Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Birds of Springtime

 I'm been enjoying the increase in bird activity that has been happening. I enjoy watching the changes as species come and go. To the left is a Brewers Blackbird I think. This was taken near the pond on Main Street in Mendocino as I was out and about putting up flyers for Caspar events.
 Taken in front of the Caspar Community Center, a barn swallow. They are busy building nest under overhangs on the center building as they do each spring. I love watching them fly, sometimes only a few inches above the ground. As I was arranging books for my book sale inside the center and had the doors open, one flew in and was trapped in the room for a couple of hours but finally found an escape route out an open window.
 This fellow was sort of hovering in the moving air of a breeze as I took this shot.
 Near the post office in Mendocino, a raven. When it first landed on the post it was making the raucous call that they make a lot. I made sort of a clicking sound at it and then it started making the clucking, chuckling sound that they make sometimes. This shot was taken as it was making that sound, the fine feathers on it's head fluffed as it did so. When I first heard that sound in the forest I had no idea what was making it and only later figured it out when I saw two of them flying by talking to each other in chuckles.
There are very few robins about now but earlier in the spring they were around in large numbers.  I took lots of pictures of them. A friend who has one of these bushes in her yard said that at certain times when the berries have ripened and fermented, the robins get drunk eating them and exhibit odd behavior. I hope to see that next year.