Sunday, November 2, 2008

Out of the Garden

Oh what a beautiful day! We had such a lovely day to be out and about today. We went to our usual birding area. Iknow you probably wonder why we go to the same place every weekend. It is sort of like our back yard since we have birded here so often. There is a diversity of habitat and therefore we have a diverse range of birds to find. Sort of like a treasure hunt.

As you can see we also had some color to view. I think we are a little past peak viewing here. It has been so dry that I think a lot of the trees went directly to brown or just dropped their leaves in protest of the dry weather.
'What in the world is he looking at?' you might ask. Well...
is it a mouse?
Nah, we wouldn't work that hard to take a picture of a mouse. It is the first of the season Snow Bunting of course.
This is one of my absolute favorite northern birds. They come down here dressed in their winter plummage.
This one was right cheeky with us.It posed on a rock near the water for a couple of minutes. These little birds don't stand still very long.
You have to get your pictures as fast as you possibly can.This one called and before you know it...
another came whizzing by and off they went. There were 9 of them in this group. You can see all the white in the wings of the bird coming from behind. During the breeding season they are mostly black and white. If you lived in Nome, Alaska they would be a yard bird for you.
I want to thank my DB for taking time to get close enough for a few pictures. The pictures here that are closer and out of focus are the ones I took. He took the rest of them. It was a fun day. I hope you had a good weekend too.

33 comments:

  1. Great shots! I've never seen this bird before, or known anything about it. I always learn something from your blog.

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  2. That is too cool! I have never seen a Snow Bunting before altho I have heard of them. So neat! Thank you.

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  3. Great pics Lisa, this is a bird I have never seen but would love to.

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  4. I've never seen snow buntings. They are very interesting and attractive little birds.

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  5. Hi Lisa, I agree with the comments above. Great pics of a bird I have never seen either. Thanks for sharing them :-D

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  6. Good photographs Lisa. The snow bunting is adorable. No wonder you often go to this area. It is beautiful!

    Have a wonderful week.

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  7. It was a beautiful Indiana autumn day for birding! I haven't seen this bird before either.

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  8. Lisa - How fun. I loved looking at your Snow Bunting. I've never seen one, I'm sure they don't hang around here since it was 85 here today! Out of focus or not, my favorite photo was the last one where you captured the movement of the birds. Nice job - thanks for sharing them with us.

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  9. Aren't those snow buntings cute. I'd never heard of or seen a photo of one before. It looks like a lovely day for birding.

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  10. What a cutey ... that bunting. Glad you had such a lovely day. Always something new ... even on the path oft traveled!

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  11. Lisa, what a pretty bird. I coukd stand them in my yard, but don't want to move to Nome! Are they migrating and to where? Do they come back through in the spring? Glad you took advantage of the beautiful day.

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  12. Wow... snow buntings! I never would have guessed. :c) Sweet, sweet bird.

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  13. Beautiful pictures of those birds.
    And I like the Halloween ones too.

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  14. I am glad you all like the Snow Buntings as much as I do.

    Beckie, they have migrated to here. They hang out in the fields around here with Horned Larks and the Lapland Longspurs. They might even be in your area. If you watch the fields and see large flocks of little birds and see lots of white flashes when they fly it could be that some of the birds are snow buntings.

    When it nears spring they start molting into their breeding plummage. It is exciting to see them in their breeding plummage. They are such a striking bird.

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  15. Hi Lisa, thank you, thank you for showing us these birds that many of us will never get the chance to see in person. I love that he was cheeky with you so you could get those good shots.

    Frances
    http://fairegarden.wordpress.com/

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  16. What beautiful birds! I've never seen anything like them.- Randy

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  17. Those are nice pictures. I know it is harder to get close to birds on the ground. I don't believe I've ever seen this bird in my area. Very interesting little guys.
    Marnie

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  18. How beautiful is the snow bunting....a first for me Lisa....so lovely to share this time with you.......they are exquisite photos.......

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  19. Thanks for all the pics of the snow bunting. They are such pretty birds and we don't have them over here so it was quite a treat.

    Gorgeous autumn colour too, eventhough it's dry.

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  20. Wow, Lisa, these are fabulous! What a gorgeous bird! I've never seen one before.

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  21. This is the first time I have seen this bird. Very pretty little creature!

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  22. I'm not familiar with snow buntings. Are they the size of a sparrow? They don't look very large. They have distinctive coloring, don't they? Thank you!

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  23. What a beautiful bird! Do they fly farther south for the winter or do they winter over in the Midwest? So nice that you and DB can enjoy birdwatching together.
    Despite the dry weather you do have some gorgeous fall color as seen in the first photo.

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  24. Lisa,

    I lost a comment here! I loved this little bird, it's the first time I have met him....and what a treat to learn about new flying creatures!

    Makes me wonder what makes it's winter home in Tennessee?

    Gail

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  25. What a treat! Thank him for sharing his photos of a bird I probably won't see...

    We are in peak color today, Lisa. But I have noticed many of our Oaks went directly to brown. Probably because of the drought. The maples are glorious!

    Thanks for taking us on your tour. I love the Snow Buntings!

    Mary

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  26. very cool and wonderful shots of your white friend. i love them.

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  27. Thanks for sharing the great photos from your birding trip.

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  28. Beautiful photos of the Snow buntings ... such pretty little birds.

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  29. I've never seen a snow bunting before. They are very pretty.

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  30. wow, how lucky to get so close. We have snow buntings spend each winter with us but I can never get anyhwere remotely close to them to get photos. The best I can get are specks flying up in the air from 100-150 feet away. Bravo and lucky you.

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  31. Beautiful photos! Husband and I enjoy bird watching here in SE Georgia and other areas. It's so relaxing, isn't it?! Happy Birding. ♥ ∞

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  32. Dear Lisa,
    I just love these pictures! I have never seen a Snow Bunting. Sucj=h a pretty bird, so soft looking. I hope I get to see some this year. I just love where you go birding!
    Sherry

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  33. That is so cool! I've never seen a snow bunting in real life.

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