7.04.2005

Great blue herons never let me get close enough to take a picture without using my digital zoom. As a result, all of my heron pictures are grainy. Despite their nervous ways, they remain one of my all-time favorite birds.


It never ceases to amaze me when I watch these great, gangly birds maneuver through the trees and land on those long skinny legs. How can something be so elegant and yet so awkward at the same time?

For those of you interested in such things, here's our pond bird list from yesterday:
Green Heron, Great Egret
Osprey, Red-shouldered hawk, Barred owl
Fish crow, Turkey vulture, Black vulture, Blue jay
Wood duck, Belted kingfisher
Yellow-billed cuckoo, Common grackle, Red-winged blackbird
Prothonotary warbler, Yellow-throated warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Pine warbler, Parula, Hooded warbler
Mockingbird, Catbird
Carolina wren
Blue-gray gnatcatcher
Red-eyed vireo, Yellow-throated vireo
Eastern wood peewee, Acadian flycatcher, Great crested flycatcher, Eastern kingbird
Summer tanager
Chimney swift, Purple martin
Carolina chickadee, Tufted titmouse, White-breasted nuthatch
Ruby-throated hummingbird
Pileated woodpecker, Red-bellied woodpecker, Red-headed woodpecker, Downy woodpecker, Hairy woodpecker, Flicker
Cedar Waxwing
Orchard oriole
Chipping sparrow, Gold finch, Cardinal, Rufus-sided towhee
Wood thrush, Robin, Eastern bluebird
Mourning dove

7 comments:

Cuppa said...

Ohhhh, these pictures are totally awesome. Nature is magnificently wonderfully grand isn't it?

swamp4me said...

Thanks, Cuppa. These are a few of the things we saw yesterday when we went paddling on the pond. I'll be back later to edit in some details.

SquirrleyMojo said...

My new background is set . . .

Lené Gary said...

I'm always amazed by how much you see. I wish I had the chance to walk with someone as knowledgeable and sensitive as you are. So glad you have a blog. :)

swamp4me said...

Lene, you just need to make a trip south. We could do the pond and, if the water's high enough, the swamp. Shoot, if the weather's right we could even go down the creek to the river.

Lené Gary said...

I may just take you up on that offer. :) If things fall into place with a book proposal I'm working on, I'll be making a trip to the Outer Banks this year. I would love to spend some time in the swamps and ponds of NC. We'll see.

swamp4me said...

I'll keep my fingers crossed that you make the trip. Let me know and I'll send you directions to THE most beautiful pond you will ever want to see. ;)