Birds at Elmendorf Lake, Part 3

Wednesday, January 16, 2013 *

Continuing around Elmendorf Lake, this set of photos from my walk on Monday, January 7, 2013 was taken between the bridge to the island and the Sw 24th St bridge. I didn't have time to walk over the bridge to the island in the center of the lake, but look forward to seeing the lake from the island on a future walk.

Included here are: a great egret (Ardea alba), a northern shoveler (Anas clypeata), an American coot (Fulica americana), and a northern shoveler nesting site with numerous northern shovelers:

* Due to the full schedule I have this week taking a class, all posts for the week will be from previous walks.

Birds at Elmendorf Lake, Part 2

Tuesday, January 15, 2013 *

When I arrived at Elmendorf Lake Park Monday, January 7, I parked in the lot on SW 19th St closest to the dam in the southeast corner of the park. From the parking lot, I walked upstream and continued counterclockwise around the loop trail that circles the lake.

With the exception of the vermillion flycatcher in Sunday's entry, I am posting the photos of the birds in this multi-part series in the order they were taken as I walked around the lake. This set of photos include a great blue heron (Ardea herodias), northern shovelers (Anas clypeata), and lesser scaups (Aythya affinis):

* Due to the full schedule I have this week taking a class, all posts for the week will be from previous walks.

Birds of Crescent Bend, Part 2

Monday, January 14, 2013 *

Today's photos are from my walk at Crescent Bend Nature Park on Monday, December 17, 2012:

There are 437 species of birds listed on the San Antonio Audubon Society's checklist of birds that have been reported to have been sighted in Bexar County. I am fairly good at spotting and photographing the birds, but I am still learning to identify many of the species.

I find the sparrows especially difficult to distinguish one species from another. With that in mind, I think the first bird in this series is a savannah sparrow. The next two birds are an eastern phoebe and a house finch. The fourth bird is another sparrow that I think is a Lincoln's sparrow.

The two photos following that are of the same bird. The best I can tell, it appears to be a house wren. Then there is a black-crested titmouse, a northern cardinal and a northern mockingbird.

The last five photos are all of the same sparrow. It appears to me to be another Lincoln's sparrow.

* Due to the full schedule I have this week taking a class, all the posts for the week will be from previous walks.

Joy Forever, A Sunday Special Edition

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Joy Forever

                 "A thing of beauty is a joy forever."  -  John Keats

A Vermilion flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus) is, without a doubt, a bird of great and unforgettable beauty; truly a joy to see. This set of photos was taken on my walk around Elmendorf Lake this past Monday, January 7, 2013.