Bird photo round-up

This post is going to show all the birds I've been excited to snap during the last few weeks.  I've photographed a few new birds - new checks in my birding guide - and a couple of repeats that I just liked.

I've gotten this guy before, but I just love his coloring.  I have to admit, they seem to be all over the place and are very easy to get pictures of, but I still try to get better, clearer shots.

Here's the Hairy Woodpecker again - check out the last shot.  His little pink tongue actually made it into the feeder's tiny opening and it looks like he's getting some nectar.

Next are some House Finches - a red male and the plainer brown female.  I don't know if I've seen them here at Bluewater before, but these are pretty good shots.

I changed the settings on my new camera to see if I could get the wings clearer while the female Anna's Hummingbird was was feeding - and it worked, especially in the second photo. 

 
I was parked in the parking lot of Saint Theresa of Avila Catholic Church in Grants, NM and heard some bird calls.  I looked up and here was a Chihuahuan Raven.  I wonder if he was singing a hymn?

This next bird is a first sighting and photo for me.  I snapped his photo at Bluewater Lake State Park.  He's a male Violet-green Swallow.

Blurry picture, but I may never get one in flight again.  Wish I had changed the camera setting before I got this shot.

This next bird is a White-breasted Nuthatch.  It was climbing all over a Pinyon Pine in the campground, then hopped off, jumped around and climbed back on the tree.  I took a ton of pictures, but it moved so fast, only a few were clear.  The male has a black cap and nape, and the female has a grey cap and nape.  I think this one is a female.

These Great-tailed Grackles are in the parking lot at Wal-Mart, the males are black and the females/juveniles (who are molting right now) are brown and black.  I liked the way this one looked, kind of raggedy:

I put up a seed feeder to see what would come by.  So far, Pinyon Jays have emptied it, but no other birds so far.  This first guy is standing on a little broken branch coming out of the trunk, looking down at the feeder.

Before I knew it, I had a tree full of Pinyon  Jays on the Pinyon Pine.  There were more, but this was taken out the front windshield, and I cropped out the rest with the steering wheel, rear-view mirror, etc.  It was fun to watch them all jockey for position to get to the feeder.  Most of them didn't make it.

This one is a Say's Phoebe - I've seen them twice in the park, I don't think they are very plentiful and felt lucky to get a photo of this guy.

I've had this green bird for a long time and she's a favorite.  She is always standing near my houseplants, and is a Fat Green Kitchenbird. They are usually seen in threesomes - one with a hat, one in a bikini and one with a belt.  Although they like to hang around together, I think the other two are stored in a cupboard for now. 

And that's all the photos of birds for now.  I have to say, although I'm not a real birder, I sure love finding new ones, getting their pictures, and checking them off in my Field Guide.  It's nice to post them in my blog for easy future reference.

From me and Katie, have a great Tuesday, everyone!  :)