More Merlin!

I couldn't resist going to see the Merlin again.

This is the first Merlin I have seen and I was lucky enough to get relatively close.  I'd like to head out again tomorrow afternoon because the sun will be at a better angle for its favorite perch.

New Year, New Camera!

Now that I have replaced my broken old camera, hopefully I will be updating this blog a little more often. These are all from a recent trip to Big Bend National Park.

My first Common Yellowthroat

My first Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

A Greater Roadrunner

My first Cactus Wren

My first Rock Wren

My first Black-throated Sparrow

My first Crissal Thrasher

My first Pyrrhuloxia

And finally my first Vermilion Flycatcher

High Island and Bolivar

I have been wanting to go to High Island for a while now. It is one of the premier sites in the US to see migratory birds, especially hawks in the fall and warblers in the spring. So when I knew I was going to be in the Houston area, I couldn't help a side trip. I didn't see any interesting birds there, I think I was a couple weeks too early for the big fall migration, but it was nice to look around, and I will definitely be going back in the spring.

Seen from the ferry between Galveston and Bolivar.

Swallow-tailed Kites

I heard reports of these birds nesting only 20 minutes from my house, so I drove out to check them out. They are very acrobatic, and seemed to enjoy the wind. I saw three total, as well as a couple of Red-shouldered hawks and several Mississippi Kites. A good day!