I was in Albuquerque last weekend and came across this roadrunner at a local park. It was a little shy and kept a constant distance from me and wouldn’t turn around or give me a profile view for nothing. I lived in New Mexico for years and I don’t think I ever saw one. When I worked summers in the oilfields of west Texas I saw lots of them. Of course back then we didn’t have smart phones snapping away at anything that moved.
I’m linking with Saturday’s Critters
I went on a bike ride the other day on Tulsa’s RiverParks trails. I’m in the habit of taking my Canon SuperZoom along nowadays in case I see anything interesting. It’s a lightweight camera than can really zoom in on things. So this is what I found on my ride.
I found two eagles about a 100 feet apart. I’m guessing that they are fishing for their dinner.
I found this old log with a bunch of turtles and some sort of bird. The setting reminded me of a song that goes “Fools to the left of me, jokers to the right.” Or something like that. Thank you to Eileen who Id’d the bird as a Double Crested Cormorant.
Inaturalist is not sure what kind of bird it is and suggests it is part of the cormorant family. Eileen ID’d it as a Double Crested Cormorant.
I also got fuzzy pictures of some sort of ducks, or ducklike animal. Eileen id’d these as Northern Shovelers.
Most of these photos were at the very limits of my camera. It would help if the critters would come closer to shore but I don’t think they care about me or my needs.
And then way on across the river I found these white pelicans and some sort of white waterfowl.
Pelicans are such unlikely creatures. So comical on the ground and graceful in the air.
So that was the highlight of my bike ride. I’m linking with Saturday’s Critters. Go check it out.
From the Backyard TrailCam
A male cardinal coming in for a landing
And his lady friend a minute or two later
This squirrel is walking with purpose
This guy freezes
Out and About
At Woodward Park in the Daffodils, Kodi with my wife and son on a family outing last week.
At Home
Lizzie catching a nap in the front room.
From the Air
Kodi is not sure that he likes drones.
That’s it for this week. I’m linking with Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters.
A crow in our backyard. I alternate the trailcam from the ground to a bird bath.
A couple doves visited.
And a rabbit late in the evening.
House finches
Robins
A female cardinal
A thirsty squirrel
And Kodi, after a grooming appointment.
I went on a hike at a local lake and found lots of evidence of beaver activity. Looks like they were getting a little artsy with this tree.
I’m linking with Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters. Check it out.
My trailcam captured this house finch in our backyard feeder one late afternoon.
This squirrel’s flamboyant tail was captured early one recent morning.
And I was at the gym, cooling down after my workout and the afternoon sun was leaving warm shadows on a cold day.
I’m linking with Shadow Shot Sunday 2 by the Magical Mystery Teacher.
I got my trailcam going lately. On windy days I aim it at stationary objects like this bird squirrel bath.
iNaturalist tells me this is a house finch.
A Blue Jay showing up for the party.
And here we have birds coming and going!!
INaturalist says this is a downy woodpecker.
And a goose whom I encountered on a walk at a local park.
(If you disagree with any ID’s please say something!!)
And a selfie with our Pomeranian puppy, Kodi.
I am linking with Saturday’s Critters
We’ve had this hummingbird feeder up for weeks. We keep stuff in and clean and refill regularly. The first day we had a hummingbird and nothing since then. Nothing in terms of hummingbirds. We got all sorts of other critters who perch on it or get behind it like this smart aleck squirrel.
And some more bird action in the background.
And here is a cardinal and a blue jay mocking me about my hummingbird failure.
I went hiking on Turkey Mountain and found this new (to me) bat nest.
I also found this black colored snake in the middle of the trail. He scooted off by the time I got my phone out and ready.
I also found this guy in the middle of another trail. I let him be.
I checked out the monarch waystation and there are more wildflowers popping up.
I saw this little moth looking creature on one of the blooms. Inaturalist says it is a “gorgone checkerspot.” I’ve never heard of that but I’m going with it for now.
And this doesn’t have anything to do with critters. It’s another jigsaw puzzle. I’m getting to where I am not intimidated by large expanses of sky or water. I’m really enjoying working on online jigsaw puzzles. No pieces are ever lost plus I use the setting where all the pieces are in the right orientation. I know, I am cheating.
I’m linking this to Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters. Go check it out.
I set my trailcam up on the back porch the other day. At 1 am we had a visitor.
I don’t know whether these are the same bandits or not. I think it is the reason we have had two bird feeders destroyed.
I took the camera down to Beavers Bend and set it up hoping to capture some deer but all I got was this ghostly image of a raccoon. At least I think it is a raccoon.
We have a hummingbird feeder. I have had the camera at it for multiple hours over multiple days and have captured exactly zero hummingbirds. We got a lot of critters in the background though.
Our bird feeders have lots of visitors.
I like the candid shots of them taking off or landing.
It would seem taking off or landing would be harder than flying.
I was hiking on Turkey Mountain the other day. I always keep a sharp eye out for copperheads. I didn’t see any that day but I saw this tiny critter hopping across the trail. At first I though it was a bug but I think it is the world’s smallest frog. Talk about good camo, when he quit moving, I couldn’t see him!
I’m linking with Saturday’s Critters with Eileen. Go check it out!!
It’s the love season for dove. Here’s a couple doing some mixed bathing, almost concealed because the blend in so well with the fence.
Mr. Squirrel gets kind of thirsty also.
And we have another cat roaming the back yard at night.
We have lots of sparrows stopping by.
I love the cardinals.
I was walking at Lafortune Park the other day and saw this goose checking everybody out. As I approached it he started acting restless so I backed off so he could chill down.
Grackles everywhere. I run them off whenever I can.
And a brief kerfuffle between a sparrow and a cardinal.
And I completed another jigsaw puzzle on my ipad. I am really slowwwww on these. But they are fun.
I am linking with Saturday’s Critters hosted by Eileen.
We are having it all this past week. We had 80 degree temps, then snow with well below freezing temperatures. Today we are having dry winds that are going to create a fire hazard. Oklahoma weather in the spring is always interesting.
We’ve kept our feeders full. The squirrels dominate the feeders so I’ve been checking the action underneath. Lots of birds play well with others, dove, juncos, sparrows, cardinals they all see to get along. Bluejays and Grackles are more aggressive.
Sorry about all the orange flagging. The telephone company had all the lines relocated.
Them grackles are like a group of noisy teenagers.
Here at the end of the ten second video a bunch of them fly up to the tree.
We got a finch feeder and guess what, finches showed up.
A little bird bath action
And Rascal, our Pomerania shows up to see what all the fuss is about.
Rascal’s thick warm coat comes in handy when it is snowing. Sorry about the bad photo.
We turned our fireplace on for a little bit. LJ loves the fire.
That’s it for this week. I’m linking with Eileen’s Saturday’s Critters. Check it out, lots of great posts there.