Birds on a Wire

After working on a writing project, doing a bit of yard work, and making dinner, I decided to take an evening drive in search of birds. I had heard of a now abandoned house where an old lady once lived. She grew lots of flowers and loved birds. Her family is trying to make it into a wildlife preserve. Below is what I found.

A Brown Thrasher trying to balance on a high wire on a windy day.

A Dickcissel singing on a wire.

And an Indigo Bunting.

More to come....

Hamburger Quest

Yesterday I wanted to make a pot of cabbage stew, which sounds awful, but in reality is really tasty. However, I needed 2 pounds of hamburger and I only had one pound. So, I got ready to go to the store. We only have one grocery store in this town and sadly, it is on the town square—where our Spring Festival parade was in progress. No way to get there, but even if I was lucky enough to find a route in, the parking lot would be full. So, I decided to go to the grocery store in Greenup. On the way, I decided to extend my journey to Casey.  

Route 40 was closed to through traffic, so hopped on I-70. During the quick 10 minute ride I thought about pictures and remembered there was a nice pond at the park in Casey. I stopped at McDonald's and ordered up a large ice cold tea and headed for Fairview Park. I wasn't disappointed.

 As I crossed the bridge, I saw this American Coot...

 ...and this goose. Usually the geese are paired up, but this one was all alone. Perhaps mama goose was off somewhere with the babies.

 I did go to the IGA and purchased a pound of hamburger. On the way home, I took a country road. I saw this rooster standing alongside the road, but by the time I stopped and raised my camera, he was making a hasty exit.

 These are wildflowers growing in the ditch...

 ...and these are gladiolas growing in another ditch. Must have been a house there at one time, but it's a field now.

 When I hit the village limits, I decided to drive by The Rez to see if Mr. Heron and the Goose family were out and about. Mr. and Mrs. Goose and baby were busy having a snack of sorts. As I took pictures, Mr. Heron flew in for a landing. About a second after he settled in, a very loud motorcycle decided to tour by The Rez which, of course, scared Mr. Heron away. 

On the way out I saw this blackberry bush in full bloom. Reminded me of all those scratches I got from the briars while berry picking as a kid. Not a big fan of berry picking!

Three Little, Two Little, One Little Gosling

I drive by The Rez most mornings on my way to work. It's a good time to see the heron, ducks, and geese. For the past 5 or 6 years, I have been able to see a Mr. Grander, Mrs. Goose, and their little flock of  goslings. This year I hadn't seen the geese, until yesterday.
I drove slowly around the circle road that goes by the south edge of The Rez and was disappointed not to see any wildlife—with the exception of a few squirrels and a sparrow or two. I was about ready to speed up and go on in to work when movement on the southwest edge of the water caught my eye. 

 Mr. and Mrs. Goose were hanging out by the bench, but where were all the babies? There was only one little gosling where there were normally 9 or 10. I wonder what happened to the others or the eggs. Some catastrophy must have occurred. I wondered if some critter got them. Sad.

 Mom and Pop were keeping an eye on me, even though I wasn't anywhere near. I was in the car parked up on the road. I had to lean precariously over the passenger seat to get these shots without scaring them away.

Eventually, Pop started eating again...

 ...but Mom remained vigilant.

 She didn't take her eyes off me.

 Until they decided to return to their nest.

Baby lagged behind for one last bit of food. So cute!

Look Closely and You Shall See

A Green Clearwing Dragonfly camouflaged amongst the leaves.

If I hadn't seen him flying toward this tree, I wouldn't have seen him. 

I decided this fella is a Green Clearwing, but in all honesty, he could be a Green Damsel. I have trouble telling them apart.

The Spring Festival kicked off today. Every year I'm asked to sell tickets in the ticket booth and each year I try to think of an excuse but can't come up with one, so here I am waiting for the kids to show up and beg for their parents to buy overpriced tickets. At least it didn't rain on opening day this year. This is my view through the ticket booth window.

The farmers have been out in the fields, farming, getting the crops planted—where does all that dust go? It is busy settling on my furniture.

I don't know what kind of flower this is. Bob planted it by the back steps last year, but it didn't bloom and even turned brown. We thought it had died until this spring when it popped up and started blooming. It is a climber and will look nice against the back railing. I'm happy we didn't pull it up last fall.

Red, Red, Robin

The American Robin is a migratory songbird of the Thrush family. Robins are active mostly during the day and assembles in large flocks at night. Its diet consists of invertebrates such as beetle grubs, earthworms, and caterpillars, as well as, fruits and berries.  

After a long winter, I love seeing the Robins appear. It is said they are the first sign of spring. This Robin was hanging out on a metal post at The Rez. They are also, in my opinion, the easiest birds to photograph.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane....

Nope, it's a bird! On the way to work yesterday, I drove by The Rez to see if there were any critters wanting their pictures taken. Sadly, there were none. I did see a barn swallow flitting about, so decided to park and see if he would stop. This is not likely since they don't pause long, but on the off chance this one tired, I would be ready. Of course he didn't ever stop. But, as I was sitting there, I saw something big fly by in front of me. 

I pointed my camera and got this shot as Mr. Heron landed. He was in the murky water on the other side of the dam.

 After looking around, and while keeping an eye on me, he slowly headed toward The Rez.

Up and over the dam...

...and into the clear water on the other side.

He actually did catch and swallow a fish, but the shot was blurred. I could have stayed and watched Mr. Heron all day, but sadly had to go to work. 

A Gaggle of Geese

On the way back from Sam Parr State Park, we decided to drive down to the covered bridge. On the way we saw a family of Geese out in a field.

Papa Goose

Mama Goose

Goslings

They are camouflaged well. Their movement caught my eye, otherwise I don't think I would have seen them. 

A gaggle is defined as a flock of geese. I doubt this family would be large enough to qualify as a gaggle, but I like the word.