Saw a new bird at Blue Grass.....

Took a late afternoon drive to Blue Grass and saw a new bird. Not positive what it is. We think it is a female Merlin, unless someone who knows more can give a better guess. It looked at lot like a Kestrel only larger and with only one faint face mark.

I'm always excited to see a new bird and I've never seen a Merlin, so I hope that is what it is!

On the way home from church....

Reasons to always take your camera even to church. On the way home we made a slight detour to a local park where we saw lots of Robins all over the soccer fields. Spring is coming to southern Indiana for sure!
He was really kicking up the leaves, but I never managed to capture that moment.

Even a squirrel......so this makes my Squirrel Sunday post for the day.

Then we left the park and headed our usual route when I spotted a hawk on top of the pole. He was crying very loudly. Must be a Red-shouldered Hawk. They are very vocal.

Looking for a mate, maybe?

We didn't seem to bother him, but he gave us the once over.

"Go away!"

Then we passed a flock a blackbirds in a corn field. Seem to be Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds. At least that was all I could recognize for sure.

Some were in this big white tree and I was watching them fly out......and didn't even see the hawk sitting there until I had the photo on my computer! Not sure what kind he is...probably a Red-tailed with that white belly.

So....a drive home can be very interesting when one lives out in the country :-)

Spring is coming! The birds know it!

Henderson bits and pieces....

Drove over to Henderson Slough to see if any Snow Geese were still there. Didn't see any. We did see some small groups of Canada Geese.
The swans were gone, too, but this looks like a group of Mallards out in the middle of the frozen pond. I'll be glad when all of this thaws and there might be more ducks around to see.

More Canadas

Hiding in the grass.


We saw a lot of hawks....flying, perching, even hunting, but no great photos.

More silhouette than photo.

This hawk had something big.....rabbit/squirrel at the edge of the road and when we drove by he flew up into a tree. We backed off down the road so we could see if he would go back to get it. Not while we sat there. We passed this area twice more and there were hawks there each time.

This time some other car did the spooking.....see the hawk on the left in the air?

Got close enough to the Ohio River to take a shot near some river camps. We were driving around on gravel roads in the "river bottoms".

Back home, I was fascinated by all the bird tracks on my driveway.

Not so crazy about the mole tunnel stretching across the front yard! This morning I heard birds singing and the suet feeder had been raided by a raccoon last night and more mole tunnels. Spring must be on the way!

Winter at the wetlands....

We decided a walk at the wetlands might be a good way to shake "cabin fever" a bit. A grey day, but not unbearably cold. The boardwalks looked pretty safe...not too much ice on them, but the water was frozen so no waterfowl were around.
Icy pattern on the boardwalk.

I like the grasses and the reflections in the small thawed places.

Neither of us saw the Great Blue Heron until after he had seen us first. I don't think I even expected to see one with the water mostly frozen over.

A Mockingbird in the leaves along the creek.

A Robin checking out the thawed places in the ice....

....heading down for a drink and a flutter in the water.

Most of my bird shots were little more than silhouettes. Several Robins were hanging around in the trees but didn't like my presence.

The boardwalk through the woods looked pretty inviting, but I let Mike take a walk while I stayed put to look for some bird life.

The "orange" looking leaves of the tree hanging over the iced over creek were the only touch of color.

A woodpecker hole.....Pileated maybe? I know they make long holes.

Or maybe this Red-bellied lives there.

Never could get a good shot of him.....too many things in the way.

More grasses

I wonder what animal made this trail through the weeds to the water?

The big fluffy grasses along the water's edge.

One cattail.....frozen.

A vee of Canada geese flew overhead.

OK.....I'm cold. Going home to the warm "cabin" again!

Just the regulars...plus one.....

How do you take a photo of a bird..........that looks just like the tree???? Brown Creepers are pretty little birds, but I never manage to get a good photo. Believe it or not, there is a bird in that photo above. Can you find it?? Neither can my camera most of the time. I'll give you a hint.....look at the very bottom (or click to enlarge).
If I can get a bit of a side view the white throat shows, but mostly it just gives me a view of its back which happens to blend perfectly with my Ash tree.

Here the color shows better and I can at least see the bird.

Even with the new big lens, this is the best I could do from my front door. If I step outside it disappears. Some day......sigh.

The Chickadee is much nicer and gave me a lovely pose.

"Where are the peanuts?"

The House Finch female looks rather winsome here. Probably dreaming about spring.

Or maybe she is dreaming about her handsome mate :-)

The Goldfinch and Cardinal decided to share the feeder for a change.

The Blue Jay doesn't share with anyone.....he is busy stuffing 4 peanuts into his mouth. Greedy!

It's a good thing he has such beautiful feathers to make up for his greedy bossy nature.

Mrs. Downy.....

.....Mr. Downy.

I keep trying to see the Junco's eye......it just disappears into its feathers. Don't know why they bother calling it "dark eyed".....I think they all have dark eyes.

The Mockingbird

The Robin getting a few of the crab apples.........

......and a drink of water. One of my most faithful fountain visitors.

Except for that Creeper, these are my most of my daily birds......I'm not complaining at all, even though it seems like my photos all begin to look very much alike day after day.