Dirt Bath

Last week I was chatting with a visitor at Bluebonnet Swamp who hailed from Seattle. He was quite taken with our migratory and summer birds. As we stood by the mulberry tree, a couple of brown thrashers started...well...thrashing around in the dirt. I had never seen that activity before and since my new-found friend seemed to know a lot about birds, I asked him what they were doing. He said they sometimes take a dirt bath to rid themselves of mites. It was quite a spectacle.

A Sleety Day

How is it we are in the first week of March and still seeing nasty, sleety days? The poor birds. I photographed these from our boat port window, but even being inside there it was too cold to last long! Once my lens iced over, I waved the white flag. That scared me.

Dark-eyed junco

Brown thrasher keeping one foot warm.

The sleet has beaten Mrs. Cardinal's crest into submission.

You talkin' 'bout my woman?

Mrs. Red-bellied is having a bad hair day, too.
Don't you just want to run a comb through it?

Her retort: Hey lady, try to eat a meal in the sleet and see how your hair looks!

Red-winged blackbird hunkered down

Grackle (probably common). Looks like he's in a bad mood and I don't blame him.

Hope everyone is staying warm!

Linking with the generous hosts of

I'd Rather B' Birdin' and

Wild Bird Wednesday

Sheldon

Since I've (hopefully) conquered the squirrel situation, I've noticed many more birds coming to the feeders. The most recent new visitor is the brown thrasher, scientifically identified as toxostoma rufum. He adores suet, so I try to keep it out just for him. And the woodies, too, of course! Photographed 10/18/13.

Looks like he has some sort of infection on his face. :( Wish I could do something for him.

He likes to be near this piece of driftwood when he's feeling insecure about his surroundings.

Some extra napkins over here please!

The brown thrasher is a very exuberant singer, often mimicking other birds. The mimicry is not surprising since they're in the same family as mockingbirds and catbirds. They are thought to have more than 1100 songs in their repertoire. Brown thrashers are the only thrasher species east of Texas. Their bodies are quite large and well-marked, yet well-camouflaged in dense shrubs and vegetation. During summer males climb high to sing on exposed limbs. The brown thrasher will vigorously defend their nest, known to draw blood from people and dogs. Both males and females incubate the eggs and feed their young.

I've named this one Sheldon (from The Big Bang Theory) because he sings complex musical phrases, repeating each phrase twice. I find that just a tad OCD, but in a cute way. :)

Sharing with Wild Bird Wednesday and I'd Rather B Birdin'. Thanks to the generous hosts, Stewart and Anni!

Edit: Certain blogs are not updating in Feedly in a timely manner. I'm not sure if Blogger is the problem or it's Feedly. Anyone else having issues? Thanks!

Wild Bird Wednesday

Today I found myself at Bluebonnet Swamp. Again. I left the house with my camera in tow, not sure where I was going, and my car just sort of took me there as though on autopilot. Was I ever glad that I went! Except I could have done without the oppressive humidity. Ai yi yi! Wasn't I just complaining about having cold, stiff hands a few days ago? I think I'd rather be stiff and cold than wet, sticky and miserable. There's just no pleasing me when it comes to weather conditions in the south. Enough yammering...here is what I saw today!

My first ever sighting of the rose-breasted grosbeak!

What are you looking at, lady?

First of season indigo bunting. Not my best shot, but the blue is really something.

This one is either a female or juvenile

Brown thrasher eating "bark butter" that my birding friend had just smeared on the limb.

A very large rabbit

The skinks were out in large numbers today.

This one was at least 6" in length.

Bloom from a tulip poplar that someone placed on the boardwalk ledge

Finally, a huge thank you to Hilary for choosing Iris and April for Post of the Week! It is truly an honor. Please visit The Smitten Image for beautiful photography and other Posts of the Week! Thank you times a million!

Please check out Stewart's

Wild Bird Wednesday meme also!

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Ruby and friends

Happy Wednesday, y'all! Before we begin I have a little update on the bird that I saw in the cemetery on my mother's birthday. (I almost typed birdday...obsessed much?) The bird I saw that day was the Ruby-crowned Kinglet. What's so amazing about this discovery is that my mother's favorite color was red―specifically ruby-red. That I saw this particular bird when I asked my mother for a sign brought me to tears when I finally made the connection (I first thought it was the Acadian Flycatcher, but a bird friend corrected me). Now I envision my mother up in heaven with rubies in her crown. :)

I tried so hard to get the perfect shot of this Ruby-crowned Kinglet, but these guys flit around faster than gnats.
My goal was to get the red crown on the head. This was the best I could do. Sigh.

Brown Thrasher

He was gorging greedily on suet.

I think this Rufous is giving me a little lip.

I rounded a corner and heard high pitched shrieking. I barely got this shot of the wood ducks
fleeing for their lives. Seriously, they made terrifying sounds as though in a horror film.

Another Eastern Phoebe

Red-tailed hawk (?)

Cedar Waxwing

Downy Woodpecker

Thanks to Stewart for hosting!

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Miscellany

Miscellaneous photos taken over the last two weeks. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Mama Eagle keeping watch over her eaglets, 2/17/13

Chickadees are the boldest birds. I was probably 6-8 feet away from this little dude at Bluebonnet Swamp. Where else? :) 2/8/13

Another bold bird. This vociferous mockingbird was creating quite a scene at Capitol Lakes, 2/13/13.

My birding friends were generous enough to point out this tiny tree frog holding on to a red buckeye tree. 2/8/13

I was quite enamored with him.

Great Egret marching at Bluebonnet Swamp, 2/14/13.

American Kestrel, River Road, 2/15/13.

Brown Thrasher, Bluebonnet Swamp, 2/15/13.

I've got an abundance of photos of the Eastern Phoebe,
so you're going to be seeing it for quite some time. 2/18/13, Capitol Lakes.

Something a little different for me. Family flying a kite on top of the levee 2/3/13.