Butterfly and Wildlife Gardening And Photography In Houston Texas
Category Archives: Photography Two birds I don’t often see in the backyard. Actually one of them I’ve never seen in the backyard. The first bird was a Chestnut Sided Warbler. I didn’t think I’d ever seen one in the backyard before, but I noticed I had a post on May 21st from last year that referenced this bird. …  My job is over. The last three Eastern Bluebird babies have left the nest. One left on Thursday at 2:51 p.m. and another at 2:54 p.m. Not sure when the third one left the nest. In summary, we had five eggs, all five hatched successfully, and all five left the nest successfully. I did get…  Although I didn’t get to spend much time in my new backyard bird blind, I did get to spend a little and I enjoyed it. I was just a little too close to the feeder, but I love the detail in the shots. First up is the Red Bellied Woodpecker. I’m pretty sure there is…  Today is day 14 for the five Eastern Bluebird Babies. The countdown has begun. In approximately three more days they could become fledglings. I know the nest is getting very crowded, and I’m sure the parents are getting worn out trying to feed them all the time. Although I’m sure the parents are getting tired,…  On day 6 (Saturday) the baby Eastern Bluebirds just started opening their eyes. They are also starting to make little bird noises letting the parents know that they are hungry. There clearly (at least to me) is a runt of the family. It’s the one on the far right of the picture. The others appear…  I think the North wind that blew through yesterday really stirred up some things. We’ve had a male Ruby Throated Hummingbird hanging around for quite a while now, but a female suddenly appeared which has made the male much more active. It’s been a strange year for the Ruby Throats in our backyard as we…  I’ve never seen this type of Woodpecker in my part of the woods before. It’s a Red Headed Woodpecker. I really wish I had a 500mm lens, but I used what I had (300mm). I saw this Woodpecker at the same time Leecy and I were watching over 20 Indigo Buntings fly overhead. Unfortunately none…  Our Butterfly Bush is really starting to bloom now with big purple flowers. That has attracted both the Hummingbirds (Ruby Throat) and the Butterflies. This one particular Monarch Butterfly was feasting up a storm on this plant. I think it was also on a bit of a sugar high as this crazy Butterfly was chasing…  I’m sorry I haven’t taken any photos of the Bluebird babies the last couple of days, although I can assure everyone they are doing quite well. Today it is raining, and yesterday I got home too late to take any pictures. I promise I’ll post some pictures of the babies tomorrow. Since today is day…  This year is the first year that I haven’t had to buy Milkweed. It’s not because we haven’t had lots of Monarch Butterflies hanging around, rather it’s because after so many years of buying Milkweed and letting it naturally seed, we have quite a few plants. Today I saw two Monarch Butterflies that were feeding…  Last year the Gulf Fritillary butterflies seemed to be hit especially hard with the drought. Fortunately this year we have seen quite a few. I’ve also spotted several Gulf Fritillary caterpillars and chrysalises. The picture below is from my wildflower garden. I’ve essentially just let it grow wild this year and it has done fantastic. …  I have some nesting updates. We have 10 Purple Martin nests so far. No eggs, but you could tell they were nests. There were some others that were questionable, but I didn’t count them. The Eastern Bluebirds are still doing well with their 5 eggs. I would expect them to hatch late this week sometime. …  I mentioned several posts ago that I haven’t seen many Ruby Throated Hummingbirds this Spring season and that is still true. I have seen a male roaming around but he doesn’t spend too much time around the feeders. It could be because I have many nectar plants in bloom this year or some other reason,…  Good news. I finally got my camera back from Canon. Bad news, I didn’t really check my camera settings before I started shooting. Oh well, at least I have my camera back. I checked the Bluebird nest today and it looks like she is holding steady with 5 eggs, which is about average. As soon…  This is part two of my vacation to Quintana, Texas. The following pictures weren’t actually taken at the Quintana Neotropical Bird Sanctuary, but instead were taken at either the San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge or the Brazoria National Wildlife Refuge. Both are very close to where I was staying in Quintana so that is why… |
|