JRVZ9928, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.
A male cardinal appears to be guarding the back yard. We continue to have a number of different birds visiting as we move into summer. The cardinals chase each other around the yard and the doves continue to coo from the power lines around the area. I haven’t seen the hummingbirds much the last several days and wonder if they are nesting.
JRVZ0407, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.
This evening we received a knock on the door and a neighbor toldus to come quickly to see the vultures that were perched in the trees near their house. They had seen seven at one time. When we arrived four were perched together on a couple of branches. Off to the side was another on a tree a little closer. I was able to move into the woods a little. The lighting was dim so I had to shoot at high ISOs and slow shutter speeds but was able to get some pretty good shots. For more shots see my Flickr page by clicking on the photo above.
JRVZ0241, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.
Today was our annual trip at St. James up to Cedar Mountain to worship at Faith Memorial Chapel. Afterwards we had a church picnic and enjoyed great weather. We decided to take a side trip to Conestee Falls before returning home. We had tried to visit the falls two years ago but as we arrived it poured rain so we were unable to see them. The “hike” to the falls was only a couple of hundred feet so it was pretty easy to view them.
JRVZ9524, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.
School’s out so I sat on the front porch this morning and watched the various animals in the front yard. Within a thirty minute period I saw thrashers and other birds, a hummingbird, a couple of hawks, and this squirrel. When I stepped down the steps he ran up the tree and sat on a branch watching me from a safe distance.
JRVZ8716, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.
I posted a photo back in April of a Ruby Throated Hummingbird. I’ve seen a couple more since then but only in the last couple of days have I seen then return regularly. This morning I shot one through the window in the living room and then went out and took several from the front porch. This afternoon I watched for quite a while and got shots from the porch and from behind the feeder. One even swooped down at me when I was adjusting the feeder. This shot was taken this morning. More are available on my Flickr site. Click on the image to jump there.
JRVZ8704, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.
I was watching for hummingbirds this morning and this male cardinal flew over and landed on the feeder stand. I had put a tray of seeds on top of the hummingbird feeder but took it down when the hummingbirds began to return. This guy looked around like he knew there was food there earlier.
JRVZ4484, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.
As I walked into the living room I heard Socks making a noise and knew he was watching a bird. When I went to the window I saw a dove below and Socks was watching him closely. I took several shots of the dove and of socks. I like this one with the reflection in the window.
JRVZ4412, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.
I have heard woodpeckers in the neighborhood for several months and seen them from time to time. I have not, however, had a clear shot of one until this afternoon. We were sitting on the front steps and heard a woodpecker somewhere nearby. A few minutes later this one flew to the light pole and climbed it. I took a couple of shots that were pretty dark. Then he flew to one of the dogwoods and I was able to get this shot.
We have had a number of birds in the yard this season. This afternoon I saw cardinals, blue jays, bluebirds, brown thrashers, robins, mockingbirds, and this one young woodpecker.
JRVZ3645, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.
For some time now we have seen male and female cardinals flying around the yard and into the holly outside our front window. The last couple of days I have taken several shots of them but this afternoon I was able to get some shots of the female on the pole holding our hummingbird feeder and this shot as she entered the bush to work on the nest that is inside. Our cat was watching through the window and it drove him crazy. More shots are on my Flickr site.
JRVZ2958, originally uploaded by GvilleRick.
The spring sports season at school is a busy one. Soccer, softball, track, baseball, tennis, and golf are all playing and some nights there are multiple sports going on at once. Last week I shot over 1500 photos of various sports.
It is always interesting to see some of the shots after I get home where I can see things I did not notice at the time. This is one of my favorite shots taken Friday afternoon at a softball game. The batter hit a fly ball and you can see everyone watching to see what would happen.