.
This Tufted Titmouse leaned into the wind on this snowy day.
I was so excited on this early morning to spot a Green Heron as it flew from one side of a narrow inlet to the other.
I watched him several times catch fish as he slowly crept along the bank.
I spent a full hour watching and photographing him. I loved how clearly his reflect showed in the still water.
I walked down to the lake early one morning to look for interesting birds. I spotted this Great Blue Heron just across a narrow area of water.
I took a few phots through the overhang of some boats while I slowly and quietly got closer.
After a bit the Heron spotted me and flew off.
The female Bluebird has been busy bringing food to her 2nd nest of the season.
The male Bluebird is taking out the trash, while the female supervises from inside.
This fledgling from the May next hangs out in my backyard. He has a feather sticking out place.
One of the May fledglings stopped in for dinner.
Today I went on the Bird Walk at Eagle Creek Park. The first stop was an Osprey with a nest on top of a cell phone tower just outside the park entrance.
We spotted a Chickadee looking in a tree. I assume it had a nest in there.
A group of Gold Finches looked to be gathering nesting material.
We also spotted a tree with more then 20 Purple Martins gathered. The appear to be juvenile.
Two Mute Swans were grooming with one foot out of the water. They looked a little silly.
We spotted a gathering of Great Egrets and Great Blue Herons fishing.
This Great Blue Heron has a Cormorant and Turtle in the background.
My first time seeing a Green Heron. It was way across the pond so not the best photo but you get the idea.
Female Red Throated Hummingbird browsing the Bee Balm flowers for nectar.
Female Red Throated Hummingbird browsing the Bee Balm flowers for nectar.
This is a Cedar Waxwing. I have always wanted to photograph one. They are such unique looking birds.
I spotted this Cedar Waxwing on an early morning walk when I wanted to photograph the sunrise and the smoke from the Canada wildfires. Seeing this bird was such an unexpected surprise.
This cute Tufted Titmouse Picket a peanut from his cup of coffee.
The Chickadee is taking his peanut to go.
This cute little Downy Woodpecker is browsing his options before picking from the mug.
A Mute Swan just lifting her head out of the water.
A pair of Mute Swans enjoying the warm sunny February day.
Water dripping from the Mute Swan after it lifts its head from the water.
A group of White Pelicans stop over at Eagle Creek to rest during their migration.
Tufted Titmouse enjoying the pinecone bird feeder.
A Downy Woodpecker at the suet feeder.
A cute little Ruby Crowned Kinglet enjoying the peanut suet feeder.
A Chickadee always fun to watch at the feeder.
Making a gray day brighter.
The next ten photos are from a session that I did on a gray cloudy Saturday. I picked up a couple brightly colored bowls at the thrift store to brighten things up a bit. Initially the bowls presented a challenge for the birds but eventually they got the hang of it.
Bald Eagles
Below is what I believe to be a nesting pair of Bald Eagles that appeared fairly close to my home. When I heard they were out there I dropped everything and ran out the door with my camera. After 20 minutes of photographing and watching them I left. They didn't seem to be in a rush to go anywhere.
Great Blue Heron
One day this past summer I was finally able to get close enough to photograph a Great Blue Heron. They are generally very skittish but this one let me hang out with it for quite awhile. It started at one pond in a development near me and after 20 to 30 minutes flew away. I knew of another pond near by and sure enough I found it there. We hung out together for another 20 to 30 minutes before I finally left it to continue its search for food.
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