This quail was eating mulberries off of the ground when I spotted it.

Catbirds eating grapefruit in my front yard. It was a good one. I ate the other half.

A Cooper’s hawk cruising through the yard on a dreary winter day.

I captured these images of a Brown Thrasher last June on a gloomy evening about dusk. It had a baby just out of the nest and was very displeased with me. Evening is a great time to observe birds, but unfortunately the light is often poor for photos. Getting the “stare down” from mama thrasher definitely worked in my favor for these shots.

ISO 6400
1/160
F 5.6
560 mm

A blue jay with a peanut.

A third of a second in the life of a nuthatch.

A yellow warbler nesting in my yard.

A Red-bellied woodpecker launches itself into the air from the feeding platform.

A Red-bellied woodpecker guarding the seed pile. A red belly will easily stand its ground against 3 or 4 blue jays. Sort of like a ninja vs. a gang of street toughs.

Here’s a couple of older shots of a Great Horned Owl I never got around to posting. I saw this owl four nights in a row during mid-August 2008. Just after dusk I would see it running around in my yard like it was chasing something. Mice perhaps, or it may have been looking for cicadas.

This large hawk had just finished eating a vole before it moved to the top of the birdhouse. I doubt the little screech owl living inside liked having such a big hawk on its roof.

This screech owl has made the flicker box in my front yard its winter quarters. I’m hoping for a nest next spring.

Here’s an old one I never got around to posting.

A young American kestrel (aka sparrow hawk) contemplates taking the big leap to join a sibling already out of the nest.

The first juvenile kestrel to leave the nest. It was not yet able to fly, but could flap its wings to maneuver around.

The final shot of the first bird to leave the nest. After failing to make it back up the tree (above) it relocated to a nearby mulberry clump. At that point I decided it was time to leave. The parents were already quite suspicious of me and I didn’t want to interfere with this youngster getting his lunch.

I went back to check on them a couple of days later and they were all gone from the nest.

Thanks again to Mid-American Energy for notifying me about the electric pole replacement.

Back in early May I got a call from Mid-American Energy telling me that the electric pole at the far end of my property was scheduled to be replaced soon. The kestrel box was fastened to that pole, so I decided to move it. When I climbed the ladder to take it down, I found several eggs inside. I carefully moved it to a nearby tree and thankfully the birds didn’t seem too disturbed by this sudden relocation of their nest.

There were 5 or 6 eggs in the nest, and I saw as many as 3 of the babies at the same time.

The new location enabled me to approach the box without being seen by the birds - something I was never able to do when it was fastened to the pole.

An American Kestrel (aka sparrow hawk) delivers a mouse to the nest.

The mouse.

An American Kestrel with a small ring-necked snake.

This was the only snake I saw them bring to the nest in the many hours spent observing & photographing them. All of the rest of the prey I saw them return with appeared to be mice.

The catbirds are really going after the grapefruit here this spring. I got quite a few nice shots this past weekend. These are a couple of my favorites.

I saw my first oriole this weekend too, but have not seen one on the grapefruit yet.

I think these little vacuum cleaners would eat 20 lbs of birdseed a day if I was willing to put that much out.

My first Northern Saw-whet owl !! I shot this at Glenwood Lake Park last November. This little owl was very calm and didn’t seem to mind my presence at all.

I’ve been neglecting my site for too long. I hope to get back to posting on a regular basis soon. I’ve also added new photos to the gallery on the main site.

I think it’s a Cooper’s Hawk. It looks too big to be a Sharp-shinned.

Getting some photos of a Yellow-billed Cuckoo was my number one photographic goal for the summer. I often hear the thrilling call of these elusive birds, but rarely do I catch more than a glimpse as they fly about my yard and the surrounding area.

Last Sunday I had the most wonderful sighting a birdwatcher could ask for - but the camera was just out of reach, and the bird flew when I moved. I moved to a new location in my yard and sat down for an hour of mosquito swatting. Curiosity eventually got the better of the Cuckoo and it had to come see what I was doing & scold me (the second photo) for good measure.

I’ve heard them around alot this week and I’ve been out a few times with the camera, but the birds have not been cooperating. I hope to set up my blind and stake-out some large clusters of web worms later in the summer, as cuckoos love to eat fuzzy caterpillars.

I was taking some empty jars down to the basement the other day when I heard a peeping sound coming from behind one of the boarded up windows in the back room. I did’nt give it much thought, but when I heard it again a few hours later I went outside to check it out. I found this baby sparrow - just out of the nest - stuck in the window well. I got ahold of it and turned it loose after a few pics.

A Brown Thrasher on the sidewalk outside my house.

This young Red-tailed Hawk battled high winds to catch the tiny snake.

A field near the West Nishnabotna river.

A White-breasted Nuthatch flies off with a sunflower seed.

A Dark-eyed Junco scratching the ground.

There it is. 2007 reviewed. Carry on.

A flock of Meadowlarks in my yard on a cold morning.

A Rusty Blackbird. I don’t see many of these birds.

Not much going on in February but some birds.

An Eastern Towhee at Foothills Park in Mills county.

Canada Geese at Glenwood Lake Park.

A swarming school of bullheads.

A weather-beaten Mourning Cloak, recently emerged from hibernation. It amazes me how these butterflies are able to sleep through the winter without being frozen to death.

April was especially nice after enduring a tough couple of months of winter weather.

April was also the month I said goodbye to my Blogspot login woes and started up this Wordpress blog. Wordpress is so much more enjoyable to use. I wish I had made the switch sooner.

This was the first Monarch I saw last spring. I posted an open-wing photo last May. I’ve wanted a photo of one of these tattered travelers for a long time.

The lens was partially obscured by a tree branch blowing in the wind. That’s why it looks green. Not exactly the effect I was going for, but I like it anway.

Terry, crowing his little heart out. He’s a nice rooster. He hardly ever attacks people, and even then they’re mostly just scared. Mostly.

I thought it was a puffball growing by my compost bin - until it popped and there was nothing inside. I’ve never seen anything like it.

A strange little puffball-type mushroom I found in my yard. If you know what it is, let me know.

I found this one when I was out mushroom hunting last May. It appears to be from the previous summer.

May 2007 was a very photographically diverse month for me - a grass fire, flooding, fighter planes, plus all the usual stuff. And I almost got a funnel cloud too !!

A line of storm clouds approach as the sun sets.

A Red-winged Blackbird giving me the business.

Here’s a tip for the aspiring gopher photographer: Get between the gopher and the late day sun and it won’t see you (as long as you don’t move) when its head is out of the hole.

June was a great month. Three of the photos I entered in the Glenwood Chamber of Commerce photo contest were chosen for the stone coaster set. The winners were the public library, post office, & Davies Amphitheater photos.

The Avery Pyramids were constructed in 1939 by Axel Peterson, editor of the Avery Boomer newspaper. They are located in Hickory Grove cemetery in Monroe county, Iowa.

A mean looking katydid in my yard.

The catbirds are always pestering me when I’m out with the camera. I’ll pick a shady spot to hold still for a while and I usually don’t have to wait long for the harassment to begin.

I got some fantastic photos of the Avery Pyramids in July. Some great bird & butterfly photos as well. I had a hard time choosing which ones to include here.

A Sharp-shinned Hawk in my yard.

A Blue Jay preparing to land at the bird feeder.

November was a busy month but I still managed to get some nice bird photos. This Sharpie has been keeping the little birds nervous all winter.

An Eastern Meadowlark contemplates jumping into the snow…

… and then takes the plunge. The temperature was several degrees below zero when I shot these yesterday morning.

You can clearly see the red belly color in this photo of a Red-bellied woodpecker that I shot early this morning. Often the belly color is little more than a pinkish hue and is difficult to see.

A shot of my 20D & Sigma 80-400 EX OS lens from inside the blind looking out.

A Red-bellied woodpecker snatches up a peanut from the bird feeder. I shot this one from my blind.

I’ve been seeing a couple of eagles in the Malvern area over the last few weeks and I finally got close enough to one of them this morning for a few photos.

An American Kestrel dines on a Dark-eyed Junco in front of my garage this afternoon.

A Great Horned Owl at Foothills Park a few weeks ago.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas !!

Another shot from my blind last month.

A Blue Jay carries off a peanut from the bird feeder. Blue Jays LOVE peanuts.

A Red-Tailed Hawk in flight.

A Red-Tailed Hawk taking flight.

A hawk sits on a fence near Willow Slough.

I was finally able to sneak up on one.

This Robin nest is in the giant elm tree behind my house.

Baby geese at Glenwood Lake Park.

This Black Racer (I think) has taken up residence in an old wren house. It seems to like having its meals delivered.

This should put a smile on the faces of a few Bluebirders, seeing as how they don’t like wrens very much.

I shot these over a few days. The snake has good vision and is extremely wary.

UPDATE 4/2/2011 - Jeff at HerpNet.net tells me that this is a western rat snake aka a black rat snake.

If I look out the window and there’s not a bird in sight, I know this guy is nearby.