These pictures were taken on February 20th, 2010 at the beach in Port Aransas, Texas. The Black Skimmer is a very unique bird. If you look at his beak, the lower mandible is much longer than the upper. What they do to feed is fly very low over the water and drop the lower mandible into the water so that it skims the water surface. Any small minnows will then be scooped up. They normally feed in early mornings or late afternoons but will sometimes even feed at night.
These pictures were taken on February 20th, 2010 at the Birding Center in Port Aransas, Texas.
These pictures were taken on February 20, 2010 at the Birding Center in Port Aransas, Texas.
These pictures were taken on March 23rd, 2010 at Fountain, Florida. I was using an iPod with external speakers and had a recording of bluebird songs. I had the speakers set up very close to a perch that I wanted him to land on. I spent about 10 hours playing their song and during that time he only landed on my perch twice. The bluebirds did enjoy listening to the song though as they would sit there on the electrical wires for hours listening to it. Oh well, at least I got a couple fairly good shots.
This picture was taken on February 19th, 2010 at Choke Canyon State Park, Texas.
These pictures were taken on February 19th, 2010 at Choke Canyon State Park. Choke Canyon is a State Park that naturalists should just love. On the one afternoon that I was there with my friend, Larry Johnson, we had close-up views of a flock of wild Turkeys, 20 or 30 White Tailed Deer, Red Tailed Hawks, Crested Caracara plus the Northern Jacana. Unfortunately, I had problems with my camera and although I got some so so shots, they weren't as good as they should have been. Those pictures follow.
For those who might be interested, there is also camping at Choke Canyon and the sites are very spacious, so if you're looking for a quiet vacation with lots of space between campsites, and want to observe lots of wildlife, you might want to consider Choke Canyon.
These pictures were taken on February 13th, 2010 at Estero Llano Grande State Park, Weslaco, Texas. 
These pictures were taken on February 19th, 2010 at Choke Canyon State Park, Texas. This bird is rarely seen in Texas, but is very unique. Although the pictures don't show it, they have very long toes and can walk across lilly pads. In Jamaica, they are know as the Jesus bird as they appear to be able to walk on water. 
This picture was taken on February 19th, 2010 at Choke Canyon State Park, Florida.
This picture was taken on February 19th, 2010 at Choke Canyon State Park, Texas. Note the small horn prongs. 
These pictures were taken on February 16th, 2010 at the dock in Port Aransas. The Brown Pelican is the only pelican that will dive to catch fish.
These pictures were taken on February 17th, 2010 At Aransas Pass. It is one of North Americas largest bird of prey and 99% of his diet is made up of fish. This guy can be found on all continents of the world except Antartica. 
These pictures were taken on February 12th, 2010 at Estero Llano Grande State Park, Weslaco Texas. Shooting hummingbirds with a flower is difficult. Not only do you have to get the bird in focus, but the flower should be in focus as well. For you camera buffs, I was shooting at 1/8,000 of a second, f 7.1 and ISO=800. The bird is in pretty good focus but the flower isn't. I've got lots to learn for doing this. A smaller flower would have helped.
These pictures were taken on February 16th, 2010 at Paradise Pond, Port Aransas, Texas.
This picture was taken on February 17th, 2010 at Pioneer RV Park, Port Aransas, Texas. This guy is pretty common here in Texas and they are often seen in parking lots picking dead bugs out of the grills of cars.
These pictures were taken on February 17th, 2010 at Paradise Pond, Port Aransas, Texas.
This picture was taken on February 13, 2010 at Estero Llano Grande State Park, Weslaco, Texas. A better name for this guys would have been Ring Billed Duck as he has a very noticeable ring on his bill. Apparently he does have a purplish ring on his neck which is usually only noticeable if you were holding him in your hands.
This picture was taken on February 19th, 2010 at Choke Canyon State Park, Texas. It's actually in the Falcon family but acts more like a vulture. It is also called the Mexican Eagle. 
This picture was taken on February 16th, 2010 at Paradise Pond, Port Aransas, Texas.
These pictures were taken on February 16th, 2010 at Paradise Pond, Port Aransas, Texas.
Posts
All Comments
