SkyWatch Friday....

It's SkyWatch Friday!

An "overdose" of sky! That is how this week seemed. With warmer temperatures and getting out to take photos, the sky was often the star with its changing colors and conditions.One minute blue....

.....and then the clouds rolled in!

Blue sky in the water....

....or in the trees.

Reflections were easy with this water and sky.

We took some new roads....

....and the sky and clouds were in the puddles.

Getting dark....time to go!

A last moody look at the flooded fields and ducks.

....the trees in the water.

Sunset!

But tomorrow.....

.......always another day of sky and hope and Spring!

That's my sky this week. Click on the icon on the sidebar for lots more skies all over the world!

Ducks and shore birds....

After we stopped at the Heron Rookery the first time we drove on to the Henderson Slough to see if the ducks were still there. It was a "moody" sky day....more of that tomorrow for SkyWatch. One minute we would have some sun and the next it was huge clouds....sigh. Made the water pretty, but the birds hard to see.

Our main ducks for the day were Blue Wing Teals. Saw quite a few of those. My "life" duck list is really filling up this year :-)

Even though we didn't know what we were seeing until we got back home with the guide book, they were very distinctive with that white stripe around the bill.

They were in small groups on two different water areas we checked.

We also saw quite a few Shovelers. Luckily, even in bad light they are easy to recognize with that long bill

I liked the light on this one.

A Ring-necked duck on the left with a pair of Mallards.

I don't know what the two ducks in the front are. I can see Mallards and a Wigeon in the weeds. Not a very clear photo.

There was a small rivulet of water running through this field and a few Mallards were cruising. The other two....American Black ducks, maybe?? They were about the same size as the Mallards as seen below.

I thought is was funny that they chose this tiny bit of water over the larger areas.

Just once I wish I could get a really clear Sandpiper photo! I don't know how to make my camera pick out the detail better....sigh. The bird just blends in with the bank and water. This is cropped somewhat and just not clear enough for me to tell what sort of sandpiper it might be.

I let the photo program "adjust" this one, but I don't find it a lot better.

Same water area, but the Killdeer was on my side and is much clearer!

I do like Killdeers with their pretty stripes. So easy to spot!

OK...it isn't a duck or a shore bird :-) This is the "resident" Kestrel we see every time we go there. Mike took this one of him on a pole. Usually he moves from the wires the minute we slow down for a photo. Don't know about that bit of grass up there.

They have opened up the roads in the protected area now that the geese are gone and I guess hunting season is over. I hope to explore more of these roads in the future. The roads are gravel and often partly flooded, so without a truck or 4-wheel drive it can be difficult during wet months.

They're back!......

We were so excited to see that the Great Blue Herons were back in their nests around the eagle's nest!There is always something to see when they start working on their nests and starting their families.
We made two stops...early and late....so you can see there is a difference in the light on the photos.

They come and go constantly, so there is a lot of activity.

Balancing act

Love those landings

I wasn't sure if some of this behavior was courting, since they didn't all carry nesting materials.

"I told you to bring sticks....go back and get some more sticks!"

Just hanging in the air.

No nest, no mate.....I hope this one is staking out a new tree and looking for a sweetheart.

"I'm back.....did you miss me?"

I just liked the silhouette look of this one.

Coming home to an empty nest?

"Look at these great sticks! They were just laying around all over the place. Is this what you wanted??"

Penthouse apartment

Winging away

Home sweet nest....with a few relatives next door.

Now that my first excitement is over, I will try to limit the photos next time :-)

Indiana's state bird....

I've mentioned before that the Cardinal is Indiana's state bird. It is also the state bird for 6 other states....Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. Chosen by more states than any other bird, although 6 have the Western Meadowlark and 5 chose the Mockingbird.Obviously this beautiful red bird is a real crowd pleaser :-) I become so accustomed to seeing them, that it is strange to think that there are states where they aren't found here in the US.
They are one of the shyest birds to try to take photos of that I see every day. They are more aware of my presence and bothered by it than almost any other bird that comes to my feeders. I feel guilty when I know they are sitting in the tree or bushes waiting patiently for me to go away!

They seem to like to feed early in the day and again near dusk, but they are out there all day long. They will eat at any feeder they can sit on and love to eat on the ground or deck railings.

This male is checking me out as I stand in the opening of the garage. No matter how still I try to be, they don't want me there. When I look at them out of the windows, they see my focusing light or any slight movement and fly away.

Maybe they are aware that their color makes them an easily seen target. They don't blend in to their surroundings like most birds.

I like to see them in pairs. They often hang around that way.

They like the cover of the thick bushes....especially my forsythia bushes.

You still can't hide when you are bright red no matter how thick the bush is :-)

Waiting in the tree for me to go away and giving warning to any other bird that I'm there. I'm glad that Indiana picked the Cardinal for its state bird!

Perspective....

This post is late because I spent most of yesterday getting to and going inside the walls of a men's prison. Mike served on a Kairos team all weekend at a maximum security prison, and I went to the closing ceremony for the prisoners. Their testimonies were very moving and interesting. Let me tell you....after even a few hours behind walls, I am thankful that I don't live there. I wish I could have taken photos of the rolls of barbed wire, the bleak surroundings, the faces of the men....but that is one of the freedoms you lose in a prison. I went in with nothing but an ID card to get me back out. These few nature photos below are pretty poor and not really worth posting, but after being in a prison for even a very short time, I'm thankful to be able to take even poor photos. I'm thankful to be able to see the sky each day, breathe fresh air, hear the birds sing, see the animals, to use the Internet, to have a camera and take photos.

An opossum came to help clean up the seed mess the other night along with a skunk later on. I don't like them, but the help is appreciated as long as they don't empty any feeders.