Lark Sparrow

I have seen a Lark Sparrow at a distance several times, but one came to my yard for a few-minutes stay this morning. (Photo is courtesy of www.wikimediacommons.org credit: www.naturespicsonline.com). The beautiful (quail-like) markings on its head, and its slightly bigger size, distinguish it from the House Sparrows here.

Lark Sparrows breed in Texas in the summertime. I have a variety of food and there is water. I didn't see this bird eat anything but I don't know how long it was here before I saw it. It eats seeds and insects. I hope it will visit again.

A Rescued Baby Barn Owl

The best place for any baby bird is with its parents. Chances of survival go down drastically when people have to intervene...and sometimes it is done unnecessarily. This is the time of year when baby birds are on the ground. They are supposed to be. They learn to fly and to feed from the ground. If they have their feathers and are not injured and they try to flutter away, they probably don't need help and their parents are probably nearby.

This little guy was not so lucky. The wonderful people here at the camp where I live found this beautiful baby and it seemed to be orphaned. A dead adult had been found a few days ago. After waiting and watching, it was determined that he was indeed not receiving care and attention from an adult owl.

I called Bebe McCasland in Big Spring. She came with her bullet-proof gloves and secured the owl so that it could be taken to safety. I think it had been 24 hours or so without food.

Thank goodness for licensed wildlife experts. This baby is now at the South Plains Wildlife Rehab Center in Lubbock, Texas. He will live there and learn the way of the owls from his surrogate parents until he can be released into the wild.

Scaled Quail

Two of these gorgeous Scaled Quails came near our yard this evening. We had seen one on the other side of the park where we live about a month ago. They are sometimes called "Cottontops" because of their little white topknots. Their numbers are decreasing due to habitat destruction. They are more common in the dry, desert areas such as the Permian Basin than the Bobwhite Quail.

Bewick's Wren

The picture above is a Bewick's Wren. One came to our yard last night. It is a precious, interesting, cute, and very tiny bird (5-1/2 inches). It looks a little like a miniature Cactus Wren. The photo is from Wikimedia Commons. I looked for a photo that shows the bird with its mouth open because that is what I saw. It never shut up and it flicked its tail in a prissy manner the whole time it was here. This little bird is here in the Permian Basin year-round. Since insects make up 97% of its diet, and seeds only about 3%, I may not see it often at my feeder.

The picture on the left is a Great Crested Flycatcher. It has been to the yard several times briefly and I had not been able to identify it until now. In retrospect, I believe I have seen this bird in the trees several times and mistook it for a Western Kingbird because of the yellow belly. It is about 9 inches in length and has a very proud, regal appearance. It breeds here in the summer. It eats insects and fruit. I didn't see it feed while it was here, but it has come into the yard on three different days so something is attracting it.

Saturday Morning Red Eye!

The Bronzed Cowbird is distinguishable from the Brown-headed Cowbird by his red eye and prominent neck ruff. He also has very bluish-green wings and is a pleasure to see. He has been feeding in the yard off and on this morning.

The yard is full of birds this morning after our rain, hail, and tornado watches yesterday and last night. A number of fledglings are begging to be fed, though they seem to be pretty good at eating independently when they have to.

Canyon Towhee

I have been trying to identify this bird for about a week now. At first I thought it was a Say's Phoebe. It is about that size and overall color but it differs in that it has a rusty cap and undertail. It also has a necklace of dark spots on its chest.

It lives in the Permian Basin all year long and may mate for life. I believe I have seen a female too but need another look to be sure.

A male and two female Bullock's Orioles were in the yard this morning. Such an electric orange!

Another Viewing Day with Cousin Carol

Cousin Carol came over Friday, May 7, and we sat in our perfect viewing spot and watched the kaleidoscope of birds for about 5-1/2 hours or so.We saw: male and female Lark Buntings, White-Crowned Sparrows, Eurasian Collared Doves, Say's Phoebe, White-Winged Doves, female Brown-headed Cowbird, male and female House Finch, European Starlings, male and female Golden-Fronted Woodpeckers, Scissor-tailed Flycatchers, Western Kingbirds, Cactus Wren, and a hawk of some kind.

Carol identified two additional birds: A yellow male House Finch (diet causes the variant) and a female Black-headed Grosbeak (top). They are evidently migrating through here on the way to Mexico/South America.The male was here for about five days but didn't show up on Friday. The males show up here in the spring before the females.

Tom and I had a visit from a female and three young Yellow-Headed Blackbirds yesterday (right). They were in the Mesquite tree early this morning but did not come into the yard to feed with the other birds. They stay in Texas for the summer, but maybe they are migrating to a different locale in Texas because we only saw the males for one day and have not seen them again.