Golden in Gray

Gray County, Texas.

        MyMrMallory and I interrupted a Golden Eagle standing along the road of the native grasslands in Gray County. The eagle took a running leap into the air and resumed his hunting. A hawk, feeling threatened by the immense eagle, attacked him in flight.

American Turkeys.

House Sparrow, female, and her hatchlings.

       We had a good day, birding-wise, in addition to having watched  the remarkable Golden Eagle, we saw a large flock of Lark Buntings, Western Kingbirds, Great-crested Flycatcher, Eastern Meadowlark, Cardinals, Great Blue Heron, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawks, Rufous-headed Sparrows, Lark Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows, Killdeer, Turkey Vultures, Turkeys, and countless birds we sped by so fast that we could not identify.

Lark Bunting on a cow patty surrounded by flowers.

Antelope.

Deer.

Gail's Birds

      I visited the South Plains Rehabilitation Center located in Lubbock, Texas. Gail took the found fledgling Great Horned Owl in her arms, weighed him, and then, with hemostats, gave him mice to eat. He ate with relish. Gail received another owl that same afternoon, and fed him, too. And he seemed mischievous by clamping down his beak so hard against the hemostats that Gail could not retrieve them until he let go.

Gail and the owl I brought to her.

He held the hemostats in his beak.

He looks comfortable and satisfied in Gail's arms after his meal.

Linda, from Amarillo, gently held one of the satisfied owls.

Gail took the owls to the flight rooms. Ours jumped from her arms and flew up onto a perch.

We both felt happy that he seemed strong enough to fly.

Gail nurtures resident owls. Two Barn Owls (above) live year-round at South Plains.

The Barn Owls above are parents to chicks, which Gail raises and then releases in the wild.

These nestling Barn Owls were born at South Plains.

The juvenile Golden Eagle above suffers from head trauma after colliding with a car.

He will remain under Gail's care until he can fend for himself in nature.

Westward with Owl

Westward with Owl. A good day for a birder. I began by watching a Painted Bunting and several females at the feeders at Wild Bird Rescue. Then along Highway 82 I spotted an oriole, nine Swainson's Hawks, a raven, and a Ground Dove. The treat today included delivering a found fledgling Great Horned Owl to Gail at the South Plains Rescue. There I saw Percy, a resident (very old) pelican among several resident or recuperating owls, hawks, and a Golden Eagle.

iPhone image of the fledgling Great Horned Owl, post-processed with 100 Cameras app.

Growing Eagles

Raptor Center Camera

Raindrops Keep Fallin' on Their Heads

       Happy ducks in the pool nearby as it rained for several hours this morning -- our first significant amount of rain since last year.

A white Rock Pigeon (bring out your magnfying glass) flies under storm clouds.

Poetry: Highway Delay

Highway Delay

I can learn right away to pee downhill
but that doesn't mean that I'm a good camper.
I won't stay our here in eastern Turkey
just because there's a guy over here
with a bright yellow hard-hat and blue eyes
telling me he's dynamiting the mountain
so I have to stop right here to wait
on this highway that beckons more travel.
I don't care how good-looking he is
or that he looked the other way
when I bared my buttocks
between those two composite rocks --
pale yellow streaming down the cliff
toward the green of the Coruh River.

Highway Construction Crewman, Turkey, 2008.

Little Birds, Big Hands

Wild Bird Rescue gives a big hand to help nature raise hatchling birds.

Angeli feeds hastily growing birds with a dropper.

Hatchling American Robins are cared for after strong winds blew their nest from a tree.

Steve feeds a hatchling.

Little bird receives food from a big hand.

A fledgling robin perches on its growing legs and looks out from the incubator.

Little Empid in the Azalea

Least Flycatcher, Empidonax minimus, in photo I found in Wikipedia.

One Sole Purpose

To attract birds.

And it works! More often now I see the Eastern Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Inca Doves, Carolina Wren, Cardinals, Red-winged Blackbird.

Poetry: Hattusha

Strolling Upon the Ancient City of Hattusha

I strolled upon the grass and flowers
that have grown around the stones
a century after the sun beat upon

Turkish workmen shoveling away
tiny amounts of soil before reaching
for their trowels and horsehair brushes

under the watchful eye of the German
archeaologists digging as if un-endingly
the grounds of the ancient city Hattusha

Cursed for one hundred twenty years
the Hattis defied their enemy to bring
life to the mountain surrounded by a wall

built by men but meant by a god to frame
the people walking through the flowers
with thoughts of love and breaking bread.

Rug vendor in Cappadocia.

iPhone Owlet

While Steve held the owlet, Maggie put fresh water in her bowl.

Post processed iPhone photo.

Grouchy Swan

           Dr. Stengle checks on the swan pair that nests along the creek. The male, though, still does not appreciate him approaching their nest. In the foreground, Great-tailed Grackles continue their springtime displays of courtship.

Scissortail Flycatchers

. . . surround us in great numbers, I feel delighted to say!

Stoic Rehabbers

      Though grieving for the sudden loss of BirdManBob, rehabbers at Wild Bird Rescue continued their life-saving work. MissD from Animal Control brought an owlet. Steve and Alicia, with the assistance from Lila, hydrated the owlet and put her in for the night. Though born only a mile away, Wild Bird Rescue must transport her to Lubbock where they have the facilities large enough to raise her to adulthood. I wish they would bring her back here when she is grown!

BirdManBob

      Passed away this afternoon. Everyone in shock yet stoic. Lila will serve as director now.

Lomographical Rotorcraft

           Fish-eye view of a Cartercopter parked in Richard Stark's hangar, Olney, Texas, and at right, very wide-angle view of helicopter cockpit.

Out Birding in Archer County



Yellow-headed Blackbirds.

Cattle Egret

Greater Roadrunner.

       Delightedly we spotted the Eastern Phoebe, Cedar Waxwings, Yellow Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, femail Painted Bunting, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, in addition to the usual gang, namely, Scissortail Flycatchers, Common Grackles, Turkey Vultures, Red-winged Blackbirds, Mourning Dove, Eurasian Collared Dove, Canada Geese, coot, Great-blue Heron, Western Kingbird, Purple Martins, Bewick's Wren, White-crowned Sparrow, Loggerhead Shrike, Meadowlark, Cattle Egret, Red-tailed Hawk, among other hawks, a possible kestrel, and heard a Great Horned Owl all night.

Purple Martin house in between storms.

White-crowned Sparrow

       Making a first known appearance to my garden! Photo by Donna Dewhurst.

Baltimore Oriole

        I felt delighted to see an oriole, a male Baltimore, in my garden in the late afternoon yesterday. My plan to plant as many bird-attracting plants as I can has begun to show some benefit (in addition to the added exercise I do). Below I show a picture shared by Planet of Birds of the the Baltimore Oriole.

Terje's Milky Way Time-Lapse

Film by Terje Sorgjerd. Breath-taking.
Check out this great MSN video: Milky Way Time-Lapse