Goldie

Sorry if you are sick of seeing the prothonotary warbler, but it's a bird that was on my wish list for over a year. This is the female, Goldie, after she'd been shown the same house (nesting station) twice by her mate. She decided she'd had enough of house hunting for the afternoon and took a break by getting a bite to eat and tending to her personal needs. Perhaps preparing for a clutch? We hope!

Antenna of crane fly protruding from her beak.

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Purple Passion

Double D is coming home tomorrow after spending the week in Dallas. The dogs and I are more than ready for his return. Well, that might be a bit of an overstatement. I promised him a Spic and Span house, and so far, I haven't even gotten to Spic, much less, Span. Might be a late night.

I worked part of this week for my former boss. My next free day was dedicated to getting out with my camera because the weather has been absolutely glorious. So I made a beeline to Bluebonnet Swamp (my favorite place at the moment) and when I got to the parking lot it was filled with school buses. There were 150 1st graders disturbing my peace! The teachers and aides broke them up into several small groups; however, that didn't really help. Their cacophony filled the swamp until every limb was practically vibrating. I'm being kind when I use the word 'cacophony'.

This photo is all I have to show for my 3 hours there--an iris as I was leaving. But that's okay! I am learning to be content in every situation.

I do hope all of you are experiencing the same wonderful weather! Enjoy the weekend, be safe, and I'll see y'all on Monday!

Double D

Look what I found in my Flickr archives! Someone favorited a photo from my stream recently and since I hadn't been to the site in ages, I thought I should go poke around. This photo is not very good, but this HAD to go on my blog for obvious reasons. I had only been shooting with the Canon Rebel for about a year when I took this. I couldn't wait to show Double D (my husband) what I had found. During a further search of my photos on Flickr, I was astonished at the number of images I took in the early days that had fences in them; most of them in Texas. Yee doggies!

In 2009, my daughter, our friend Jay, and I traveled to Ennis, Texas to see the bluebonnets. I have a few more bluebonnet shots that include fences, so more to come! Please check out the lovely fences at Tex's Good Fences meme.

Rebirth

This time of year is so refreshing. Colors are singing along with the birds, buds are bursting forth in bloom and leaf. I love it. One day it looks like the whole earth is dying and within a few days it has new life again. A perfect illustration of the Easter season.

Along River Road in St. Gabriel, LA. last week.

Prothonotary Pursuit

More images of the prothonotary warbler (edit: male has wrist bands and is bright yellow; the female is not banded and is slightly darker):

Eating a crane fly

As Anni mentioned in the comments section of the last post, the name "prothonotary" refers to clerks of the Catholic church whose robes were bright yellow. Prothonotaries are one of only two warbler species that nest in cavities (the other is Lucy's warbler). Nesting boxes are also utilized, which is what they are currently using at Bluebonnet Swamp. The prothonotary lives in swampy areas and bottomland forests. Their diet consists mostly of insects such as crane flies, moths, beetles and spiders. They may also supplement with seeds, berries or nectar. The male selects a nesting site and entices the female by laying moss in the cavity or box. If she accepts the site, she continues to line the nest with other soft plant material. The male protects her while she finishes nest building and laying eggs. During breeding season, both males and females are extremely territorial and can become snappy.

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