Listening

It was about dusk when we were rapping things up in the boat yard. There is a small pond there and the birds were chattering away in the surrounding trees. I was able to idenitfy some cardinals and I think an eastern phoebe. I saw a few others but was too far away to get a really good look. What I really liked was being able to sit there and close my eyes and hear all of the bird songs surrounding me. It was so relaxing a peaceful. It is fun to identify, but just as fun to enjoy the amazing songs these little guys send out.

The backyard

We have been sitting is Stow, OH for a couple of weeks. We have only gone out once to do some birding and did not come up with much, but it was nice to get out and listen to all the birds. We are staying with Terry's folks and they have a nice backyard and have several feeders. We have been able to watch the finches, cardinals, blue jays and chickadees get their fill of food. We have even seen a hummingbird a few times. It is just so nice to sit out on the sun porch and watch and listen to the birds. It is very relaxing and you can't help but smile and feel very close to nature.

Buff-bellied Hummingbird

These guys flew around so fast!! We had a hard time keeping up with them, but they would settle on a branch or at a feeder and they were wonderful to look at. When they flew around they made a high "tip, tip" sound.

Great Kiskadee

These guys made their rounds. They were flying everywhere and constantly singing. They had one loud call, but usually they sounded just like their name... over and over and over again. The funny thing was that when we went 30 miles south of this area there were none. Very interesting.

Tri-colored Heron

We saw this guy a couple of times. The thing I love watching is when they are eating. They can stand so still and stick their neck out so far, it really is something to see.

Black-necked Stilts

We have seen these birds in a few different places. They are very fun to watch while they are walking around and searching for food.

Black-bellied Whistling Duck

To see this little family of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks was quite a treat. We had seen some flying overhead a couple of nights before, but to be able to see them up close was great.

Edinburg World Birding Center

This was our last stop on Tuesday. We were still waiting for work in Southern Texas and thought that we would check this place out. It was again very hot and there was not much of a breeze, but it was a nice place. It was a combination city park and birding area, so it was very easy for us to park. There were several ponds that were filled with reclaimed water that was a nice draw for the birds, expecially water and wading birds. We saw a few herons and egrets. We got a Neotropic Cormorant, a new one for us, and some Pied-billed Grebes. There was one bird we saw that really made my day. We had seen them fly over head a couple of days before, but now we saw them chilling out in the water with their young. We saw a family of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks!!! The chicks were so cute, they looked like big, fluffy bumble bees. Being stuck in the Rio Grande Valley for four days ended up not being nearly as bad as we thought it would be and we look forward to going back again to search out more birds!!!