And Now...the Final installment of "Life Butts This Year!"

This is my "Butt of the Year" photo.

The first chance we get to see a Whimbrel, and it flies away from me. The story of my life...sheesh...

Oh, lucky you! You won't have to look at any more of my crappy photos! At least until my next post...then who knows what evil images I shall assault you with...mwah-ha-ha!

Okay, so here's ONE nice one. Even the Loop gets lucky once in a while!

By the way, it's a Philadelphia Vireo...

I get so excited when I see a new bird! You can tell by the camera shake in all of these photos.
You may only have one chance to see and shoot (photographically speaking) these, so I tend to hurry.
I forgot again...it's a Dickcissel, or as the Doodles calls it, a "Dicksickle"...silly girl.

August was a good month at Ottawa NWR!

The Whimbrel, Dickcissel and this White-faced Ibis where all there, waiting to be seen!

This little Warbly thing was the high point of the year as any new Warbly thing would be!

This Kirtland's Warbler appeared during the great Midwest Birding Symposium.

It cleared out the meetings and the vendor hall faster than a dirty diaper!

That's what we found this year. All in all a good year for us, twelve new birds found in our patch here in Ohio. And we can't forget the five on our Florida expedition. I'm sure something will pop up close to home this winter...stay tuned!

The Search for the Yellow-headed Blackbird...the sequel

Onward with our continuing search for the fabled bird of mystery, THE YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD...yeah right, meanwhile back in the real world...

Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge encompasses somewhere near 9000 acres I believe...and there's ONE pair of Yellow-headed Blackbirds hiding from Doodles and the Loop. We've been out there every weekend and no luck. Sorry to give away the ending so soon, but there is a shining moment in this tale of suspense!

Please note the first photo. That is, my bloggy buddies, a White-faced Ibis. We heard from a fellow birder one had been sighted, again there's that small quantity to find, one lone bird! Well, what do you know, me and the Doodles walked to the farthest area of the refuge and there he was, chowing down with a gang of Mallards.

Now for the western U.S. birders this is not a big deal, but fer us mid-westerners, yee-haw, it's a big hoot! As of 2008, only about 17 of those beauties have been seen in Ohio. And I got a photo too! It's not the best photo, I'll admit, but I'm still waiting for someone from Canon to send me that 800mm lens to test for them (I won't charge you!).

So, we're happy, even without the Blackbird...there's always next weekend!

Wow, an old coot, other than me...this one is an American Coot, hey, I'm American too. We have so much in common, except I can't swim.




We see a lot of Canada Geese, sometimes too many, but this was the first we've ever spotted with a neck band. I reported it to the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. They track the bird bands in the U.S. and Canada.




This gaggle of Canada Geese were working on their Meerkat impressions. Pretty good job!




That's definitely not the Blackbird! I wonder if this Eastern Cottontail knows the bunnies that are munching up our gardens?




Great, an Egret... bad pun...

This Pied-billed Grebe had three youngsters to try to keep track of. They were hiding so well the adult couldn't find them either!

Here's a Pied-billed Grebe little one from a different family. Yep, there's a lot of them out at Ottawa, all playing peek-a-boo!

THOUSANDS of Red-winged Blackbirds...where's your Yellow friend? None of them were telling...

And I thought I was having a bad hair day! This poor Song Sparrow was trying to look trendy.

The Trumpeter Swans are doing well. This pair had four Cygnets to care for. I've seen the female before and have reported her band. She was banded in 2004 before she could fly from an area close by. If you report the band numbers, you will usually receive a certificate with information regarding the time of the banding and general info on the bird.

This is a second pair of Trumpeters we saw on our adventure.

The End...

Stay tuned for more silliness in the:

FURTHER ADVENTURES OF...DOODLES AND THE LOOP GO BIRDING!







*I have a small correction to make here. The Trumpeter I saw previously was actually not the same as the female pictured here. The other was band number 3A0. I received an email today concerning the new pair and the Canada Goose. They requested photos and will forward more info soon. I'll update when I find out more!

Lost for words today...

A Green Heron at Green Cay, almost too close to get a shot!

I'm still going through the Florida pics and working on a slide show about the birds down there, as well as finishing up a show on birding in Britain. So, I have birds on the brain and I decided just to post photos today...some are even from behind, go figure!

An American Coot, just like me!

Uncommonly attractive Common Moorhen.

Our lifer Limpkin! Great pose, why is he looking at me like that?

A Little Blue Heron taking a break and looking suave.

I think Pied-billed Grebes are the cutest little things (corny, eh?)

Don't Royal Terns remind you of Peter Boyle?

A White Ibis, even being color blind, the eyes and bill are amazing to see.