Dickcissel day......

Saturday was our 43rd anniversary and also happened to be the beginning of this year's W.C. Handy Blues and Barbecue Fest over in Henderson, KY, so we drove over to eat some good food and listen to some music.  However, a trip to Henderson for me always means we have to drive to the slough area, too, and look for birds and butterflies :-)  All of the above made for a nice way to spend the day.

We drove down one of the gravel roads and Dickcissels were sitting around on the little trees and plants along the fence rows.  I just love to hear them lift up their heads and sing.  This is the first female that I think I have ever seen.  It was on Mike's side of the car, so he took these photos.

 We see the males regularly, but the females usually seem to be down in the deep weeds.  This one was cleaning her feathers and quite willing to pose for Mike.

She has a yellow breast and doesn't have the black at the throat that the male has. 

"Hello!" 

 The rest of these are of males.  They are the ones that are usually singing.

He has more rust on the shoulder as well as the black throat patch. 

 Trying to catch him while he sings.

The back of this one looks pale compared to the one above it.  We saw at least 7-8 along the length of the road.  Also saw lots of Indigo Buntings, but they were not as accommodating and flitted into the bushes as we came by. 

More of a front shot up on the overhead wires.

A head shot.

*******

I have some other photos to post....maybe.  The W.C. Handy Blues fest lasts all week and maybe next weekend, we will have time to head back for more music and food.....and birds if the day is good!

New Harmony trip and home shots....

A few more photos from the New Harmony visit.

Before we even left home, I spotted this hawk sitting on the wires at the end of our road.  I think it might be a Coopers?

Looking both ways .....didn't seem to mind me taking its photo. Probably the one that hangs around my front yard looking for some tasty small birds to eat.

This butterfly was sitting among the cottonwood fluff that was covering the ground.  Gives it a hazy looking background.

 Puddles from the recent rain were very popular.  This little House Sparrow had just taken a bath.  You can almost hear them sigh with ecstasy when they are done.

 I think the bird on the left is an Oriole.....I don't usually see them, so not sure what kind.  Wet birds are hard to identify :-)

Two Starlings having their bath.

This squirrel found something interesting to eat....on another day....so he took it and buried it nearby.

We partly went to New Harmony because the local paper had an article about how this coffee shop/tavern was now selling a beer that was the first one made in Indiana.  The Rappites who lived in New Harmony originally produced it.  The recipe was found and is now being produced by a brewery somewhere else under several names, so they are importing it to New Harmony to be sold under this name.  Mike wanted to try it since he loves micro-brewed beers.  We had a nice lunch and the beer was pretty good.....a nice dark European type.

 A couple of shots from home to round out this post.  This woodpecker was getting a beak full of suet for her baby.  I've seen her feeding it, but have not gotten a good photo.

The House Wren sits out in this tree and sings his heart out every day.  I believe he is trying to find a mate.  He has a couple of bird houses all staked out ready to make her a home, but I don't think he has found anyone to move in yet.  I love hearing him sing.

Cliff Swallows under the Wabash River bridge at New Harmony....

We drove out to New Harmony, IN today to have lunch, and to see if the Cliff Swallows were under the old Wabash River bridge.

Yes, they were!  I love watching the swallows. 

They were flying all around the bridge and back and forth to the nests that are plastered to the underside of the bridge. 

 I think they were working on the nests....adding more mud and possibly cottonwood fluff that was floating around everywhere in the air.  

 There were birds inside some of the nests and others flying back and forth.  I find the clusters of mud nests they build so interesting to look at.  Would love to see one up close.  I see a spot here where one used to be...maybe I should look on the ground :-)

 You can see a couple of heads sticking out and one bird flying off.

 Looking closely at the mouth of the nest it has gooey white stuff all over it. Another reason I think they are still working on the nests....closing the opening more.

A cluster on each side of this beam and a bird at two of the nests. 

Peeking out. 

 Sticking a head in. 

 "Just a little more mud, dear.....I'm not quite satisfied with the baby's room yet!"

 The water in the Wabash was high.  The water on the left is out of the banks and up on the boat ramp area.

The bridge itself is so old and in need of repairs that they have closed it.  This is a hardship for the farmers who have land on both sides.  Also, people who lived in Illinois and worked in New Harmony (or vise versa) now have a much longer drive.  Illinois and Indiana can't get together on who should have to pay to fix it or if it will be fixed at all.

This is the section of the bridge where they swallows build their nests.....over the land, rather then the water.

 Shooting the bridge reflection in a puddle.

I'm not sure I would cross this bridge at 25 mph.  I would rather race over it and hope it didn't fall in before I got to the other side!

A short drive to Henderson....

We went for a short drive over the river to Henderson, KY to where the heron rookery used to be.

 There were 4-5 of these Cabbage White butterflies flitting around in the flowers on the edge of the road.

 Gave me a chance to try my new camera on some butterflies.

 This is a bit off focus.....I caught it in a hurry and didn't even know the blackbird was there when I took the photo.  We spotted several egrets out in this wet swampy area and this blackbird must have felt one was too close to his nesting territory.

 The egrets were beautiful and really stood out against all that green!  However, they were pretty far away.

 One that lifted off just as I took the photo.

 Not sure what these plants are, but the whole area was covered with them.  I'm sure that they are growing in water, or the egrets would not have been there.  The area used to always be covered in water and didn't have all these plants.

 Two of them....there were 5 in all.

 1-2 Great Blue Heron were also stalking the area.

 These trees used to be loaded with heron nests.  If you have followed my blog for several years you might remember all the photos of the herons up in the trees and the dozens of nests. 

 This is the old eagle's nest in the middle of the old rookery area....empty....and you can see a couple of the old heron nests in the tree to the left.  Most of the nests have blown out of the trees.  I would love to know why they moved somewhere else and where they went!  I assume they are still along the river somewhere, but we don't know where to look for a new rookery.

 One of several Red-winged Blackbirds that was buzzing away at us.  He was showing his epaulets nicely.

 Another one giving voice to us...."This is my territory!  Go away!"

 Way out in a field I could see a few crows and something larger....one lone turkey!

 This turtle found a small high and dry place in the middle of the swampy area.

Some of the yellow plants along the road.