Rewarding Trip to Granger, TX

I've been out to Granger Lake and that area twice this year but it was during winter. A friend went and had great success so I tried it. I got nine "lifers" -- first time I've seen them.

Part of the adventure was going to Friendship Park which is on Granger Lake. There were TONS!!! of mayflies and the birds were having a feast. When I walked through the grass, something kept bothering me. I assumed it was mesquitoes but eventually figured out it was the Mayflies.

Here are the new birds. As always, I hope you enjoy the images.

Today's flying bird: Killdear

Today I went to Old Settler's Park in Round Rock. I was there almost an hour and the Great Egret sat in the same spot and preened itself the entire time. There were no big finds. I practiced photographing birds in flight on a Killdear.

I hope you enjoy the image.

Today's adventure: White morph Reddish Egret

About a month ago while I was out birding I bumped into Twylabird. She has way more knowledge about birding than I do. After I sent her my blog post of the Barn Swallows she said I should go out to San Gabriel Park and photograph the white morph Reddish Egret out there. I kinda sorta know about morphs but only barely.

So this morning I got up and went and basically walked right up to it after Twylabird's directions the previous day. Here are two of the best images of it along with a few other feathered friends I saw.

I hope you enjoy the images.

Better Barn Swallow Images

When opportunity strikes!!! Two barn swallows were flying around Muir Lake. They would land close to the water's edge. The high grass made it so I couldn't see what they were doing. When they took off, they were headed into a slight headwind so it was easy to get the initial focus at that point. Plus, I had my settings set better. Of the one burst I took which was probaly 150 images, I kept 55 of them. Here are seven of the images. The exposure is hard to do because the birds are relatively dark and the background is pretty light so the birds come out under exposed. I probably could double my shutter speed too. Anyhow... I'm pleased with the progress.

I hope you have a terrific day and enjoy the images.

Benbrook Ranch Park

This is a relatively thin green zone in Leander. Lake Devine empties into the north fork of Brushy Creek and this zone runs from Bagdad Rd down to 183 and perhaps beyond. There is a freesby golf course and several ponds with running fountains along the way and several bridges and crossings over the creek.

Here are the images from the outing. The one image of the Barn Swallow was the best out of 185 images. I held down the shutter and tried to keep the bird in the view finder hoping the camera would focus at some point. But I had two major settings wrong. I'm not sure if it would have made any difference. They flow so fast and eratically.

I hope you enjoy the images. Take care!

New bird: Great Crested Flycatcher and a better photo of a Cooper's Hawk

A friend mentioned Mills Pond to me a few days ago where I've never been. So I decided to check it out. The skies are still gloomy but the park was really nice ... although part of it was under construction / repair. A lot of people out birding. I probably saw close to a dozen people out with their binoculars and cameras.

In the process, I got a new lifer for me. A Great Creasted Flycatcher. The photo is pretty horrible but it is good enough to id the bird.

The other capture was a Cooper's Hawk. I have some not so good photos of Cooper's Hawk but this guy was sitting up in clear view. It isn't my best camera but it is still a reasonable good shot.

I hope you enjoy the images.

Happy Easter

Eastern Screech Owl and friends

This is a new bird for me. The Eastern Screech Owl. A local park has a bird blind set up. It is a pretty nice set up with solor powered water and a little house to sit in stuck in a small thicket of trees. Up one of the trees is a nesting box. Poking out of the hole of the nesting box was this little fellow. And I've added in some photos of his friends that came by to visit him.

Note to self: Chipping Sparrows have a grey, non-streaked breast, Field Sparrows have a pink beak, and Lincoln’s Sparrow have thin pale eye ring, bright buffy breast that contrasts with white throat and belly … got it!?!?!? NO!!!! 😊

Home with new bird feeder

I bought a bird feeder and put it up a few weeks ago. There has not been much activity until the last three or four days. One visitor was a Red-bellied Woodpecker. I decided to make a little video of the visitors today. I didn't get a video of the woodpecker though.

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Brown-headed Cowbird (and friends)

I've seen cowbirds throughout my life and I have photos of Bronzed Cowbirds taken at various places: Costa Rica, Corpus Christy, and Fort Davis. But not the Brown-headed Cowbird which is fairly common here in the Austin area. But I finally saw a flock today. I went to a bird blind they have at River Ranch County Park which is in Leander and a flock came to visit me along with various other friends.