I am not able to get out to take photos as often as I would like, but so enjoy the pictures that others take and post. I’m hearing from some experienced locals that the migratory birds have stayed longer than usual and that there are more of them than usual. That is good news for those of us who like to capture a photo when we can.
The Rose-breasted Grosbeaks made a home in my backyard for several days, but I didn’t see any today and I’m thinking that they have decided to continue on their journey North. I know they enjoyed what I set out for them and hope they remember to come back on the other side of their migration journey.
My last post had a picture of the Indigo Bunting, and my sighting of them really was short-lived. However, I was very grateful for the encounters. At Black Bayou recently I saw the beautiful blue one, and the less colorful one, I am told, is the female. However, I’m not positive about that. They were hopping around in the same field.
I don’t think the Prothonotary Warblers are passing through, I think they’re just here. I wondered about their hard-to-pronounce name. I have learned that “The Prothonotary Warbler got its name from the bright yellow robes worn by papal clerks, known as prothonotaries, in the Roman Catholic church.” (All About Birds) There were several at this intersection of the boardwalk at Black Bayou. I had bumped into fellow photographer Asa Knox and he showed me where they were. I was grateful.
The Usual Cast of Characters. There was also the usual cast of characters and I don’t mind telling you that I never get tired of taking their picture.
Oh, and I don’t want to forget the alligator we saw. He wasn’t a very big one, and I’m sure his mother was around somewhere. But he calmly allowed the cameras to do their work.
To see those who are just passing through is enjoyable. I saw a bright orange Baltimore Oriel on my feeder in the backyard for …oh… about 20 seconds. I have never seen one here, so I haven’t tried to attract them with orange slices or grape jelly! I think the raccoons would make short work of that anyway.
I’ve also enjoyed traveling lowly down Moon Lake Road recently. I have some pictures to share with you sometime from there. As I post this it is Saturday night. The day is coming to an end soon. My next awakening, Lord willing, will be to arise and gather with my church family to worship and talk and encourage one another. When I’m walking around Black Bayou I am surrounded by the sights, sounds, and smells that the Creation is speaking to me in warm ways about a good and gracious God.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! - Psalm 8:3-9
We’ve had Rose-breasted Grosbeaks up here in Franklin, Tennessee, for the last week. They’ve been chatting up the locals at our feeders about everything they’ve been up to down South. It’s fun seeing them.
Excellent commentary and photos!