Here comes spring...

The last two days have been very gloomy and getting pictures have been quite difficult. I have a few but I have to edit them, crop them, and delete lots of throwaways. So I went to El Franco Lee... It is very easy for me to bird here because it is about 5 minutes from my apartment. Well I took a different path on Friday and it played to my benefit. I found a flock of these guys...

Eastern Meadowlark

I then went around and picked out a few sparrows. These are very hard to identify but with the camera it helps to freeze the little brown job to identify later.


Savannah Sparrow

Then today (Saturday) I went back out there because I wanted to get a look at the merlin. Did not find. But I did see lots of woodpeckers; pileated, yellow-bellied, downy, and even this guy... (Thanks to Pam for identification)

Yellow Bellied Sapsucker

I also needed some help with this little one...

Come to find out that it is a female common yellow throat. I thought it was an orange crowned warbler but it isn't. They look almost exactly the same.

As you can see they look very similar. I am constantly learning my birds. Everyday is a new experience for me. Not even a semester of ornithology could prepare me for all the different species/morphs of birds. For example one look at this guy and you would think "oh that's a snowy egret." Once I looked closely I realized that it actually is a juvenile little blue heron.


Juvenile Little Blue Heron

There is one bird that I recognize a mile away. The state bird of Texas. The Northern Mockingbird is named as such because of their song that mimics other birds. I have even heard them copy car alarms. One sign of spring is them claiming their territory. They will fly to the top of the tree and just sing. You will actually see them occassionally fight each other out of their area. One today actually sat about 2 feet from me. They aren't the most spectacular birds but a picture can say alot about them.


Northern Mockingbird

It is slow getting to 102. I am just waiting patiently for another 20+ day... and until next time happy birding!

Current moderate year count - 102
Recently added species - Eastern Meadowlark, Neotropic cormorant