Archive for April 2010
April 30, 2010 | 
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Winner - Jason Hogle, for Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research
We had 8 participants this month, all trying their best to win a donation to their favorite nature/conservation/wildlife charity. Our winner this month is Jason of xenogere.com. Congrats, Jason! Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research will receive a $15 donation in Jason’s name, just in time to help with the work to be done for the wildlife impacted by the oil spill in the Gulf Coast.
Now, for the answers! Read the rest of this entry »
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My first visit to the rookery at the UT Southwestern Medical School campus in Dallas, TX was a month or so ago. I met fellow blogger, Jason of xenogere, for a personal tour. My second visit was a couple of weeks ago, and I took a friend along to see the wonders of this magical place first-hand. We walked around the small park, overflowing with egrets, herons, and other birds – without my camera. (I make a much better conversationalist when I don’t have a camera at the ready.) I walked around the park a second time, after offering my friend the air-conditioned comfort of my car. I struck out on my own with my camera and tripod across my shoulder.
Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax )
This Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) stole the show, IMO. The place was alive with the ephemeral glow of hundreds of Great Egrets (Ardea alba), but it was the secretive, lurking night-herons who captured my rapt attention. Read the rest of this entry »
Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) are one of the sentinel hallmarks of Spring, sounding that distinctive call which confirms beyond any doubt that Spring has indeed arrived. If you’ve ever visited a lake shoreline or marshy area during Spring and early Summer, you’ve almost certainly heard this call:1
I want to thank my friend, Larry Jordan, blogging at The Birder’s Report, for the tip on the great birdsong resource, xeno-canto. Now, on with the show! Read the rest of this entry »
- Recorded by Andrew Spencer at Rocky Ford SWA, Otero Co., Colorado, USA. Recording available at xeno-canto.org ↩
It has been awhile since I’ve offered a new post in this series. I’ve had wonderful feedback – so good to know that this sort of picture-centric, rambling thought offering is as much fun for others as it is for me. Hope you like this month’s offering!
I love the beautiful white, fragrant flowers of this (I think) Mexican Plum (Prunus mexicana) tree. And that I told passers-by that it was a “dogwood” tree. Whoopsie. Read the rest of this entry »
At first, I thought a windblown leaf was caught in a spiderweb. Plausible, right? This is the screen over a window off my back patio. I can’t say for sure, but I think that this “leaf” may have been there a full day before I took a closer look. Maybe the joke is on me…and I just don’t know a moth-head when I see one. Read the rest of this entry »
Time for another photo ID contest where you can play to win a donation to your favorite nature/wildlife/conservation charity~non-profit. Last month I made the mistake of using a photo that I wasn’t very sure about, and wound up having three winners because that picture ended up being the tie-breaker. 
This month I’ve got some great pics, and I this time I’m sure about all of the answers! Have fun!
Picture 1 | Dallas, TX
Picture 1 Question: What is the common or scientific name of this bird species? Read the rest of this entry »
Is this a gorgeous bird, or what?! My trip to The Heard last weekend was a treat, topped off by a pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) who flew amongst the trees in the wetland area. You gotta love a red-head! Read the rest of this entry »
