Life at Boomer Lake With Deb, Sunday August 12, 2012

This was a week where the Great Blue Heron and the Great Egret wanted to be seen. They were all out fishing when I was also wandering about, which was something that I considered in my best interests. Only once during the week I saw a lone Double-Crested Cormorant, which leads me to believe that some have already begun migration, since I haven’t observed the cormorant since June. Birds seemed to arrive where they usually go about two weeks earlier, so it is very possible that they could also be leaving their summer residences two weeks earlier. Time will only tell more.

I captured another photo of a Ruby Throated Hummingbird, but while they are in flight, it is a but tougher to get a good photo. These coral honeysuckle are in the late fall of their lives, so they won’t be of any use too much longer. They seem to be doing better on the northernmost side of the lake where they are closer to water, where it is denser, as well as darker. Perhaps next week, I can move my operations out there again and see if I can get any better shots of other species that I have only heard and not seen. Wish me luck!

Mother Nature has still been teasing Oklahoma with very little precipitation. We had a couple of very small cloudbursts, but many of the trees are dropping their leaves and going into their twilight cycle. I’ll have to look into it, but it looks like it is a survival mode in this high heat of summer.

One of the youthful Scissor-Tailed Flycatchers paid a nice visit and let me get a few shots. It is easy to tell the age of the young ones if you observe the length of the tail and the very light orange on the lower belly. The state bird is migratory, so they will be leaving for the cold weather and wintering in the southerly regions.

The Great Blue Heron and the Great Egret happened to be together when I saw them earlier in the week, which is not a rare thing, to my understanding. They will mingle from time-to-time, and even fish together, which I have seen more than once.

Both birds were captured in a few interesting poses as well, so this should give you, dear readers, a few chuckles, as you see these photos. Some of these look like these birds are actually grinning and enjoying themselves. Perhaps they were amused by my presence.

Here’s a few other photos that I think you might like, so I thought that I would include them, too. I do so like how the light happens to hit subjects in early morning and gives them that warm glow. Enjoy!

And so I bid you goodbye at the end of this wonderful week. The days have been bright and beautiful, with some of the finest pictures of some of the week's most common birds. Remember to keep your eyes to the ground and your head in the clouds. Happy birding, until next week!