Eastern Blue Bird

Eastern Blue Bird, originally uploaded by Sachin N Saraf.

The Eastern Bluebird, a member of the Thrush family and one of three species of bluebirds that occur in North America, is a cavity nester that lives in open country. They occur in the eastern half of North America as far west as the Rocky Mountains, and as far south as Nicaragua. Populations have suffered since these birds must compete with House Sparrows, Starlings, woodpeckers and other cavity nesters. Placement of nest boxes for Bluebirds has resulted in population increases in many regions. These birds are an important predator on destructive insects such as grasshoppers, caterpillars, crickets, Katydids, and beetles. Their diet also consists of various berries, spiders, sow bugs, earthworms and snails.

Bluebirds are popular with bird watchers. The male is deep blue above, with a chestnut throat, breast and flanks. Many people place specially designed nest boxes in suitable habitat to provide nesting opportunities for Bluebirds.

Black Capped Chickadee

Black Capped Chickadee, originally uploaded by Sachin N Saraf.

I saw one of these cute birds at the very beginning of my shoot so I decided to keep focused on only one bird today as I left for the shoot very late in the evening.

I got some more pictures and will post them soon.

Information:
A bird almost universally considered “cute” thanks to its oversized round head, tiny body, and curiosity about everything, including humans. The chickadee’s black cap and bib; white cheeks; gray back, wings, and tail; and whitish underside with buffy sides are distinctive. Its habit of investigating people and everything else in its home territory, and quickness to discover bird feeders, make it one of the first birds most people learn.

Chickadees are active, acrobatic, curious, social birds that live in flocks, often associating with woodpeckers, nuthatches, warblers, vireos, and other small woodland species. They feed on insects and seeds, but seldom perch within several feet of one another while taking food or eating. Flocks have many calls with specific meanings, and they may contain some of the characteristics of human language.

American Goldfinch

American Goldfinch, originally uploaded by Sachin N Saraf.

On my way home I found one Goldfinch sitting low in the grass but sun was on opposite side an I wanted to capture the light in its eye so I tried to adjust my position but these tiny birds are restless and move around very quickly so I lost it without a single shot.

When I was about to exit the park I went to visit the old berry tree and found another finch in low grass and this time I did not try to adjust my position instead captured few pictures first. Again when I was about to get the pictures from the angle I wanted this flew away.

Hope you enjoyed watching this.

I will soon be out shooting to capture Cardinal and Blue Jay..

Reflection

Reflection, originally uploaded by Sachin N Saraf.

This duck flew in just for 5 min in the pond and luckily I was on my way home and captured few shots and liked this one most for the clear reflection in the water.

Sparrow

I will get the exact Id of this sparrow soon.

I loved this bird.

Gray Cat bird

I will appreciate if someone can help me with the name of this one.

I am sure I will not be able to find its ID :-)

CWW

I have been following these CWW couple for a while now but they always prefer sitting on top of the trees.

Today morning for a change this one decided to take a dive and offered me to take few shots.

Good Morning!

I left for Terrywile Park early in the morning today. I went to a side I have never went before and tried my luck at one of the smaller berry tree out there. There were only Robins around the berry tree and were not coming out of the shadow of the tree leaves.

Suddenly this Squirrel came out with the fruit and was enjoying the beautiful morning sunlight.

I learned a lesson that to get the great images of wildlife it is very important to go out very early in the morning.

Camouflage

Some animals hide in plain sight in order to survive in the wild! You might be thinking, how does this work!? When you play hide-n-seek can you just sit in the middle of the room? No, you will be found immediately. The difference between humans and some animals who hide in the open is that these animals have colors and patterns that allow them to disappear, almost becoming invisible before your very eyes.

Cryptic coloration is the most common form of camouflage, found to some extent in the majority of species. The simplest way is for an animal to be of a color similar to its surroundings.

I was trying to get some macro shots of flower around the mud standing right next to this frog but never saw it until lens mistakenly focused on this amphibion.
I was thrilled to see the natures beauty.

Field Sparrow

This was the last picture of my today's visit (18-Jun-2010). The sun was setting and I saw this house sparrow bathing in the warm twilight of setting sun.
I took four pictures before I get the correct exposure. I wanted to get the exposure exactly the same as I was getting through Worlds best lens (My Eyes) Finally I succeeded and liked the outcome very much. It looks beautiful with the orange light reflecting from its wings. I am happy I could retain the details and been able to produce and share the picture exactly as I saw it.

I returned home with satisfaction and was charged enough to upload and share the images.

Identification:
Entirely pink bill is distinctive. Gray face with reddish crown, distinct white eye ring, and indistinct reddish eye line. Back is streaked except on gray-brown rump. Rich buffy-orange unstreaked breast and sides; grayish white belly; pink legs. Juvenile: streaked below; buffy wing bars.
The American tree is most similar but has a 2-toned bill and a black central breast spot. The breeding-plumaged chipping  shares the rufous cap but has a dark eye line, is plain gray below without buff on the breast or flanks, has a dark bill, and lacks the bold eye ring.

Squirrel

I visited the berry tree to find if I am lucky to find few new birds there but today was a dull day and not many birds were interested in the free berries. But this squirrel appeared from somewhere and was waiting for me to get out of its way to the tree. So we struck a deal...it gave me a pose and in return i moved out of its way.

Within five minutes I was furious at this mischievous squirrel...It went straight up the tree and on the branch right on top of my head and tried to shower me with its pee... I was aware of its wired behavior and was alert enough to get out of the shade of tree.

Vikas and I have seen it other day doing the same thing to keep us away from the tree... :-)

Downy Woodpecker

I love the way woodpeckers hang on the trunk of the tree. Even on straight branch (Like the one on berry tree pic) they prefer vertical grip.

Today I found woodpecker in more natural environment in the deep woods.I could hear the noise but it took me a while to find it on this tree.
It was picking some soft wood to fill it in its nest. May be it was preparing bed for the young ones :-)

Downy Woodpecker

Yesterday evening I decided to take a walk at the Terryville park and carried my camera along (it was cloudy but not raining). The conditions were overcast and at 07:00pm the sun was pipping out of clouds once in a while so it was very difficult lighting situation.I came across this berry tree where I saw some movement and saw many birds were making round to this tree. But most of them were hiding in the shadow of tree leaves and with the kind of lighting it was impossible to get any sharp image but this woodpecker came out in the open for a moment and finally I got to capture the Downy Woodpecker collecting the berries (Still waiting to capture it at nest feeding the babies).

Baltimore Oriole

I also got to see some more birds in the shadow of the berry tree but could not nail one single sharp image of any other bird except the Downy Woodpecker and this Baltimore Oriole which is not as good as I would have liked but still this looked good to me as the pair of this beautiful bird kept coming back to this tree for number of times. I am sure they have their kids some where in the nest Hope I will get some more bird shots at this tree before all the berries are finished :-)

White Tailed Buck

I was taking a stroll back to home after a failed attempt to capture Downy Woodpecker. On my way I noticed this White Tailed Buck which became alert on hearing my footsteps and it had it's eyes and ear fixed on me for some time but suddenly some kids started shouting in distance on the other side and this buck immediately altered its stance and gave me just an ear and rest all was focused on something which sounded more concerning to him.

Downy Woodpecker Home

I found this home of a Downy Woodpecker and waited there for almost an hour to get a shot of feeding but I was not lucky enough and weather was not on my side either. So I left the place but not without taking the picture of home where young ones are growing. I will go back there sometime this week again and see if I have any luck.

Eastern Blue Bird

This was taken when me and Maya (my wife) went for a early morning shoot. I loved the color of this bird.

Family!

As I was busy tracking the mischievous and restless Yellow Warbler in the morning I saw this duck family at the very last moment.

The mom kept an eye on me and the moment I clicked it took the hidden road in the grass...I did not follow it for picture as I had no intention to bother her in her own backyard...especially when she had responsibility of six young ones.

Bobolink - Male

Finally got the ID of this bird which is Fairly common summer resident in east.
 Male Bobolinks in breeding plumage are visually striking birds. Their plumage has been described as looking like a skunk, a backward tuxedo, or a broken egg running down their back. They are solid black below, with black faces, light yellow napes, black and white streaked backs, and white rumps. Females are buff-brown with streaked backs and plain buff underparts. They have plain faces, dark eye-lines, and dark and light head stripes. They could easily be misidentified as a large sparrow, especially because they have thick, short bills and are smaller than most blackbirds. Males in non-breeding plumage look like females.

Conservation Status

Bobolinks are common throughout most of their range and were formerly considered to be major predators of rice in the southeastern United States. There is less rice grown in the United States now, and the population of Bobolinks has declined in the past few decades due to loss of habitat, so their predation of rice is less of an issue. Partners in Flight lists them as a species-at-risk. Bobolinks are historically more eastern birds and have expanded their range into Washington because of the habitat created by agriculture. In fact, the Toppenish colony near Yakima is probably the westernmost Bobolink colony in North America. Mowing and livestock grazing are both threats to breeding Bobolinks. Preservation of some uncultivated, wet meadow adjacent to hay fields, along with delayed mowing by farmers until the young have fledged, may help maintain Bobolink populations.

Gray Catbird

Overview

Gray Catbird: Small, shy, dark gray mockingbird with black cap and red-brown undertail coverts. The bill, legs, and feet are black. Forages on ground, shrubs and branches. Feeds mostly on insects and their larvae, spiders, berries and fruits. Swift direct flight on rapid wing beats.

Range and Habitat

Gray Catbird: Breeds from southern Canada to central New Mexico, the Gulf states and Bermuda. Winters in the southeastern U.S., Panama, and the West Indie. Prefers low, dense vegetation or vine tangles at the edges of forests, marshes, and streams; does not occur in forest interiors. Suburban landscapes often contain good habitat for this species.

Yellow Warbler

This tiny Yellow warbler gave me run for this shot. It was early morning and it was busy finding some worms for breakfast. I have not got very sharp image of this Warbler yet but will get one soon as I know the nest of this beautiful bird.