Boo !

It's raining, but that doesn't stop Halloween activities around here.

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Chew it up

I stopped at Tanner's Spring and saw loads of hermit thrushes. There was a flock of grackles overhead chattering away. They may have scared some of the smaller birds away. It's a bit hard getting around the park, because restrictive fences are up in preparation for Sunday's Marathon. Under the tunnel, up the hill to Sparrow rock. Lots of sparrows and in one berry tree a group of finches squabbling. There aren't enough berries for everyone? Robins gulp down berries whole. Finches are messy eaters, dig into each berry, toss off the parts they don't want, berry bits flying. I'd never seen them eat before. Berry-mush faces. Just like parrots and cardinals.

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Autumn beauty

I'm still testing the new camera. There weren't many migrating birds today. Autumn colors very rich. I did see one kinglet, but won't blog that yet. In image #15 there are three robins. Try and find them, sort of like Where's Waldo? The blend is wonderful. The center of this field is swamped, bath-time for all who want it. The new camera is doing exactly what I want. Fast response, gorgeous color.

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Rainy day

So much rain, such pretty colors......

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More kinglets

These are from the 21st. There were enough bugging kinglets to fill ten blogs. They were by our feet, bugs first concern. Food! The kinglets are like enchanting jewels dancing around in the grass. It's very serious business...... eating to survive.

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More from Sunday

The autumn colors are being embraced in pictures. One of my main goals is to learn to recogniize the different sparrows. I think I've finally got the chipping and song sparrows down pat. If you click on a picture the ID will appear.

At first I saw nothing but hermit thrushes and thought that would be it for the day, but fairly soon other birds arrived. The field north of Sparrow Rock is filled with weeds that produce great seeds and bugs. It draws the small birds to the ground. They are skittish, so distance is a necessity. After a rainfall the same field gets swampy, also great for bugs. I know there are other kinds of sparrows in this area, but I'm having a hard time sorting them out.

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The rock

When it rains water collects in Sparrow Rock, "Tide Pools" of a sort. That's where I saw the sparrow in the previous blog and where I spotted the robin kneeling to take a sip. As I was leaving the area my eye spotted a "brown ball". It took one second for my brain to register, WREN. Slowly I walked around the edge where I assumed it was bug-hunting and saw nothing, so I decided to wait and be patient. It never dawned on me that the house wren would pop out on the rock to rest and take the sun. It must have been full of food, needed to pause. So here I was with new camera and there was wren maybe 6' away totally relaxed. What a great photo opportunity. Wrens scoot in the dark leaves, very hard to photograph. This was one atypical winter wren.

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