A Wonderful Day

Finally, we had a break in the cold, rainy weather and I took the opportunity to drive around the farm to see what’s going on!

I was treated with a variety of birds.

I was disappointed that none of my shots helped me fully identify this bird that landed atop a tree near the pond.

HOWEVER….. when I was processing the raw files I found that I had actually set the camera to VIDEO and it’s obviously a Great Crested Flycatcher!!!! Very exciting to know they have returned this Spring.

As I was filming the Great Crested Flycatcher, I saw a bird drop down and take a dip in the pond, then fly to the the branch of a tree. That’s a behavior that Tree Swallows, Barn Swallows and our Purple Martins perform. But, this bird was bigger and it turned out to be an Eastern Kingbird.

The next photo is very good quality. I’m posting it because it captures the red spot on the head of this species that is rarely ever captured.

Eastern Kingbirds don’t nest in cavities, but they do hunt from raised locations – apparently, including this bird house on the other side of the property from the pond.

Not far from where this bird house sits, there is the remnant of a fence, upon which I captured a Mourning Dove taking a nap!

I’m off to a work meeting. I will create a follow up post to share the other lovely birds I spotted on my outing.