Summer Residents

The weather has been sunny and warm for several days and I have accumulated a large selection of photos. I’ll break them up into three posts, starting with some newly arrived summer residents.

Before I get into the summer residents, I have to share these pictures of a year round bird, the Barred Owl. The youngster was peering out of the nest hole at the group of photographers stationed well away from the nest. And mom was watching us from about 50 feet from the nest. The nest was in the front yard of a home on fairly busy suburban street so the birds were used to human activity. We kept a respectful distance anyway.

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Purple Martins nest communally and there is a man-made nesting site near the entrance of the Parker River NWR made up of several gourd-like nesting boxes. Females were bringing in nesting material while I watched. The males seemed to be staking out a box but not participating in the nest construction.

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The Veery (top) and Swainson’s Thrush (bottom) are two varieties of thrush that look vary much alike. The Veery is brown while the Swainson’s is a bit more gray with darker spots on its chest. I took these pictures less than 100 yards apart.

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I’ve posted photos of Baltimore Orioles recently. This is their smaller cousin, the Orchard Oriole. The brick red color easily distinguishes them in the field from the Baltimore’s bright orange.

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The Indigo Bunting’s color really comes out when it is perched in the sun.

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It took a bit of processing to get the colors to show with these two subjects. They were in the canopy and well shaded. The Eastern Wood-Pewee (top) gets its name from its call, not its size. The House Wren (bottom) is a much more accomplished singer.

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Brown Thrashers can be hard to spot but this one came out and hopped along the side of the road not too far from where we standing.

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Northern Flickers are woodpeckers but you will often see them on the ground grabbing their favorite snack: ants.

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Finally, the Rose-breasted Grosbeak is not only colorful but an excellent singer as well.

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Coming soon…Warblers.