I took these photos back in 01/2024 at Patagonia Lake State Park. I don’t believe I have shared them.
I love Towhees. This Green-tailed Towhee is such a beautiful bird with its white throat, distinct rufous head to its olive green wings, back and tail. It’s one of the smallest Towhees with a huge personality.
They are very secretive, so when this one popped up on this rock I was thrilled. Like most Towhees you find them hidden under scrubs while scratching for food on the ground. They prefer shrubby habitats like sagebrush, mountain mahogany and mixed shrublands. They eat seeds, berries and insects.
This photo shows its rufous colored head.
The Pyrrhuloxia is a red and grayish bird that looks similar to the Northern Cardinal. Sometimes it is referred to as the “desert cardinal”. The Pyrrhuloxia has a beauty all its own with its red face, chest and tail. It prefers arid environments like deserts, mesquite thickets and scrublands. They like to eat seeds, fruit and insects. What a fun word to learn how to pronounce!
Pyrrhuloxia- male
Patagonia Lake State Park has a huge variety of birds and is a fun place to camp.
I hope you have enjoyed seeing these two colorful birds!
I was looking at my posts today and discovered I started this post on the Black-crested Titmouse last year, but didn’t publish it.
The Black-crested Titmouse or Mexican titmouse, is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. Once considered a subspecies of the tufted titmouse, it was recognized as a separate species in 2002. It is native to southern Texas, Oklahoma, and east-central Mexico.
~Photos taken January 17, 2024 at South Llano State Park
While on a walk I came upon this cute Black-crested Titmouse as it seemed to study this faucet. With the South Llano River very close, I had to wonder why this Titmouse felt it necessary to try and drink from this faucet. It might have been just easier. The river water might not have been easily accessible. If I remember right it was pretty cold and this faucet might have been turned on to drip to keep the pipes from freezing. It sure gave me a smile and made a fun photo.
These guys are hard to capture, because they don’t stay still for very long. I got lucky because it was determined to get a drink.
Well done!
Quote:
“Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.” Dali
The Pied-billed Grebe is found on streams, marshy ponds, lakes and freshwater marshes. Winters in estuarine and marine habitats.
I saw my first Pied-billed Grebe in April of 1986 in Colorado. This little guy was swimming with a mate in and out of these reeds.
Pied-billed Grebe
What is special about a pied-billed grebe?
Pied-billed Grebes can adjust their buoyancy and often use this ability to float with just the upper half of the head above the water. They catch small fish and invertebrates by diving or simply slowly submerging. They build floating nests of cattails, grasses, and other vegetation.
Not a very good photo, but it makes me wonder how big a fish they can swallow. I love to just sit and watch them dive for fish.
While I was creating this post and looking up information on the Pied-billed I came across this web-site. I was truly surprised to read that the status of the Pied-billed Grebe is Endangered. Very sad.
This web-site lists information and fun facts about the Pied-billed and the reasons why they are endangered.
The Say’s Phoebe is often found in wide, open settings. They have cinnamon-washed underparts and a gentle facial expression. They are very patient hunters. This Say’s was very patient with me and I believe he was smiling at me as a tried to capture several photos of him.
Say’s Phoebe
Some cool facts about the Say’s: (from the web)
~Charles Bonaparte, a nephew of Napoleon, named the Say’s Phoebe after American naturalist Thomas Say, the first scientist to encounter the bird, at a site near Cañon City, Colorado, in 1819. During the same expedition, Say also collected 10 additional bird species. Despite finding several new bird species in his career, Say is perhaps better known as the “father of American entomology.”
~Say’s Phoebes have been in the U.S. for a long time. Paleontologists discovered Say’s Phoebe fossils in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas dating back to about 400,000 years ago (the late Pleistocene).
~The Say’s Phoebe breeds farther north than any other flycatcher and is seemingly limited only by the lack of nest sites. Its breeding range extends from central Mexico all the way to the arctic tundra. It may be following the Alaska pipeline even farther north, nesting on the pipeline itself. “Cool”
~When a Say’s Phoebe finds a good nesting site, it often uses the nest year after year. In central Kansas a Say’s Phoebe reused the same nest 5 years in a row.
~Say’s Phoebes will nest just about anywhere: in mailboxes, on machinery, and even in old nests built by other species. Researchers reported them using nests built by Black and Eastern phoebes, Cliff, Bank, and Barn swallows, and American Robins.
~They sally from low perches to snatch insects in midair or pounce on them on the ground. Say’s Phoebes often pump their tails while perched on a wire, fence post, or low bush.
Hope you had a gentle expression on your face as you read this posting! Keep Smiling!
A strikingly beautiful gray, black and white bird with a deadly hook at the tip of their bill which helps them kill their prey.
Shrikes are rare among songbirds for their lifestyle of hunting and eating animals. They often kill more prey than they need at one time, but they don’t let it go to waste. They often store food for later by impaling their prey on spines or barbed wire, earning the nickname “butcher birds. (from Web)
This bird was a very cooperative subject! He would return to this “stag” and stay for long periods of time.
This Vermilion Flycatcher would sit in this location for just about the same length of time the Shrike sat in the stag. The Vermilion was hunting insects, right near the Shrike. I sure am glad I didn’t see it becoming dinner for the Shrike. I guess this little guy wasn’t competition.
Wolf Song Blog 