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I set out on Saturday morning to drive up to the weekend birdwalk at Kleb Woods. However, I'd only gone a couple of hundred yards before I had to pull over to admire a Red-tailed Hawk perched by the road side. Although I already have many - too many - pictures of Red-tailed Hawks, I still feel obliged to stop and try to photograph every one I see!
Most of the birds I see during the birdwalk were common residents, like this female Northern Cardinal.
There were several less common birds, though. Two Brown-headed Nuthatches were a pleasant surprise, as was a Dark-eyed Junco. While I dipped on photographing those, I had better luck with one of three Pine Siskins hanging out with scores of American Goldfinches.
Back at home the birds were busy visiting our feeders and birdbath.
A couple of Blue Jays kept flying in to grab peanuts and then to drink from the birdbath. What magnificent birds they are!
Several Northern Cardinals regularly visit our yards. This is one of the males.
Several House Finches come to our feeders every day. One of the males is an orange variant.
This winter more than any other, Yellow-rumped have been frequent visitors to our feeders. I don't usually think of Yellow-rumps as being feeder birds but this year's crop seem to be very fond of our suet.
It's easy to see why Texans call these dainty little birds "butterbutts".
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Saturday morning I went up to Kleb Woods Nature Center to do some solitary birding - only to find that the Center was hosting a birdwalk for 20+ members of the Houston Audubon Society. As I don't really enjoy birding with lots of people, I spent a short while with the group. During this time I added a Blue-headed Vireo to my year list.
Then I indulged in one of my favorite winter birding activities - I spent 30 minutes siiting by the rosebush at the parking lot entrance and watching birds come to the seed that the Center's staff had scattered under the bush.
House Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows and White-throated Sparrows (below) were the most common visitors.
However, there was also a Lincoln's Sparrow.
Three Field Sparrows joined in.
It wasn't just sparrows that were attracted by the seed. Red-breasted Nuthatch, Northern Cardinals, Carolina Chickadees, American Goldfinch and Tufted Titmice (below) turned up, too.
My final sighting was of a Red-tailed Hawk that swooped low over the parking lot, causing panic among the birds around the rosebush.
Before going home, I drove over to Stone Lake because Canada Geese had been seen there several times this month. Sure enough, as soon as I reached the lake, I spotted 8 Canada Geese resting on the grass.
My day's birding didn't end when I arrived home, because the feeders in our yards were unbelievably busy with birds. But that's a story for another day!
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