at the preserve . . .
On Friday Priscilla and I went to Felts Preserve. That is where we had our first field trip with the Audubon Group. It was really nice to be there without so many people. We actually only saw three other people the whole time we were there ~~ about two hours.
I saw a gorgeous Red-Shouldered Hawk, Painted Buntings, a few other birds and some interesting scenery.
First we went to the bird blind and took a few pictures through the window.
This is the outside of the bird blind from the front (or maybe they call this the back. You enter from a door on the other end.) I would say it's about 12'x12' and has a bench to sit on and plenty of room to stand or set up a tripod, too. To take this picture I was standing in the midst of about eight feeders that they fill every day.
I have a terrible time identifying some of these little birds. So many of them all look the same to me, so I'm not sure what these are.
***EDIT-I got an ID last night on these birds. They are juvenile and female Cowbirds.
***Still not sure about this one. I thought perhaps some kind of warbler.
These Painted Buntings are so colorful. Red, blue and bright green on their backs. I wish they would come to my feeders!
Male Cardinal
It is a beautiful walk through the preserve. There are several bodies of water, pathways through deep woods, open fields.
Looking up at the mighty pines . . .
Duck Weed pond . . .
A few red maple leaves were still on the trees
There’s this big old wooden corral to the side of a field. If you looked closely, it had some very interesting things to see there.
Little thing . . .
Jagged wood . . .
Hairy lichen . . .
Spanish moss and hairy lichen . . .
Rusty roof . . .
Rusty nails . . .
pine cone center . . .
When I first saw the Red Shouldered Hawk on the birdhouses, I was facing into the sun and just getting a silhouette of everything, but I took the picture anyway and did this treatment to it in Photoshop to make it look like it does, so I can't take much credit for it.
I thought it looked cool sitting on top of the group of Purple Martin houses.
When it flew, it landed clear across this big open field.
I was able to get pretty close and take these photos of it! It is a beauty!
The wind was blowing its feathers here.
Here I was almost standing underneath it looking up . . .
I saw a gorgeous Red-Shouldered Hawk, Painted Buntings, a few other birds and some interesting scenery.
First we went to the bird blind and took a few pictures through the window.
This is the outside of the bird blind from the front (or maybe they call this the back. You enter from a door on the other end.) I would say it's about 12'x12' and has a bench to sit on and plenty of room to stand or set up a tripod, too. To take this picture I was standing in the midst of about eight feeders that they fill every day.
I have a terrible time identifying some of these little birds. So many of them all look the same to me, so I'm not sure what these are.
***EDIT-I got an ID last night on these birds. They are juvenile and female Cowbirds.
***Still not sure about this one. I thought perhaps some kind of warbler.
These Painted Buntings are so colorful. Red, blue and bright green on their backs. I wish they would come to my feeders!
Male Cardinal
It is a beautiful walk through the preserve. There are several bodies of water, pathways through deep woods, open fields.
Looking up at the mighty pines . . .
Duck Weed pond . . .
A few red maple leaves were still on the trees
There’s this big old wooden corral to the side of a field. If you looked closely, it had some very interesting things to see there.
Little thing . . .
Jagged wood . . .
Hairy lichen . . .
Spanish moss and hairy lichen . . .
Rusty roof . . .
Rusty nails . . .
pine cone center . . .
When I first saw the Red Shouldered Hawk on the birdhouses, I was facing into the sun and just getting a silhouette of everything, but I took the picture anyway and did this treatment to it in Photoshop to make it look like it does, so I can't take much credit for it.
I thought it looked cool sitting on top of the group of Purple Martin houses.
When it flew, it landed clear across this big open field.
I was able to get pretty close and take these photos of it! It is a beauty!
The wind was blowing its feathers here.
Here I was almost standing underneath it looking up . . .