The most recent listing of North American Birds that are endangered of becoming extinct and/or possibly extinct has been compiled. It's alarming that there are so many!!! READ HERE [pdf file]
The reason I mentioned this list today is for the fact one bird that was reported seen in our city's cemetery a couple of weeks ago is on this list. I and Bud drove there and walked around the area where it was seen. We just may have spotted it in the thick tree canopy above the mausoleum but we were never sure...even with binoculars, the bird just never stayed in one place long enough to focus on it. The bird reported in the cemetery was a Cerulean Warbler. A male...bright blue markings and very pretty. According to the printed pdf file I linked above, this particular warbler is thought to be endangered.
Well, with the heat index that day being high and dangerous, we didn't want to stand still very long without getting more protection away from the inferno. We began to walk back to where we parked our car and between the mausoleum and our car, I spotted these...
This Golden Fronted Woodpecker was just sitting pretty among the headstones...
...then as Bud was reading some inscription on a headstone, I spotted a large shadow zipping across the sky and I followed it best I could. As I watched it land, I walked behind a large Live Oak and stood quietly as it devoured its breakfast. [see in its beak/ and between its talons]
...eventually it spied me, finished eating and left. A Young Cooper's Hawk
Two other birds showed up! One flew just over my left shoulder as I was stalking the Cooper's. As I turned to follow its flight to see where it ended up to perch, I spied a 2nd Cooper's Hawk [adult] through the fork in the Oak I was standing behind!! It was watching [teaching?] the juvenile....
When I first saw this bird high above me as it flew to a tree, I thought it was a Chuck Will's Widow until I saw the color through the lens. Then, my uneducated guess was a Whippoorwill, but only for a fleeting glance as it flew away and I saw the wing stripes...a Common Nighthawk.
...and these two images above are of the adult Copper's Hawk that was nearby in a tree very close to the young Cooper's Hawk that was scoffing down its morning meal. By then, we were again headed back to the car and some much needed air conditioning!!
COOPER'S HAWK[s]
photos taken: Rosehill Cemetery - Corpus Christi, Texas
habitat range: Cooper's Hawk
COMMON NIGHTHAWK
photo taken: Rosehill Cemetery - Corpus Christi, Texas
habitat range: Common Nighthawk
GOLDEN FRONTED WOODPECKER
photo taken: Rosehill Cemetery - Corpus Christi, Texas
habitat range: Golden Fronted Woodpecker
Now share your birding experiences:
What great photos of these beautiful birds !
ReplyDeleteHave a nice weekend :)
Hi Anni, Love your woodie and the hawk. And the Nighthawk is awesome.. Great sightings. Thanks for hosting, have a happy weekend!
ReplyDeleteThe photo of the woodpecker is fabulous. I always love seeing pics of them.
ReplyDeleteThat's the one bird around here that I rarely ever see, and when I do they don't stay long at all.
I love the hawk. What a handsome bird.
ReplyDeletebeautiful golden-fronted! love to see the hawks, too.
ReplyDeleteYour birds are lovely. In my opinion the last photo is amazing. We have to protect them for next generations.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see another Cerulean Warbler. My firs was in adult plumage, and my only other was a fall immature or female. I had not yet stared my photography habit. In those days when a photographer lamented getting a good shot I really didn't understand why the anguish. Now I know! Love the Golden-fronted, which I get to see when visiting our son and family from Canyon in the Texas Panhandle. Hope to have my PC running up to speed over this weekend, when I can try to catch up on correspondence.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing these lovely images. I only ever saw Coopers and Nighthawk high in the sky when I visited many years ago.
ReplyDeleteWonderful bird photos, the lists with endangered birds are alarming worldwide and not only birds; it's a shame. In my area about 30 to 40% of the bird species are endangered or critical endangered. Some species, I know from my youth are definitely gone.
ReplyDeleteYou need to visit this place often! Two special ones for me...the Whippoorwill and the Golden Fronted Woodpecker! The woodpecker looks so much like a Flicker! And just look at how the Whippoorwill camouflages! I think they are almost never seen.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots- the Cooper's Hawk that was hanging out here has disappeared. I've never seen a young one.
ReplyDeleteTerrific photos, but that colorful Woodpecker is my favorite!
ReplyDeleteWow...stunning hawk photos! Aren't they gorgeous?
ReplyDeleteLove the woodpecker. Plus great photos of the Cooper's Hawk. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteA stunning collection of birds, particularly that Woodpecker species which I'd never heard of before.
ReplyDeleteThe golden fronted woodpecker has some similarities to our flicker. The Coopers hawk photos are lovely.
ReplyDeleteLove those hawks! Great captures.
ReplyDeleteWonderful shots. At my age I attempt to not spend much time in cemeteries. Figure I am nearing the time when I will be left in one ; D
ReplyDeleteWow! Some exciting moments at the cemetery, Anni! We have a hawk here on our property, but I've never been able to get a confirmed sighting. Love the gold-fronts, they are such clowns! Have a great week, and thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteI'm a sucker for a hawk. Great shots! I didn't have a bird for this week, but went out looking yesterday and found one for next week. I was disappointed to see the whipporwill is on the endangered list. I remember listening to them when I was a kid. One liked to hang out in the tree by my window.
ReplyDeleteWhat lucky finds indeed! I thought nighthawk so had to keep reading. We hear them every night at home but I've get to see one.
ReplyDeleteI'm so impressed with your sightings and your photos!! That golden fronted woodpecker is sensational. It's so sad to read how many birds are endangered and the list grows every year!
ReplyDeletewhat impressive sightings....amazing, powerful birds of prey BUT the woodpecker, WoW, i have never seen the likes of him!!
ReplyDeleteThe golden-fronted is wonderful. And I always love hawks. The list makes me sad. I read an article on line about how it is growing.
ReplyDeleteGreat shots of the hawk. The Golden-fronted Woodpecker is a beauty.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful woodpecker shows you Anni and the Raptors are great to see. This time I have no link for birds but it will come back:-)
ReplyDeleteGreetings, Helma
Great looking hawk pictures!
ReplyDeleteI need to plant some trees this fall to help out the birds.
The golden-fronted woodpecker seems so beautiful woodpecker. Yellow spot above of its beak is great.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you pointed this out to me. I'll be sure to share this week. The hawk was striking quite the pose there.
ReplyDeleteThe endangered list makes me SO sad! There are so MANY! I am going to add it to my sidebar list of favorite sites so I can check back. Love your wonderful photos! Wow! You saw so many different birds at that cemetery! I'm going to add my goldfinches to the list, and hope people will visit both posts. Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteOoops....don'tknow what I was thinking! I can wait a few days! :-)
ReplyDelete