Just Some Burdz I Saw...part 797...

 Asheville has some of the best graffiti around!...and one odd burd...

And so goes the ever continuing saga of my trip to Asheville, North Carolina...will it never end?! Yeah...one day...

But until that dreaded day, here's some more burdies from around the woods and trails that we encountered on our morning constitutionals...so there! Ha!

 It's always exciting when you get a lifer!

This Brown-headed Nuthatch was the high light of the trip!

(Sorry Brian and Caron...but it was!)

 There were American Goldfinch Gangs everywhere!

You had to watch your step...they were more than happy to roll you for your thistle.

Thistle thugs...yeth thir...

 It was nice to see Carolina Wrens singing their hearts out in Carolina!

I have a pair at my feeders daily, though I have yet to hear them sing.

Maybe if I opened my windows...nah...too cold.

 The lone Chipping Sparrow...where's you friends?

 I was amazed at how many Eastern Bluebirds we saw zooming around.

Most didn't want their portraits done.

Hmmm...hiding from someone?

 

 Why are Northern Mockingbirds so angry?

 ...and why won't House Wrens sit still for me?

 Another great surprise was finding this Hermit Thrush skulking through the scrub!

 And of course the Golden-crowned Kinglets won't sit still..too much sugar I fear...

What a gorgeous little flycatcher!

 This Eastern Phoebe on the other hand posed quite nicely.

 ...at least for 3 seconds...

Places to go, bugs to eat!

 What do you think?

NO!

 I did see a squirrel though.

Probably as close as I'm going to get...

 Red-bellied Woodpeckers are the best for "Birds From Behind!"

 Don't tell the Song Sparrows this...

They have the skinniest heads!

Shhhh...

 This Tufted Titmouse looked great with the fall foliage.

He was trying to hide under a leaf.

Didn't work so well...

 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are always a cool find!

I don't see them at home very often.

 Oooo...a Northern Flicker...or is it a Southern Northern Flicker?...uh...

 Nothing like topping off a great trip with a warbly thing!

Gotta love those hearty Yellow-rumped Warblies!

They can make it in the roughest weather!

I'll end on this warbly!

Until we meet again...and I torment you with more burdz and silliness...

Birdin' by the Beach...

 Not the ideal weather for laying on the beach...but birdin'? Yep!

It's so nice to be only an hour or so from Cleveland's lakefront...especially when it's time for my lil warblies to migrate through! A nice wind from the lake felt great and gave those migrators a little boost. It was one of those cloudy...sunny...cloudy...sunny days that Lake Erie is famous for. Still nice enough for lots of boaters to be out and one skinny guy with his camera! 

Wendy Park has a very nice woodlot surrounded by meadows with wildflowers galore. It gets better every year. If you don't care about birds, they have sand volleyball courts and a marina for your yacht. Ha...yacht...I just have a little dingy...

 This American Redstart was feeling very jumpy up in the tree tops.

I held my kit up over my head and caught him!

Ha! Try to get away from me...amateurs...

 There were dozens of American Robins coming through as well.

This ratty fellow seemed to stand out from the crowd.

I think the others were afraid of him...

 I love digital!

The ISO went up to 6400 for this shot of a Black-throated Blue Warbly!

I couldn't do that with my old film cameras.

 If you listen closely, you can hear the crowd at the Cleveland Browns Stadium across the Cuyahoga!

Well, maybe they weren't making any noise...just heavy sighs...

This is the old Coast Guard station that was built in the late 30's.

It's FINALLY getting rebuilt by our wonderful Metroparks!

 Uh...remember my last post?

Them lil warblies are still zooming away too fast!

In case you're wondering, that really is a Blackpoll Warbly.

Honest...I asked him.

 The ever present Cabbage White butterflies were everywhere!

That's why I said "ever present."

Because they were present everywhere.

 See?

Here's another!

 I think he was shy.

Downy's usually aren't shy, but he was having a bad feather day...

 After he saw my feathers, or lack there of, he didn't feel so bad.

 Oh those wacky flycatchers!

I do believe this one was an Eastern Wood-Pewee.

Yep.

Maybe.

 Another flycatcher hiding in the woods.

I'm still puzzled, so he doesn't get a name.

Any suggestions?

 Stoopid gray and white birds...

Oh, I'm sorry! I was supposed to say that to myself...

This is a lovely Herring Gull.

Yeah, I don't like herring.

 Now warblies I love!

This Magnolia caught a nice juicy, squishy, wriggly spider for breakfast.

Are you eating?

I hope that didn't spoil your appetite.

Juicy, squishy, wriggly, squirmy...yum.

 I was telling this guy that I love that black and white stripe under their tail.

It makes it so easy to spot them.

He had to check.

He never noticed it before.

He was young...he'll learn.

 He told his friends and they all had to look.

It was funny watching them all check out their tails.

Silly warblies.

 Uh-oh!

Mallard!

DUCK!!

Ha...bird humor. 

Gets them every time.

 There were hundreds of Monarch butterflies fluttering about.

Very distracting!

Every time I saw one move I zipped around with my camera thinking it was a warbly.

I think I hurt my neck.

 Playing peek-a-boo with Northern Flickers is fun...and kills a lot of time.

What I do to entertain these birds...

 Finally, a Northern Mockingbird that didn't mock me!

(That's because I snuck up on him and he didn't see me!)

*Did you know that "snuck" isn't really a word?

 Nope, not here.

 I saw this Osprey carrying a fish out of the corner of my eye and managed a shot as he sailed off into the city.

*More fun facts!: You only see out of the center of your eye where the pupil is.

No one see's out of the corner.

Aren't you glad you're here?

No?

 I spent way too much time tripping over rocks and branches trying to get a photo of this Red-breasted Nuthatch.

I felt like I belonged in the nut hatch.

 Why, looky there!

It's another of those fabulous gray and white birds that are loved the world over!

Ring-billed Gulls really hate sarcasm.

He gave me the evil eye as I was talking to him...and laughing.

 This Song Sparrow was from a different time zone.

He was splish splashing on a Saturday day...not night.

 

"Ya gotta splash when ya can bub!"

And so ends another exciting adventure in Birding with Loopy!

Until we meet again... 

Summer Birding...

 Oboy! An American Goldfinch sitting kinda still!

 ...and of course, just when I start to focus...zoom!

Jerk Goldfinch...

One of these days...

So, where were we? Oh yeah, out birding! I'm not really caught up. These are from this past weekend at Pond Brook, my new favorite place to escape to. I wanted to post more pics from last month, but my computer crashed and I seemed to "misplace" my photo files...I even have a back up drive and that now appears empty...oh well.At least the latest are still there...

So...at Pond Brook...all to myself! I still don't understand why there aren't more folks out here...I had the place all to myself again! Butt I won't complain. I can be free in nature!

Summer birding...a little slow as everyone likes to say. But, if you look closely, there's always something to see! (Like me if you're not paying attention!) There's birds quietly feeding, preening and going about their days. There's always a few fledglings and juvenile birds skulking about, begging for food or learning to feed themselves. Soon the American Goldfinch's will start fledging.

And then there's all of the insects flying around your head! We won't count the deer flies and ticks and mosquitoes, oh my! But butterflies abound this time of year when the weather is warm and sunny and the wildflowers are in bloom. We're in a drought in northern Ohio, the pickings are a little slim this year. Because of the mosquitoes this weekend, I avoided the drying up wetland area and the hoards of dragonflies...maybe next week.

Anyway, get out and get busy! There's ALWAYS something to see in nature!

 

 Black Rat snakes always seem to come out to say hello when I'm out.

They are harmless...unless you're a rodent...

 The only folks I saw this day where an older couple heading for the lone picnic table for lunch.

They asked what I was looking at...

I said "Just a little nature!"

The snake was heading their way...

I wonder if I should have told them.

Nah.

 The only Black Swallowtail I saw was deep in the undergrowth.

I was determined to get a shot anyway...

 Silly Cabbage White butterflies never sit still long enough for me!

And when they do, they try to turn invisible.

When I turn sideways the same thing happens!

 I believe this to be an Eastern Wood-Pewee fledgling....very shy too!

I told him not to worry, I could hear his parents calling close by.

 He felt better then.

 This Eastern Carpenter Bee is enjoying the pollen on this milkweed.

Eastern Chipmunk.

Not Bobb.

Bobb doesn't go out much anymore.

Poor Bobb.

One day I'll let Bobb out to play again.

 Like so many butterflies this time of year, this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail is a little worse for wear.

Their wings are very delicate and get scraped in the scrub, or picked at by hunger birds that are bad shots.

 Of course, when you see a flock of European Starlings, they have to pose on a dead tree.

It's the "Alfred Hitchcock Rule."

 So,"Hey! Mr. Northern Flicker," I said,

why do they call you "yellow shafted" out here?

I thought maybe they were scaredy cats in a detective movie or something...

Nope, he showed off his yellow shafts on his feathers.

Oh, NOW I get it...

 Being sorta color blind, I'll have to take your word for it...

A "Red-spotted Purple" butterfly...okay...I guess so.

 I think I offended him...

 More babies!

This young Song Sparrow was cheeping and begging...and being ignored.

 Only an inch and a quarter or so...these Summer Azures are tiny and fast!

I wandered all over trying to follow these guys as they zig zagged in and out and across the paths.

This was the only one that sat still long enough.

I really need to carry my macro lens for these shots...it's hard to track something so small with 500mm's of Canon!

 It wasn't until I looked at this shot of an obnoxious Tufted Titmouse that I noticed the unkind jesture he flashed me!

You can just barely see his right foot.

Rude little guy!

Today I will leave you with a butterfly butt!

That's where their name REALLY came from you know!

This is a Viceroy, very similar to a Monarch.

The Viceroy has that black line going through their hind wing.

There, you learned something today and I can go now.

See ya next week!!