Golden-cheeked Warbler and Others, Pedernales State Park

Golden-cheeked Warbler

Male Painted Bunting

Lesser Goldfinch

Male Ladder-backed Woodpecker

 

 

 

 

 

 

Female Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Bewick's Wren

Lark Sparrow

J.G. and I spent a couple of days in the "Hill Country" of Texas.  We visited a few antique shops in nearby towns.  We love to browse the shops and look for a "treasure" or two to place with others in our home. We almost always find something old and vintage that we feel we must buy! It is a fun hobby. 
We spent both early mornings at Pedernales State Park .  We were blessed to see the Golden-cheeked Warbler both mornings.  We were on the trail to the falls both times we heard and saw this warbler. The first morning I heard a Golden-cheeked singing high in a tree top.  J.G and I saw two on the trail the next morning, flying through the trees. We did not get any good photos.  I included one just so you could see it was a Golden-cheeked.  A few years ago, two G. cheeked Warblers flew right into our campsite area while we were enjoying morning coffee. This Warbler has been on the endangered list for years. The Park has the combination of mature Ashe Juniper and hardwood trees for this birds nesting habitat. It is awesome that the Golden-cheeked Warbler is successfully breeding.
A Gray Fox appeared in the bird blind chasing a rat while we were there.  Everyone in the blind enjoyed seeing this animal. The bird blinds are so wonderful at this park. I have written in other posts about visiting this park and enjoying seeing the birds from such a close vantage point.   We saw Painted Buntings, Lark Sparrows, Ladder-backed Woodpeckers, Lesser Goldfinch, Bewick's Wren, Black-chinned Hummingbirds and many White-winged Dove. We love our time spent in this beautiful part of Texas and look forward to visiting again soon! Blessings!

Hummingbirds!

Hummingbirds are fast-flying insect and nectar eating birds.  Their closest relative are swifts.  When a Hummingbird dips deep into a blossom they often become dusted with pollen, which is then transferred to the female part of the flower.  This process can pollinate the bloom so that it can produce seed. There are about 21 species of Hummingbirds that reach the United States, 16 breed here.  The largest number of species is found in the mountainous regions of western Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. One, the Buff-bellied breeds in south Texas.  The Ruby-throated is the only Hummingbird that is known to breed east of the Mississippi.  To reach wintering grounds in Mexico and South America, the Ruby-throated flies across the Gulf Of Mexico, returning to nest by the same route.  J.G. and I have been entertained by male Ruby-throated performing their acrobatic breeding behavior in our yard. They are fun to watch and we are beginning to believe some may nest in our home yard we named 2.9 Woods.  Today I enjoyed one particular male R.T. Hummingbird returning over and over to his same perch. I captured him preening himself as well as guarding one of the feeders.  I hope you enjoy the beauty! Blessings!

Bird Identification and Vireos

Philadelphia Vireo

Philadelphia

Philadelphia Vireo

Warbling Vireo

Warbling Vireo

Warbling

White-eyed Vireo

White-eyed Vireo

Warbling Vireo

Warbling Vireo

Red-eyed Vireo

Red-eyed Vireo

White-eyed Vireo

Blue-headed Vireo

Blue-headed Vireo

I have been enjoying the great fun of migration and new birds visiting our 2.9 Woods.  For me, the fun of photographing birds and the identifying them go hand and hand.  You may have only mere seconds to take in the details of a bird with your eyes.  The camera holds the image and remembers what you forget.  I love to capture a bird image and know that I have a much better chance for identification. This is particularly true when you have never seen the bird before or maybe only a couple times and feel unsure of its identity. This scenario happened to me just a couple of days ago. A bird was on our water feature. I reached for the binoculars and first thought Red-eyed Vireo.  My camera capture revealed the Warbling Vireo.  I had seen this Warbling Vireo before a couple of years ago. Time had passed and my first look at him would have been wrong vireo!  Warbling Vireo was more exciting because I was putting him in my memory banks again. This photograph could be looked at many times and may have provided a different light or pose of the bird than I had seen before.  I had noticed that the Warbling Vireo was dipping into the water very quickly and then out to a branch. He did this over and over while bathing and preening himself. The White-eyed Vireo bathes in the same fashion.  I hope you enjoy the pictures of different Vireos.  Blessings!