Short-eared Owl!...

 Very seldom do I ever see an owl and even less often can I get a decent photo.  One evening last week we went to an area where Short-eared Owls were reported.  We were about to give up when Mike spotted one sitting right at the edge of the field next to the road we were on!  It sat there and posed like it didn't even care we were there!  I was very thrilled!

I just love the eyes!  So gorgeous!

It sat there patiently and just kept swiveling its head back and forth.

A profile

Across the road one lone deer was grazing.

More recent finds....a Harrier hunting and sitting on the ground, as well as some nice ducks...

 I've had some lucky encounters lately.  A local birding group reported that there were some interesting ducks at the local soccer field lake, so we went to check it out.  Not only were there Canvasback and Redhead Ducks, but there was a Harrier sitting in the field and skimming it for prey.

I've never seen one sitting where I could get a photo before.

And....take off!

Skimming over the field.

Canvasbacks

Redheads

There was one Ring-billed Duck mixed in.

2023 off to a good start...

 In early January we went to Goose Pond to look for Sandhill Cranes that winter in the area.  There were a lot of them and I got a few photos before they all moved to a large field that was further away.

A few of them in a farmer's field.

Took to the skies!

A closer view of a couple

It looks like a flock of small airplanes flying over

I'm hard of hearing, but even I could hear these large birds as they went over head. 

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In a nearby field there were a group of 5-6 swans.  Mike took these photos since they were on his side of the car.

I couldn't decide between Tundra and Trumpeter.  Tundra would be more common for our area.

Our state seems to see a lot of migrating birds, which I am thankful for!  I would never see some of these birds otherwise.

2022 Catching up: Part 6...Annual snow goose watch...

 This post leads me into the new year finally!  We went to Henderson to look for the Snow Geese and White-fronted Geese on Christmas eve day and then again on New Year's eve day.  The second trip resulted in some decent shots of these always fascinating migrants.

These are combined from both days.  Some geese coming in to land.

The usual mix of the all white adults and the dark adults.  Plus juveniles of both.

I'm always amazed when they suddenly decide to take to the air!  It is like they count to 3 and then everyone lifts off at once!

Coming back down.  They just flew around over the place they had been napping and then landed in the same place.  There are areas for hunting surrounding the preserve and the geese seem to know the boundaries very well.

How do they keep from knocking each other out of the air?  That's a lot of geese per square yard!

I like this shot showing a white and a dark flying side by side.

A little more room to move around.

One of the Greater White-fronted Geese

A dark morph walking real close to where we were.

And a bonus!....on the right is a Ross's Goose.  Much smaller and smaller bill.  Once in a while there will be one mixed in and always hanging out at the fringes of the group.

Another shot of the Ross's with some black morphs.

I just liked how these three looked with their reflections.

2022 Catching up: Part 6...the Duke Energy, Cane Ridge preserve area...

 One of the local energy plants has a great birding area all around it.  It has some protected areas you can't visit, but has become a year round place for visiting water fowl and also a breeding ground for some and at migration times you can see many interesting species.  We went one day in November and hit the jackpot for assorted waterfowl.  Each little lake seemed to have its own population of ducks or geese or heron.  There were also a large gathering of eagles that are still there.

The Cane Ridge viewing stand looked out on an assortment of ducks and waders.  Green teal and Mallards were in evidence, but mostly staying well back.

This video shows the waders better than my photos.  I can't identify them for sure, so won't try.

Another small lake had a huge group of Mallards sitting in the shade of some trees.

I accidentally spooked them!

A lake with just Gadwalls.

We saw 8-9 eagles, but I am not very good at flying shots.

White pelicans flying off

One remained

Heron and a cormorant.  Later we saw one small lake with about 10 Great Blue Heron all fishing in it!

This lake had gulls and Canada Geese.

A young eagle in a tree.

2022 Catching up: Part 5...misc. birds of the fall and early winter...

 

The female Rose-breasted Grosbeak.  I think they are very pretty, even though they lack the colorful flashy appearance of their mates.  This one hung around looking for some berries to eat.

Always happy to have a nice photo of a Bald Eagle!  He sat on that pole and posed very nicely for us.  They don't tend to be easily spooked by much.  I think they know they are "king of the hill".

From the biggest to a much smaller bird....The Chickadee, one of my favorites.

Migrating warblers are always fun to watch for spring and fall.  This Yellow-Rumped Warbler was having a bath in the creek.  He may have been around all summer, but I didn't see him much.

The Carolina Wren looking for something....

.....or we can try it upside down!

The small birds all love this ball feeder.....chickadees, titmice, nuthatches visit regularly.

A beautiful Northern Flicker stopped by one day!  Love the yellow tail.

The Titmouse loves peanuts, so I try to keep him supplied.

So does the Blue Jay!  He fills his mouth with as many as he can get in....4-6 before flying away.

A Red-shouldered Hawk stopped by for a look.  These were after the snow and cold came.

Blue Jay filling up

The Chickadee being cute

A Ruby-Crowned Kinglet that shows up every winter.  He was hunting for something in the azalea bush.  Below he even showed me his "ruby" which he doesn't flash very often.

One of my many Cardinal pairs.  I can sometimes see 6-7 males all at the same time, with their females nearby as well.  Easier to count the bright red males.

Nice to see him when his mouth isn't full of peanuts!  Always looks pretty against the snow.

Those are most of my regulars except the woodpeckers.  I can count on Downys, Hairys and Red-bellied pretty much on a daily basis.