Thursday, May 22, 2008

A Walk in the Park

Today's Greeting
Baby Album
"Not again!"

When we left for Occoquan NWR today, it was overcast, and looked as though it would stay that way...............BUT, by the time we arrived, the sun was out and bright. So we looked up into the bright sun, and shot up into the bright sun, and had to be thankful that the bright sun hasn't entirely disappeared, even though it makes for rough shooting conditions.

This eastern kingbird on a wire was the first bird we saw within range.


A huge flock of cedar waxings was enjoying the cherries.




A tiny blue-gray gnatcatcher flitted around.

And an indigo bunting dazzled me with his beauty.

We also saw tree swallow, red-winged blackbird, mallard, an immature male Baltimore oriole (Hurray!), cardinal, osprey, yellow warbler, mockingbird, song sparrow, prothonotory warbler, bluebird, and one tiny goldfinch...that's all I can remember. The sun went back behind the clouds 10 minutes after we left!

18 comments:

Aunt "B's" Backyard said...

Morning H! You are a jump ahead of us in Central PA with your berries and birdies. Last year I discovered my first flock of Waxwings. They are so beautiful!
You are such a talented lady with you eye for beauty!! Your first shot is overwhelming!

kjpweb said...

Helen - you got a "green" thumb for birds. :) And those Waxwings. They are pretty high on my "wanna shoot" list!
Great walk! Cheers, Klaus

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Bird Lady: What a great grouping of photos. One is more beautiful then the other. I think I like the first sitting Cedar Waxwing best.

Mary said...

Lovely...what a lot of waxwings! Great shot!...and the kingbird and gnatcatcher. Very nice birds as always.

Stacey Olson said...

Beautiful post today.. Please stop by after a while. I left you something on my blog. ( working on it right now, so please give me a bit) Have a great day.

Sandpiper (Lin) said...

Beautiful pictures! It seems like you saw quite a lot. I'm having problems with Blogger pictures loading for the past couple of days, so I'll have to come back to see them all again, as only some loaded for me, but the pictures I see here are stunning! I saw a flock of Cedar Waxwings yesterday, but my pictures aren't that great. They like to stay high in the trees here and hide behind leaves.

Eve said...

I walked my property yesterday and will post the pictures tomorrow...
Today is a sad day. No sign of my momma bluebird, and all 5 babies are dead.
I am so sad.

John Theberge said...

Loved the shots of the waxwing in the tree with the red berries.

Andrea said...

A very nice and interesting serie.
I totally agree with E.Dickinson's words.

Bye

abb said...

The waxwings are wonderful! Haven't seen one in the flesh in years. They're one of my favorites.

abb said...

What gorgeous cedar waxwings - they're one of my very favorite birds.

That first bluebird picture is precious - and you nailed the caption!

lovely, lovely!

jalynn01 said...

Your kingbird is just perfect! But the Cedar Waxwings!!! Oh to see that many and get the picture. I love them, and seldom see them where I live. I have to go somewhere to find them. Beautiful - birdlady!

Sandpiper (Lin) said...

Oh, I'm so glad I came back to check again. The images all loaded fine for me this time. What gorgeous shots you captured! I love seeing all those waxwings. I dream of getting a really good close-up of one someday.

Anonymous said...

How amazing to see so many Cedar Waxwings together like that!

 gmirage said...

Such a beautiful collection! You live in a very lovely place where you are reminded of God's creativity. Happy weekend!

Nick S said...

Wonderful as always ! :-)) And thanks for the award !

FO - 2 said...

Amazing shots!
Your blog is BEAUTIFUL! :)))

TR Ryan said...

I linked here from Sky Watch but having trouble finding the posting and link back. Beautiful birds though.