I have a passion for the outdoors and I am most happy enjoying what nature has to offer. Hobbies include photography, birding, Pickleball, astronomy, biking, and hiking. I have been happily married, for 50 years, to an amazing person.
Remember me? Your friendly guide from the Smith Oaks Rookery in High Island, Texas?
That’s me in the photo below; in case you forgot, I’am the very handsome Great Egret.
I wanted to share, with you, a few photos of my neighbors with the funny shaped bill. You might remember me telling you a little about them in my first post.
What are they doing down there?
“Don’t you think I am handsome?”
Meet Samuel and Rose
Even though I am extremely busy here at the Rookery, trying to keep Louise happy, I noticed that Samuel and Rose do a lot of weird things with that big spoon shaped bill!
“Gotta itch”
Man, Samuel is trying to poke her in the mouth!
“Give me a kiss Rose”
Hmmmm, now I know exactly what they are up to. Maybe I shouldn’t show you these photos; Samuel might get angry with me. Oh what the heck, he has been angry with me before.
“Hold still Rose”
“Sam, will you please get off of my head!”
“Sweet baby, I’am feeling happy”
“Aren’t they beautiful and don’t they look so darn happy!”
“Just wait until I get my spoonbill on Eugene! Thanks for stopping by, but next time give us some privacy.”
`Large yellowish bill (more yellow during breeding season)
`Darker red wings and tail
Female:
`Yellowish below, slightly darker above
`Yellowish bill
`Olive-green upper parts
`Orange-yellow under parts
Facts:
`Tanager is from language of Tupi Indians of Amazon region, who called these brightly colored tree-drelling birds tangaras
`Most common North American tanager in its range – eastern and southern United States
`Song is Robin like and is a repeated Pick-a-Tuck
`Eats mostly bees and wasps and known to catch them right out of the air
`Habitat: Pine Oak woods, willows and cottonwoods, along streams
`Likes peanut butter and cornmeal from your feeder
~Neotropical migrant
~Vulnerable to habitat loss and forest fragmentation
`Host to Cowbirds, uncommon {yeah}
`Usually monogamous and many appear to remain in pairs all year
`Information taken from several sources including: Stokes Field Guide to Birds and Smithsonian Handbook Birds of North America, NGS Birds of North America
Going to get a cool drink of water
A beautiful male Summer Tanager
Large Yellowish Bill
While camping at South Llano State Park in April of 2014, I captured these photos while sitting in a bird blind. It was a thrill to see this beautiful Summer Tanager up close. I also saw the female, but didn’t manage to capture her with my camera. She was pretty shy!
“The Field Sparrow told me about this water slide”
While looking back at some photos, I found these of this little Field Sparrow, which I took at South Llano State Park, back in April. They are not sharp photos, but they are amusing to me. The photos above are three in a row and the bird’s expression is one of surprise!
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“Wow, my own private water slide!”
“After practicing my “tree-limb” landing, I decided I needed a bath!”
“This lttle pool is nice.”
“Should I go for it?”
Splash, Splash “This is fun!”
“You knew I was gonna!”
All but the first and last photo above are in sequence. This little Field Sparrow sure was having a fun day!
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Birds sure can be entertaining to watch!
I hope we gave you a chuckle on this Whimsical Wednesday!
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