The first pictures are of our nation's bird, the Bald Eagle. There is no way to describe what it is like to have these birds flying close to you. They are truly a magnificent bird. The juvenile's head and tail turn white at about the age of 4-5. The male and female return to the same nest every year. The nest can weigh up to a thousand pounds.
This one was looking right at me.
This is a lucky shot. To get two flying that close together was marvelous.
Now lets go to a bird that is not considered to be a favorite--The Turkey Vulture. I really am never very excited about photographing them. However, God made them. Did you know that they are one of the few birds with a developed sense of smell? They are usually mute, making only grunts or groans. It seems that they are always in the air. Occasionally a person sees one on the ground.
The next is one of the owls found in Michigan. The Barred Owl. It is named that because of the dark horizontal "barring" on the chest. They can often be seen hunting during the day. I love this picture. He looks so sleepy.
The next picture is of a peacock in all of his glory. You can usually tell when one is around by their call.
Here is a picture of a what people call a Black Cardinal. I did not know these birds existed until a few years ago. When a person told me what they were, I actually thought they were wrong, so I looked them up on the internet. The name really is the Phainopepla. His name means shining robe. When he flies, you will see a white patch on each wing. The females are gray color. What I thought was fascinating is the red eyes against the black. These really are not classified as a cardinal. They are actually in the fly catcher family of birds. They are only found in the the southwest part of the United States. I was very happy to get a picture of one as they are not that easy to find.
Here is another lucky shot. Although their backs were to me, I was happy to get this picture of two Sandhill Cranes coming in to land. These birds have a very distinctive call. When they fly overhead, you can usually tell they are in the area, as they are not quiet.
Now a favorite with almost everyone---the Ruby-throated Hummingbird. I try every year to get a spectacular picture of one of these and every year I fall short. We have even created a "Hummingbird garden" in our backyard. Because of that we are attracting more of them, but I still have not gotten that perfect shot.
Last year we had the very noisy House Wrens in our front yard in one of our birdhouses. Yes, they can nearly drive one crazy with their singing from dusk to dawn. But, they are so little and really very cute. Here is a picture of a baby house wren.
Living by Lake Michigan I feel obligated to add a picture of a sea gull. I call this one "Bird on a mission."
Now lets get to some of the more colorful birds. Those that we love having at our backyard feeders. Let's start with the beautiful Indigo Bunting. These come into my backyard briefly and seem to leave as fast as they come. It is usually around Mother's Day that we see one.
Then there is the Baltimore Oriole. I usually hear them before I see them. Just put out some grape jelly and some oranges and here in SW Michigan, you will probably have many.
Another colorful bird that I look for in the spring is the Rose-breasted Grosbeak. The males are very colorful. The females are not, and they are mainly identified by their beaks. In the spring, the males arrive first, followed shortly after by the females.
I plan to do another blog on birds in the future. There are so many different birds and I have thousands of pictures. Luckily for you, I will not share all of them.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it.
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