WILLET in flight
photo taken: NAS [shoreline Oso Bay]
habitat map: Willet
REDDISH EGRET [white morph and dark morph] -same species/family
photos taken: Sunset Lakes
habitat map: Egret
BLACK SKIMMER feeding by 'skimming' the water
photo taken: Indian Point Park
habitat map: Skimmer
ROSEATE SPOONBILL preening ritual
photo taken: Portland, Texas
habitat map: Spoonbill
ROYAL TERN strutting his stuff
photo taken: Magee Beach, Port A
habitat map: Tern
SNOWY EGRET coming in for a landing
photo taken: on beach
habitat map: Egret
Then, the highlight of my week of birding was this. Normally, when I hear the shrieking call of the Black Necked Stilt, I pay no attention. For some reason when I was at Tule Lake in hopes of spotting a Wood Stork [they're known to be seen here frequently], the Stilt was shouting out her calls...Finally, I glance toward the swampy reed grasses and out came two of her finest!!! I said to the guy who was on one of the observation benches ..."Sweet mother of Stilts"!!! Otherwise he would have missed 'em.
BLACK NECKED STILT in the learning process
photos taken: Tule Lake
habitat map: Stilt
And, being that we're having a tropical heat wave, I didn't stay much longer than a few minutes getting photos of the 'new family' and scoping the lake...I didn't see any storks. Another day, another time.
and paste into your blog post:
That was great getting a photo of those baby stilts! I still have never seen the white morph of the Reddish Egret. That Snowy Egret is an energetic little one!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, they are adorable!! And super action shots of the other birds! That is such a crazy hairdo on the Tern!! I love the yellow feet on the Egret. The shot of the Skimmer actually skimming is really good. I did not realize Willets are so big! His wing pattern is lovely.
ReplyDeleteAAaaahhhh...baby Stilts! How cute are they! I just love any kind of baby and get so excited to see them. We are seeing LOTS of baby birds lately. It seems kind of late in the year to see them but it's neat! Love that Roseate Spoonbill...my favorite bird of all time! Enjoy your weekend! It's HOT here too! We got a hike in this morning though! I had a BAD case of cabin fever! Hugs!
ReplyDeleteWow, most of these birds I have not even heard of before!! The stilts though I do know and I have had the pleasure of seeing young on the West coast of France. Love the Royal Tern with its crown, fantastic. Have a great weekend, Diane
ReplyDeleteOh those babies are so cute!
ReplyDeleteWow! Does that tern have attitude or what?That haircut is something else. Super shots of those stilts Anni. They look a good size too, so they should make it to adulthood I think?
ReplyDeleteIt's great to join in today. And I do envy your 3.5 miles too - great work.
Great assortment of bird photos.
ReplyDeleteLovely folk you captured.
ReplyDeleteWow - fabulous shots! Love that pink spoonbill.
ReplyDeleteOh Anni, Anni, Anni...these action shots are AMAZING!!! I have to laugh and hang my head in embarrassment because I cannot get a bird in motion to save my soul!!!...:)jp
ReplyDeleteYou are so good at capturing those bird personalities! So amazing. And Oh my gosh those babies! I started out loving the first pic, adoring the second, third etc and then, thinking they couldn’t get any better, coming to the last sequence with Mama Stilt and her brood. Beyond wonderful.
ReplyDeletethe babies are adorable and I LOVE THAT TERN. for some reason it makes me SMILE
ReplyDeleteHi Anni, my first time here.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog and pictures.
Love that Snowy Egret coming in for a landing.
Oh, my goodness, I loved them all, but those baby stilts just grabbed my heart and held it.
ReplyDelete