Some dear friends of ours are currently traveling toward home, in their motorhome. They spent several days at Lake Whitney, TX and while there, they were entertained by six, comical Scissor-tailed Flycatchers. How exciting to see six at once.
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Their funny story reminded me of some photos I took of a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, back in April of 2012 at Caprock Canyon State Park. (Hope ya’ll enjoy these.)
Caprock Canyon State Park is located in Briscoe County, Texas, south of Amarillo.
It is known for its deep, colorful ravines and the fact that it is home to the official Bison Herd in the state of Texas.
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
Caprock Canyon State Park
Beautiful evening light at Caprock Canyon State Park
The Western Scrub-Jays are beautiful, bright and entertaining…..
They spend their spring and summers in my yard and for that I am grateful.
Every morning, when I go outside to put fresh water in the bird baths, they come gliding in, demostrating just how graceful they are.
They also come with hopes of getting a peanut or two.
Baby – Western Scrub-Jay Not the best place to land, but he/she is still just a baby. It has been fun watching this baby learn what and what not to eat!
Early Monday morning a friend and I left Loveland and headed to Rocky Mountain National Park. It is a short drive of about twenty miles and I always take the scenic route through the town of Glen Haven. It is a gorgeous drive.
Traveling though the Big Thompson Canyon is always a special event, with its tall, jagged, cliffs jetting into the sky above you and the flowing waters of the Big Thompson River running below you.
Most times, driving this canyon, one will get a glimpse of a few Rocky Mountain Big Horn Sheep grazing on the sides of these steep, stone walls, but on this trip we did not spot any.
As you drive through the canyon there are many places to pull off the road and enjoy the scenery and the smoothing sounds of the rapidly flowing river, especially this time of year with the spring snow melt raging downstream.
It is relaxing to stand by the river, close your eyes and listen to the sound of the water as it searches it way over, around and even under boulders that are in its path as it traverses down the canyon.
Fly fishers (men and women) {Smile} come to the waters of the Big Thompson from all over the world to cast their lines hoping to snag a Rainbow Trout. It seems so memorizing observing a person out in the middle of a stream, dressed in waders and all their waterproof clothing, casting their long lines back and forth, back and forth. I will have to try to photograph a fly fisher person.
As we left the canyon having traveled through the little mountain town of Glen Haven we crested the last hill and descended into the valley toward Estes Park. The Rocky Mountains, with their snow covered peaks, are what you see first. As your eyes adjust to seeing these magnificent mountains you can then and only then take in the beauty of the valley as it stretches out in front of you.
Mountain Blue Birds call this area home in the spring and summer and you will usually see them sitting on a fence post or flying up to catch a bug. I did not get to take a photo of one, but next time….
This year we had two late-spring snow storms that took a told on the Mountain Blue Bird population as they were migrating through the area. People were reporting large numbers of dead birds in their yards. One lady had twelve. My husband and I found two in our yard.
Leaving the valley, heading to the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park, we had to make an immediate u-turn. We had spotted a huge, bull Elk along the side of the road and decided he would definitely be worth a photo or two. One can imagine, or maybe not, spending the winter at or near 12,000 feet. This poor guy was looking exactly like he had experienced a harsh winter – a little ragged with tuffs of fur hanging in clumps off his body; however he still was wearing his beautiful felt-covered antlers. He was having a mid-morning snack at a backyard bird feeder. Good for him.
We finally entered the park. As we drove and hiked around experiencing the serenity and wonder of this national park, as on this day and with every visit, it did not fail to bring joy to my soul and deep appreciation for the beauty of nature.
The highlight for me, this visit, were the two dueling male Broad-tailed Hummingbirds defending their territory. Each surveying their world from the high perch of their own pine tree. High into the air they would fly, soaring downward and then back up just as you think they are going to crash into the ground. Who is the bravest?
We drove the twenty miles back home with wonderful memories and meaningful impressions of a successful and fun day visiting Rocky Mountain National Park.
Bullock’s Oriole ~Enjoying its new feeding station~
Cheh, Cheh, Cheh, Cheh
I have been hearing this harsh cheh call for a few weeks now while out in my yard. It is a very distinct call – loud and repeated very quickly many times.
Cheh, Cheh, Cheh, Cheh
I knew, by this call, it was a Bullock’s Oriole. A beautiful and very colorful bird of orange, black and white.
For many years during the spring, I would see these Orioles flitting around. You can hardly miss the flashes of bright colors nor their noisy vocals. They would fly into my yard and fly right back out. Not much to entice them to stay I guess. This spring I noticed a pair hanging around more than usual and considered that they might be nesting near by. I was hopeful!
Both the male and female seemed to like a Hawthorne tree I have in my front yard. I noticed that they would fly into this Hawthorn tree and not any others. In the spring this tree is simply beautiful with its dark green leaves and clusters of white flowers. In the fall and winter it has bright, red berries. It is what I call an umbrella shaped tree, which to me makes it even more lovely. It seems as these clusters of white flowers reach their peak this tree begins to – stink! Yes, truly stink! This smell must be what attracts the bees and birds. I can’t think of any other explanation for the smell.
Hawthorn Tree (Stinky) We planted this tree over 26 years ago.
I wanted to see if I could entice these Orioles to stay around in my yard knowing the stinky tree would not totally do the trick. So I did a little research on what type of feeder and food to put out for them. Yesterday, I bought my first Oriole feeder, which is designed just for them.
This feeder holds Oriole “syrup” just like the Hummingbird syrup you can mix up yourself or buy already mixed to put into a Hummingbird feeder. The Oriole syrup is “orange” in flavor and color! It smells pretty darn good! I also brought some oranges, cut them in half and placed them near the feeder and the “stinky” tree.
During the day today both the male and female would fly into the “stinky” tree and then over to the feeder. Not very quickly as they are very wary birds. They seemed perplexed and would peck on the clear plastic bulb containing the syrup. They did not know how, it seemed, to get to the liquid. With this particular feeder they have to use their bill to depress the covered opening to get to the syrup. For whatever reason, they seemed to be ignoring the oranges.
Okay, I’am thinking, what can I do to help them find the spot to depress. After all I had just bought this feeder and I really wanted it to work for them. I remembered they also like jelly. There are jelly jar lids that you can buy, which allows the jar to be hung on a feeder and the birds eat right out of the jar. I did not have a jar holder, but I did have some jelly!
I placed a few dabs of jelly over the spot that they needed to depress. What the heck it was worth a try. Well, I don’t know if the dabs of jelly worked or the birds were smart enough to figure it out for themselves. I did see them eating the jelly off the feeder.
This afternoon I was delighted to see that I had three male Bullock’s Orioles and one female at my new Oriole feeding station, enjoying their Orange Syrup (finally), Grape Jelly and fresh Oranges. I finally observed them munching away on the oranges.
This sighting of three males together was a first in my yard.
A little money, a little effort and a little time has resulted in one of life’s little pleasures.
Smile!
Hopefully, I will get some better photos as they get use to this feeding station.
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