Thursday, July 3, 2008

Palo Duro Canyon Texas State Park (birds)

PhotoStory Friday
Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek


 I was able to park and just walk in a small area near the car in clear terrain (keeping watch for snakes) and see all of these birds. There were also a few who avoided me a little better, sorry for that.


A few Bullock’s Orioles.


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A couple of little woodpeckers.


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(This one cracked me up, as he peeked around making sure the coast was clear for him to lunch on the “no picnicking sign”.)


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A cute little Lark Sparrow perched on a rock.


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A few Finches, I kept scaring the poor female off her nest. She built under a picnic shelter and each time I passed under the shelter she scared me as much as I scared her.


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But my prize of the day was the privilege of seeing, in real life, with my own two eyes, a Painted Bunting. I had only seen this bird in my bird book and thought it would be cool to see one but I feel especially special that one happened to be at the canyon during the the short time I was there watching.


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So bright and colorful, people often mistake the Painted Bunting for an escaped pet tropical bird.


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He wouldn’t let me get any closer but I hope you can see how beautiful he is. I soaked up his song while my men waited for me at the car.


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Identification
An adult male Painted Bunting is arguably the most distinctive songbird in North America, with the combination of a deep blue head, red underparts, a green back, and a red rump. While not as brightly colored as males, female Painted Buntings are also distinctive. The female has an overall greenish plumage which is more darkly colored above than below.
~quoted from Audubon (They left off the red eye ring mentioned on other sites.)



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Isn’t he beautiful?! I got too close apparently and off he flew. I enjoyed my time in his presence and hope you have too.


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As we drove out of the park Dennis pulled off to the side and I shot this bird from the car. I’m pretty sure it’s a Western Kingbird.


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A little further down the road we scared few vultures off from their meal but one paused long enough for a shot.


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20 comments:

  1. Congrats on seeing the painted bunting and for getting several good shots of him! So very beautiful. I'm impressed with your ability to capture birds in the wild so well.

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  2. Gorgeous pics! I love the oriole and the bunting. And guess what? I got your postcards today! Hooray! :0) I have to remember to switch over your links on my blog! (((Hugs)))

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  3. You sure can find the loveliest of wonders, Lisa. Thanks for this. I enjoyed both images and text.

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  4. Oh very nice birds! So, I am assuming the snakes stayed in hiding????

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  5. Those are some beautiful shots.

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  6. Lovely photos, as always, Lisa! Happy 4th, btw! Hope you and your family have a great time celebrating!

    xo

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  7. Wow!! Fantastic pictures! I'm utterly envious.

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  8. Lisa! Many of these are calendar quality - I love the contrasts in colors. I think my favorites are the first few of the orioles. Happy Fourth!

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  9. Wonderful. I'm always amazed at the variety of birds that are indigrnous to a small area.

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  10. Wow these pictures are beautiful..
    they are all terrific...I especially like that 'Painted Bunting' bird...
    birds are such wonderful things to take pictures of

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  11. Love your photos, as always, and your site here. Thanks for sharing :)

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  12. WOWZA, these are just as spectacular Lisa. I love how crisp they are. And those firework pics BTW - LOVE 'EM. Happy 4th!!

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  13. Those Orioles are beautiful. I don't have a great appreciation for birds, but I have a GREAT appreciation for baseball, one team of which is called the Orioles. I knew it was a type of bird, but I didn't know what one looked like. NICE!

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  14. These are all amazing shots but the painted bunting is stunning! Beautiful!!

    Great PSF Lisa! Sorry I am so behind. We just got internet access back to day and I feel like I can never catch up!!

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  15. Wow. I can't believe you got so many good shots of the different birds. I would have 30 pictures and maybe one good one. Birds don't sit very still for me :-(

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  16. I love that first one... although I can't remember what the thing is called to save my life. :)

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  17. You remind me of my husband...he loves photographing birds, too!

    Veyr nice shots.

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  18. Wow, gorgeous photos! My dad grew up near Palo Duro Canyon, but I've never been there. After seeing your photos, I just might have plan a road trip. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  19. Those oriole shots are pretty nice.

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  20. birds north american...

    Occasionally a mob of emu can been seen foraging, mostly one or two adults (males?) with groups of well-grown young in tow. At one point a huge, very dark Wedge-tailed eagle stares down at me from one of the few taller trees in the area. As I get clos...

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