Flying Around

Today's style challenge featured the trusty fedora, printed shorts, bright tee, and sneakers.  Today, I had a networking luncheon so I had to dress it up a bit by subbing a black vee neck shirt, black and white print ankle pants (Dana Buchman for Kohl's), statement earrings, and black sandals.  I love my printed pants.  I will have to post a picture of them later.  

I saw this sweet fella flying around on my way home.  A Cooper's Hawk who feeds on other birds.  He (or maybe she) was stunning.

Flying Around

Listen at dusk and at night for the rolling, seemingly endless call of the Chuck-will’s-widow. For months, I have been searching for the sound I've been hearing at a distance. It's loud and its voice carries. Finally, I can put a name to the bird sings ALL night long so when he's on a roll, we have to keep our windows closed. Also, flying around our bird feeder lately is this lovely little House Finch. I love its red plumage. And above all, the most amazing sight I've seen was a wild Mama Black ShoulderPeacockand her little peachicks. Earlier this week, she and her chicks were in the road near my house. I of course stopped and patiently waited as she and all her chicks crossed the road. Such an adorable sight. Especially the last one who straggled a bit behind and then hightailed it across the road.

Birds and Butterflies

It's that time of year again. For the last month, Austin and the Hill Country has seen an influx of butterflies - all colors but mainly the Monarchs. I've also seen a lot more activity at the bird feeders. Hummingbirds, cardinals, doves, cowbirds, chickadees. I was pleasantly surprised to the see the return of Mr. and Mrs. Painted Bunting. Seems like it's early for them but we're happy to see them. I also periodically hear our neighborhood peacock but no sightings yet.

Flying Around

I spotted a scissor-tailed flycatcher flying around on one my hikes this week with the pups and also on my ride along Creek Road. Oddly enough, this bird comes by its name honestly as it actually "catches" flies and other insects.

At the Birdfeeder

© ashockenberry

Ah, we have a new visitor, the Brown-headed Cowbird. This bird is really interesting as it is one of the few birds that does not build its own nest but instead uses other bird's nests. And, it leaves its eggs for the other birds to foster. Imagine that! Oftentimes, the "foster" parent doesn't recognize the cowbird's eggs as being different than its own or is unable to "roll" the eggs out of their nest. So, the foster is facing with risking its own eggs to raise the cowbird's. And, the cowbird produces many more eggs than a typical bird with many partners versus having just one mate.

At the Birdfeeder

My favorite bird, the Painted Bunting, has returned to our place. I love watching the male (as shown above) flitting about our new birdfeeder, patiently waiting his turn to feed. The rainbow colors of his feathers are breathtaking. I also love the female's beautiful green feathers.

At the Birdfeeder

We're getting lots of colorful birds this week. Painted buntings, red cardinals, and a green bird that I finally identified as a red-eyed vireo (above). I have yet to see the wild peacock that I keep hearing but my neighbors assured me that it exists as they spotted it in one their trees yesterday. And finally, I saw the sweetest little fawn yesterday who was probably only hours old. It was so tiny with big spots and could barely walk. Precious.

At the Birdfeeder

I spotted a male and female Northern Bobwhite, otherwise known as "quail", this morning at my feeder along with a couple of cardinals and plus our old friend, a golden-fronted woodpecker that loves to peck away on the telephone pole.

The male has a black and white stripe. I still think it's cute that birds stay together as couples and raise a family. Quails tend to live and travel in "coveys" for survival, warmth and well probably just plain ole companionship. Quails are gamebirds which is strange because they really are tiny yet plump. The male I spotted this morning was pretty awkward. He foraged the grass for seeds that fell from the feeder and then flew up to a limb and tried to figure out how to get to the feeder. He couldn't so he plopped back down on the ground. Although quails are prominent in this region of Texas, this morning was the first time I've actually seen one near my place.

Beep Beep!

Hmmm. This roadrunner doesn't even remotely resemble one of my favorite cartoons of all time. Instead, it looks more like a really skinny chicken. The Greater Roadrunner is an interesting bird that I often spot on walks and also at the Veloway. It coos instead of beeps. It feasts on small insects, lizards, and birds so be wary of these fellas around your birdfeeders. They also can run up to 18 miles an hour so I wonder if it really can "outrun" a coyote.

Soaring above

The last few days have been windy enough for the turkey vultures to soar about just drifting on the wind. Although, I'm usually repulsed by this ugly bird especially when I see it feasting on road kill, it's really beautiful to watch it soaring overhead. They can soar for hours without even flapping their wings. Amazing. Even my dogs watch the vultures as they dip closer and closer to the ground. I'm sure me and my dogs are a comical sight just standing and watching with eyes to the sky.

Coyotes and Woodpeckers

Last night I awoke to loud barking, yelping and howling sounds of a band of coyotes. Apparently they were running in a pack chasing something. They started in our backyard and ran back and forth. Their vocals were amazing even if I couldn't quite appreciate them at 3am. I guess they were enjoying the clear night. I'm also surprised that our local coyotes travel in packs. I've always heard that coyotes were loners like in Wiley Coyote. Usually you only see one but here we've spotted them in threes. And judging the sound of their howls, it really sounds like they have an entire choir.

Today the sun is shining, the trees have leaves, and birds are flying all around. So far I've spotted a male and female ladderbacked woodpecker, a male and female cardinal, Western scrub jays, mockingbirds, and other birds that I haven't yet identified due to distance and tree cover. Spring is here spring is here!

Bluebonnets and Goldfinches

Spring is here. I spotted several patches of bluebonnets and also the cutest American goldfinches this week. Soon, we'll have huge fields of wildflowers.

Turkey Season

How weird is it that I had my first sighting of wild turkeys during turkey season? Well, hopefully they're safe here in my neighborhood although with the likes of some of my neighbors, I would'nt bet on it.

The Beautiful Purple Martin

I finally spotted the much anticipated Purple Martin at my feeder. It's so weird how obsessed I am with birds, vegetation and wildlife. I think it's because I always knew what things were in my part of the world but now that I'm in Central Texas, I don't recognize anything. Soon I'll be able to call this part of the world home. :)

Flying Around

Ah, the Western Scrub-Jay, the Blue-Jay's beautiful yet noisy cousin. Despite his beautiful color, he's not a nice bird. He eats insects, lizards, nestling birds, steals from other birds, and chases them away from my feeder. And he has the most annoying voice. Fly away scrub jay!

At the Birdfeeder

I saw a Painted Bunting hanging out with a couple of cardinals. Yay! The birdfeeder is working its magic.

Flying Around

I love watching hummingbirds! A female Black-chinned Hummingbird, just like the one above has been a constant visitor to our feeder. This species is very popular here in Central Texas. I'm still waiting to see a more colorful male and other species. I'll keep you posted.

Flying Around

Birds have been pretty scarce around our place. However, I noticed alot more activity after putting out a couple of birdfeeders. Sparrows, hummingbirds, and a little fellow that looks just like the above picture showed up this morning eyeing my windchimes. He's a beautiful Golden-fronted Woodpecker (nod to allaboutbirds.org). I love his orange and white crown. I hope he comes back!

Going cuckoo

I awoke this morning to the sound of a really loud bird call, one I haven't heard before. I sprang out of bed and raced to the patio to identify the early riser. After several minutes of leaning over the railing and craning my neck every which way, I decided to go bird hunting with my dog. We followed the bird's call and finally spotted a little fellow that looks just like this picture. Upon returning home, I looked in my bird guide and confirmed my identification by listening to it's call on allaboutbirds.org. It's a yellow-billed Cuckoo! It's distinctive loud call is easy to identify once you've heard it but as the guide points out - you hear them more than you see them. Although this Cuckoo almost had the best of us this morning, Izzy and I were victorious in our tracking skills. Izzy was surprisingly just as excited to be on the hunt as I was - usually she pulls me on her first morning walk but today she was happy to be hunting by my side. Good dog.

Grackle, Grackle

Have you ever wondered what these birds are? They're grackles. Great-tailed grackles. If you live in central Texas, you've seen large numbers of these flying together and sitting on telephone lines. Today, I observed two individuals. A male (black) and female (brown) effortlessly jumping from branch to branch and making what allaboutbirds.org describes as "a loud series of harsh rattles interspersed with whistling notes and other noises." Their song is distinct and LOUD. I didn't know what they were until I searched my bird guide and then visited allaboutbirds.org to confirm my identification by listening to their song clip. I love when I'm able to identify a bird. Luckily this bird was easy to identify because of their golden eyes. Very striking. I also spotted a hummingbird this morning but have yet to see a bunting this year.