I seem to be on a roll right now....

I had another good bird day yesterday. Driving home from the store I took a backroad, hoping to see hawks. The first thing I saw was the largest swarm of blackbirds I had ever seen....I think they are Grackles, but not sure. The field I passed was covered with them and there were 1000's more in the sky on their way down! It was an un-busy road so I pulled over and took some photos.

All those little black dots are birds and that's in the air!

On down the road, I did spot a hawk! There was a long driveway next to it, so I pulled in and tried to get some shots. Of course I spooked it, but it didn't go very far.....

....and I got another shot. Don't know what it is, but it has a very red belly and for some reason it looked young and fluffy to me :-)

Back home I decided to watch the waxwings and robins some more. I learned Sunday that they didn't mind me being fairly close, as long as I didn't move around a lot, so I got a lawn chair and sat down in the driveway.

The light wasn't good, but I still got a few shots.

The Robin was looking a bit "snooty" here :-)

I like this one because it shows the little red wing bar and the yellow tail tip.

Not a great shot, but I liked the combo.

While trying to shoot them, I realized something was going up and down in the maple tree.

A Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker! I don't have any photos of these and had not seen one for many years. It appears to be a juvenile according to the Sibley field guide.

Should have cropped this more, but it shows the top of the head and there is no red on it.

It's a cute little thing and went up and down pecking away.

It really blends in with the bark as these photos show!

My old camera would never have sorted it out from the bark. This one shows the back well.

Disappearing act...where's the bird?

I believe this is the adult, because I can see a bit of red on the top of its head.

Suddenly I realized all the birds had disappeared while I was looking at the other tree!

The hawk that has been hanging around landed on that same maple tree right in front of me! Unfortunately that shepherd's crook was in my line of vision and I didn't dare move much.

I only got 3 shots before he spotted me and took off through the pine trees.

What an interesting day! That doesn't even count the regular crew of birds who are being ignored right now :-) How come it's never time for the Great Bird Count when I have all these oddities around???

What a bounty of birds God has blessed me with this week so far!