Townsend's Solitare and Gray Jay

 Townsend's Solitare was a life bird for me. I first thought he was a Mockingbird.  Once I took in the prominent eye ring I knew this was not the case. Later I found the Solitare in my bird book for the identification. I photographed him on a tree branch close to a nesting place on the side of the mountain. He would fly from nesting area to the branch.  We went back another day and the nesting material was gone and so was the bird. We were sad! This was a busy area of the park and many tourists stopped at this tunnel. The Gray Jay was a funny experience. We were so happy to photograph him out on a branch. We had no idea that in a few seconds he would be so close we could have reached out and touched him. Our camera lenses as well as us were surprised.

South Dakota

We have enjoyed the beautiful wildlife of South Dakota for the last couple of weeks.  The yellow-bellied Marmot,Pronghorn, Lesser Yellowlegs, Coyote, and Western Meadowlark are just a few I will share with you in the next few posts.  The Grasshopper Sparrow sat on this sign waiting for us to pass by and take his picture! Each day has been an exciting experience never knowing what our eyes might be blessed to see.

Western Kingbird

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Western Kingbird

This beautiful flycatcher entertained us for half an hour or so.  We were walking near our campground enjoying the birds and surrounding area.  We kept seeing this little guy and followed him as he flew into a nearby yard.  The owner was enjoying his porch and was kind enough to allow us to enjoy the Western Kingbird as he flew back and forth to a tomato cage in the yard. We sat and were totally entertained as he gracefully flew into the air or to the ground, always returning with an insect in his beak.