Serene Scenery Sunday

Greetings to all!  It's me, Mags, here with Serene Scenery Sunday.  We did a TON of walking this week - it was just awesome!  So you'd think today's photos would be packed with pix like this:

Dad and I enjoying the moon-set on this morning's walk
And Cammie, wishing she and Mom were back in bed

But today we're featuring some photos Mom took yesterday out at Tuttle Creek.  She and her friend Beth had a great outing and Mom saw some birds she's never seen before, so she was all kinds of excited.  Ready to take a look?

Let's start off with a little Downey Woodpecker:

Downey Woodpecker

Mom loves woodpeckers, especially Downeys! She has always dreamed of seeing a Pileated Woodpecker - and finally did yesterday! Unfortunately, he soared over her head at about 250 miles per hour. She and her friend could only watch him, with cries of "That was him! That was him!" and "SQUEE!" Maybe next time, Mom!

She WAS able to get shots of two "lifer" birds -- ones she hadn't seen before. The first was a Brown Creeper:

A very well-camouflaged Brown Creeper!

And the second was a Carolina Wren:

Carolina Wren belting out a tune

Mom was really happy to be able to see them!

She also spotted this Tufted Titmouse:

Tufted Titmouse

Can you see the tuft on top of his head? Here's a male Cardinal with the same hair-do going on:

Northern Cardinal

Looks like he slicked his "tuft" back. Whatever.

The last little bird for today is a Yellow-Rumped Warbler:

Yellow-Rumped Warbler

Can you see the yellow on his butt? Some people call these guys "Butter Butts"! Ha roo roo roo!

Mom saw a couple juvenile Bald Eagles, another raptor of some sort, and other larger birds - but none within range except for this girl:

Female Common Merganser

They usually have crazy hair-dos, too, but even hers was a bit more subdued yesterday. There must have been a sale on hair gel at the state park store.

I hope our photos have you feeling all kinds of serene! Have a great Sunday!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher