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Thursday, May 03, 2018

Bird-A-Palooza!

Hello and greetings to all!  Cam and Maggie here to share more of our mom's photos from our last trip to Quivira.  If you'll remember, we shared some Northern Shovelers with you a bit ago; they are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg as far as the birdies we saw!  Let's take a sampling!

Mom was walking along, focusing on something else when she spotted this guy moving through the reeds:

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American Bittern

If he hadn't been moving, or if he'd been at a different angle, she never would have seen him! God gave this guy GREAT built-in camouflage!

She got so excited when she saw this tiny bird at close range that she forgot to extend her lens!

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Pied-Billed Grebe

There were a handful of different species of shorebirds there!  Representing that category is this next birdie:

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Lesser Yellowlegs

Some of our Summer residents are starting to appear, like this irridescent-feathered beauty:

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White-Faced Ibis

Cool beak, too, don't you think?  Speaking of cool beaks, this guy is really showing off how delicate his curved beak is:

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American Avocet

In addition to the Shovelers we showed you, we saw lots of other ducks!  Take a look at some!

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Blue-Winged Teals
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Greater Scaup, a Ruddy Duck, and Buffleheads

Lots of the birdies are in their "breeding plumage" -- which basically means they're wearing their Sunday best to look nice for each other!  Ruddy Ducks aren't in breeding plumage for very long, but Mom was hoping to be able to see one as such!  She saw a handful of them!  Check this guy out!!!

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Ruddy Duck in breeding plumage!

Don't you love his bright blue bill and deep-rust body?!!?  Mom just went ga-ga over-----

IMG_3234NorthernShoveler
"Hey! Hey, Camera Lady!  Don't forget about me!!!  Aren't I your fave??? Check out my tail feathers!!!"

Sigh.  Well, yes, she went crazy over the male Ruddy Duck, but her heart still belongs to the Northern Shoveler.  Whatever.

(Come on, girls!  Is that not the most charismatic, handsome, adorable duck EVER?!?!)

Do you see what we have to put up with here?

Anyway, we saw lots of Blackbirds, Red-Winged and Yellow-Headed!  Check these out:

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Yellow-Headed Blackbirds

That was about it ...

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American Avocet

Usually, Mom takes the lens off her camera as soon as we leave the refuge, and puts all of her equipment in the back of the vehicle.  For some reason, she decided to keep it on her lap for a while.  As Dad was driving home, down one of the little highways, Mom looked into a field and had one of those moments when she said, "Wait.  What in the ... OHMYGOODNESSPLEASESTOP!!!"  Fortunately, there wasn't anyone behind us, so Dad pulled over a bit and stopped.  (There was no shoulder on the road.). Mom had spotted THREE of these:

IMG_3584SandhillCranes
Sandhill Cranes!!!!

Mom had never been that close to Cranes and oh, boy, was she excited!  She was so thrilled to see them and get a few shots off without disturbing them.  (She later said she was surprised she didn't drop the camera!). It was an incredible experience!  She was thankful Dad was able to pull over, and so very thankful God blessed her with the photo opportunity!

We hope you enjoyed our birdie pix!  Back to normal programming tomorrow!

Cam and Mags

PS:  If you'd like to see a whole bunch more photos from our trip, please click here to visit our FlickR album; it's a two-pager!

13 comments:

  1. Your mom gets very excitable over her birds!

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  2. We just love the way your mom presented the American Avocet
    We have never seen yellow headed Black birds or a Bittern. So many birds in your area.
    Thank you for sharing
    Hugs madi and mom

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  3. Your mom sure takes the bestest birdie and duckie pictures. The American Avocet does have the coolest beak!

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  4. Your ducks are so much nicer looking than the ones we spotted on our walk. Mom is loving that one with the pretty blue beak:)

    The National Weather Service just confirmed that what went through here last night was an EF-1 tornado. So glad we missed it even by a mere two blocks.

    Woos - Lightning, Misty, and Timber

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  5. Those are all great birdie pictures. You are lucky to have such a great place to visit near you.

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  6. Wow, wow, wow. That is an amazing place to bird! The Northern Shoveler is so handsome!!! And the Sandhill Cranes - I've always wanted to see one close up. I've only seen them migrating over our place... thank you for the amazing photos!

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  7. Such wonderful photos!!!
    hugs
    Hazel & Mabel

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  8. WooooHooooo! OMD, those are some very purty burdies gurls!!! And your Moms has captured all their glory! And Ma has never seen a blue bill like that on a duckie befores! Very cool!
    Kisses,
    Ruby ♥

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  9. Great shots. Thank you for sharing them.

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  10. Another wonderful collection!! Mama lovvveeesss to watch Bitterns walk like they are big sticks!
    xoxo,
    Jakey, Arty & Rosy

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  11. We love your bird photos, so beautiful! And so glad for you to get to see the cranes!

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  12. WOW! Gorgeous shots! LOVE the close up on the Ruddy Duck. Still waiting on your book :) It would be a smashing hit!
    BIG hugs with love
    Addie, Lucie and Hailey

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  13. Oh we so enjoy coming along on your birding trips. We don't get to go on any, something about scaring the birds away! Don't know what she means ..... BOL
    Wooos
    Khumbu

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