Latest finds

Brown Thrasher has come to visit for a few days.

Our mallard pair is back.  He is watching over her.  Not sure if they have nested, as both have been coming to our feeders.  

We have a nest builder over our front porch light.

While in Paducah, I added purple martin to my life list.

Looks like we have a robin nesting in that light fixture.

Love to see the bluebirds.  This one was posing at the Morton Arboretum.

Brown-headed cowbirds.

Love those bluebells.

violets are always a sure sign of Spring.

Spring Beauty another sure sign of spring.

Sessile Bellwort is what I think, but now not so sure.

Spring is here!

Today's surprise

Ron, Andy and I went out to lunch today.  On our way home, Andy called from the back seat to turn around and go back to the building we had just passed. We quickly turned around and look what we found.

This pair of Turkey Vultures.  Because of the way they were acting we believe it was a male and a female.  

They are up by windows of this building.  When we turned around, we saw that the building was for rent, so no one was even there to watch them from the inside.  We could see their reflections in the windows, we wondered if they could see it too.

They stayed right there on the ledge, preening.

When the one on the left would move sideways, the one of the right would move too.
They stayed right there.  We looked around for a nest, but did not see anything.  It was just so weird to see them on the side of that building.

Told Andy, good find!

Ponds by our house

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Northern Rough-winged swallow

Stretching his wings

Mallards on the pond.

Northern Shoveler, male

Female Green-winged Teal

Male and Female Shoveler.

Daffodils in our yard.

My orchids. This is one of the ones that was given to me my my Dad passed away in 2012.

The newest one I bought in 2014 at Hausermans.

This is one orchid that has re-bloomed on it's own.

Another one that I have purchased and has bloomed on it's own.

Spring is coming to Blackwell Forest Preserve

The usual first of spring birds are arriving. The grackles, cowbirds, red-winged black birds.

At the front of the subdivision where we live, we have a sitting goose.

More swallows.

Eastern Phoebe

Eastern Phoebe

Ring-necked duck, male

Ring-necked Duck

Male and female ring-necked duck

Snow Goose

Snow Goose, with a Canadian Goose
There was this one snow goose, with 14 Canadian geese.

Eight American Coot were at the lake in Blackwell Forest Preserve.

Saw a Killdeer by the entrance to our subdivision. 

Meadowlark

The miniature iris in our front garden.

Our daffodils have begun to bloom.

Nelson Lake

Saw my first Meadowlark this year. 

This new camera is great.  I am liking what I can do with it.

Norther Flicker, not a great picture. It is nice to be able to see pictures of the birds.

American Coot

Blue-winged teal

I think a robin was going to try to build a nest behind one of our lamps.