1336 Killdeer
Gig Harbor, Washington
June 12, 2017
There is a family of Killdeer behind our house in a big field. This adult bird was pretending to be injured in order to draw my away from its babies. This is typical behavior for Killdeer.
1332 Red-winged Blackbird
Gig Harbor, Washington
June 7, 2017
I believe this is a young bird. It could be a female, but I’m pretty sure it is young. A few of these birds come to my backyard to raid the bird feeders.
1331 Hooded Oriole
Backyard – Corcoran Lagoon
Santa Cruz, California
May 27, 2017
I’m pretty sure these birds have a nest in the Acacia tree behind my cottage – between my cottage and Corcoran Lagoon. I’ve occasionally seen Hooded Orioles in Santa Cruz during spring. I always seen them in Nov and Dec when I’m down in Cabo San Lucas.
This is the female of this species.
1329 Caspian Tern
Corcoran Lagoon
Santa Cruz, California
May 14, 2017
set of 4
I had a really fun time photographing these Terns as they flew back and forth from lagoon to ocean. I got a little carried away, so I am posting 2 sets of these photographs. Did you know this is the largest of the Tern family? The clouds were in the process of burning off, so some photos show blue skies and others gray.
1328 Bushtit
Pleasure Point
Santa Cruz, California
May 14, 2017
set of 4
This is the same young bird as presented in the last set. The bird on the left is the parent. The bird on the right had already fledged, but stayed in one place for a while because his parents were bringing him food. If you have ever tried to photograph a Bushtit, you know it can be a real challenge. I feel very fortunate that I witnessed this exchange.
