I ran across hundreds of robins, quite a few starlings, and one lone grackle drinking and bathing in the icy water on the east side of Clinton Lake the other day. They were fun to watch until I realized I’d been standing there so long my face was frozen. 🙂 Of course, the beauty of Kansas is that it will reach 62 today. Click on pictures to enlarge.
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
If you visit the wetlands during this heat wave, remember, the trick is to get there as early as possible. Bring water and keep hydrated. There is a lot of activity in the early morning and if you are a photographer, you know you can’t beat that morning light. Click on pictures to enlarge.
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
The Christmas blizzard generated nonstop action at our feeders. I keep saying, “Let’s invite everyone in.” I think our felines might have something to say about that. Click on pictures to enlarge.
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
A female cardinal watches the sunrise. A sparrow peeks out at me. A mockingbird takes aim at a starling and takes over the fencepost. Click on pictures to enlarge.
There are three nests of starlings (that I know of) in our yard and our neighbor’s. I can see the openings in the trees and have been waiting for a glimpse of the chicks. I finally was able to see them yesterday. I also watched a woodpecker feed her/his young. The robins are doing quite well also. Very nice! Click on pictures to enlarge.
We checked in on several nests today and wandered around the state park for a while. Parents incubating and feeding everywhere. Lovely day! Click on pictures to enlarge.
We now have robins, mourning doves, cardinals, starlings, house finches, and probably house sparrows all nesting in and around our backyard. I strongly suspect we may also have a brown thrasher nest somewhere back there as I saw them gathering nest materials. We have a row of trees, bushes, and brush along the back fence that we are trying to keep bird friendly. It seems to be working so far. Click on pictures to enlarge.
The robins are scouting out a nest. The cardinals and starlings seem to be pairing up (not with each other). And it looks like the sparrows are building at our neighbor’s house. However, the starlings and sparrows seem to be competing for the same piece of real estate. We’ll see who ends up with it. No housing collapse here. Click on pictures to enlarge.