Another Bird Bonus

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)

Well…pretty lucky.  I decided I needed to make myself a bit less obvious, so I went to my garden shed, pulled over my upholstered stool to the door way, sat and waited.  I did not have to wait long.  Mere seconds.  I saw a bird fly into one of my apple trees.  I zoomed in and focused.  Hurray…the Orchard Oriole had returned and I was ready.  Fantastic!

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!