Fledglings

It seems this past weekend was the time for all the little blue jays to leave the nest. This one I photographed in the north paddock with Minnie and Helen on Sunday.

The next afternoon, I rescued one from my yard before the dog got it.  I put it in the safety of the paddock with Minnie and Helen.

When I went back later to give Helen her meds, the baby was gone (and no feathers), so I hope its parents found it.

I hope you’ll come back to join me for Friday’s Hunt.  I have this week’s items listed at the top of my side bar.

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A Bunch of Birds and Rambling

Today was a birding kind of day.  I had just made it over the first hill in the Back Forty when I heard the sound I’ve been waiting to hear for the last few weeks–the bobolinks are back!

bobolink

I love their song and their bright breeding colors.  They were putting on quite the show for me!

It makes me wish I hadn’t had my 300mm lens on my camera because, even though I can zoom in really close, I have horrible lens shake with it.

I need a monopod, and I do have one, but I haven’t figured out how to change it from a tripod to a monopod, and the directions are very unclear.  Almost as unclear as my pictures handheld with this lens.

Anyhow, I can live with a little shake in the bluebird.

I am seeing the northern flickers almost everyday because there’s a whole family of them living out here.  The robin on top was just a bonus.

I missed the nuthatch because they are such quick little things.  I also saw a ton of blackbirds and sparrows.  Here are more birds from pasture–

blue jay

red bellied woodpecker

eastern meadowlark

When I was hanging laundry out this morning, I got to see a Baltimore oriole, but I didn’t have my camera.  It sat there and watched me and let me tell him how beautiful he was, and he was gone by the time I got back with my camera.  That’s okay because I got to see the red-headed woodpeckers that live in the paddock north of my barn.

When I was in pasture, the orioles were still trolling me.  Nothing but a fly-bye shot.

Later when I was doing laundry, I saw the male cardinal.  I think there’s a pair that are living in the pine trees on the north edge of my yard.  Since I was again doing laundry and didn’t have my camera, this shot is from a couple of evenings ago.

Here’s the eastern kingbird.

Another wind/lens shake shot–this time the eastern goldfinch.

Luckily, by the time I got up from the pasture, they had figured out I put out the bird feeders in their summer location north of the house.

The red-breasted grosbeak found it too!

It was definitely a good birding day.  Now I just need the hummingbirds to find their feeder.

Blue Jay

Just a blue jay from last week when we had sunny skies.

I have parent teacher conferences this week, so I’m afraid I’m running behind on visiting my Friday’s Hunt posts, but I’ll get there!  I have the items for this week listed at the top of my side bar.