Yesterday was another bird bonus day.
My walk down to the pond flushed up a mallard
couple from the shore line. The male and
female are so different in coloration.
Both are so beautiful in their own way. Then, I saw several swallows. Not the regular tree swallow pond dwellers, but the more colorful barn swallows. I also noticed a swallow that seemed to be combination of the tree and barn. Hmm...? I had to get out my BIG bird book. The bird could be either an immature barn swallow or an Eurasian subspecies. You decide.
Can you help me identify? |
On return home, I noticed a somewhat
unrecognizable bird in the top of the hemlock tree. This is a favorite spot of my
mockingbirds. Was this a bird a
mockingbird? No, but I could not verify
the species. With the angle of the sun,
I was at a disadvantage. Once I viewed
my photos on the computer, I was so surprised.
Even though the photos were out of focus, I could identify this bird as
an Orchard Oriole. The muted orange that
I could not perceive came through on the photos. This bird is definitely a rare
sighting for me. Unfortunately, the pics
were disappointing. But, better a bad picture than no picture.
About one hour later, I decided to go
back out into the yard. I just had a feeling that my unique find must still be
around. I stepped to the side of the
house to catch two brilliant orange Baltimore Orioles being frisky in my small
sour cherry tree. More orioles. WOW! They were well hidden by the branches, but the
brilliant orange was quite noticeable. Within
seconds, they flew off to the nearby woods.
Yet, another rare sighting for me.
How lucky can I get?
Orchard Oriole (female) |
At the same time, a mockingbird took
rest in the top of that hemlock and began to sing. He serenaded me about 20
minutes, no exaggeration, straight with no break in his repertoire of
songs. Songs imitated from many
birds. That was one happy mockingbird.
That was one happy me.
A perfect ending to a wonderful day!
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