Sunday, May 06, 2012

Waste Not, Want Not

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As I don't have a lot of time for birding these days, I like to take every chance I can to see birds. So when I had to wait for Dee while she had some dental work done the other day, I didn't just sit in my car outside the dentist's office. Instead I headed over to a nearby YMCA which is surrounded by trees and ponds. 

I wasn't expecting to see any migrants or other really interesting species - and I didn't. But there were enough common birds around to occupy me for half-an-hour.

The entry road had Mourning Doves, always a pleasure to see.



The parking lots had the obligatory male Great-tailed Grackles strutting their stuff.


I was too slow to get photos of a Green Heron and a Little Blue Heron that flew off the ponds when I approached, but two Black-bellied Whistling Ducks were less bothered by my presence.


I noticed there were several more perched high in the tree tops.


A squirrel sitting by the trail looked too well-fed to reach any treetop.


Several European Starlings and a Killdeer (below) were wandering around near the main YMCA building.


When a bird flew by overhead, I reflexively grabbed a photo. Umm. It was only a Rock Dove. Still, a pretty bird if judged objectively.


A Loggerhead Shrike was a more welcome sight.


Last up was an American Robin that was preening and getting spruced up for the day ahead.




So, my side-trip didn't turn up anything exciting - but it was a lot better than sitting in a dentist's office parking lot.
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