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Animals roaming free

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Out stalking little green herons again

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I really had to crop the image to get this one. I'm surprised that any frogs survive at all!

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Great egret
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Hover flies
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And an attempt at photographing flying dragonflies!!

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I've only seen a little green heron a few times and that was at the frog pond.

As for great egrets, never here. A couple times in Maine. But they are all over Tokyo.
 
crazyfingers said:
I've only seen a little green heron a few times and that was at the frog pond.

As for great egrets, never here. A couple times in Maine. But they are all over Tokyo.
Click to expand...

Green herons, like black-capped and white-capped herons, are elusive. Although you can get very close to a little green heron once he starts hunting. The other herons won't let me get within 25 yards of them.

It's funny, but I don't recall ever seeing the egrets (great or snowy) or great blue herons before I came to St. Louis, but I see them regularly around St. Louis and most recently in my home town.
 
I went out to several places today.

At the old soccer field two tree swallows doing the birds and bees.


A cedar waxwing. I was a bit amazed that I actually spotted it because it didn't actually fly in. It was just here in he tree.


A red wing blackbird chasing away a red-tailed hawk. It's mad.




Eastern Phoebe


At the swan pond the parent is for some reason shielding the chick. Only still see one chick.


A red squirrel doesn't know I can see it's butt.


Down at the frog pond Squirmy/Fred was out and let me pick him up. He put out his head and opened his eyes when I spoke to him.


A yellow warbler is also at the frog pond.


And then this came by.
 
It looks like it was coming out day at the swan pond.

I didn't make it down there but I let my daughter take my camera out with her respite worker.

It looks like there are at least 4 swan chicks and possibly 5.


And on the same day the mallards have shown up with the chicks.


The mallards are as domesticated as possible for a wild animal. They are fed by many people and cross the street to the woman's house where she also puts out food.

The swans even go over to peck on the window for handouts.
 
I went to the swan pond after work. Six chicks visible. 5 in the water and one is riding on the back of the adult.

 
Visited the park closest to my house and found my old friend the Pond Monster.

I think he's a male Chinese Goose, a domesticated breed, that somehow has taken up residence in the pond for at least 2 years. He also has a harem of white ducks/geese of some sort whom he bosses around. He can be very aggressive and he likes to honk in a very loud and shrill manner.

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Yesterday.

A killdeer at a muddy place.


At the swan pond mummy duck is leading baby ducks down the road


The babies have seriously oversized feet.


A great blue heron and a painted turtle ignore each other.


Four swan chicks ride on the back of mummy. It appears that they have already lost two chicks.


Today at the state park, a Baltimore Oriole


Same Oriole, different pose.


The nest was not far away


A tree swallow in a tree


At great distance, I think that this is a coopers hawk because it has a neck.
 
I have some little greeen lizards that live in the bushes in my front yard. I have some house geikos that come out on the porch at night. We have a creek with about half a block of undeveloped land on the other side of the creek that serves as a flood plain. I have seen racoons and skunks come from out of there. In the creek itself I've seen turtles, land tortoises, frogs and toads of all sorts. I have seen a pelican land back there once and a swarm of sea gulls stopped in on the trees to rest once too. Also, I have a lot of crayfish on our side of the creek.
 
One from a couple days ago and several from today. One Liver today. An Ovenbird.

On Thursday we took a walk to the Frog Pond.

Squirmy(Fred) still lets us pick him up when we see him.


A chipping sparrow at the state park.


Baltimore Oriole


Last week I posted a photo of the nest hanging over the pond.
This week it's clear that there are chicks in it.


A parent came by as I was photographing


Great Blue Heron is about 150 feet away


Here's the lifer. An Ovenbird.


Later at the Swan Pond

Look closely and you'll see a redwing blackbird trying to mess with this great blue heron. I got about 15 shots of the blackbird messing with the heron.


The heron finally flew off to a cove on the other side of the pond and suddenly there were two of them.


One landed up in a pine tree.


Just for perspective, the pine tree the heron is sitting in is in the center of the photo. Can't see it all without some zoom.


Finally, an American Robin has made a nest at eye level right on the side of the road.
 
A skink visited our back porch earlier today. We have plenty of lizards in Virginia, but they're shy and move fast when they know you're near, so I don't see them very often. Maybe one or two each summer. This one looks like his tail has seen better days.

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Down at the Frog Pond a snapping turtle has shown up. It's not huge but big enough.





Sadly, it looks like Squirmy is now missing a back foot and his tail is snipped.
It looks healed up so I hope he does OK with a partial back leg. I'm guessing he ran into the snapper.





A whole army of female house sparrows in a tree seeming with nothing to do.


A blackbird chasing away a red tailed hawk again. These redwing blackbirds sure defend their nesting places.
 
Oh, do they ever! I can't take a walk without those little psychopaths freaking out.
 
Never wander into the back yard without the camera!

A red Shouldered Hawk in my back yard tree.





It was in the low limb of the tree to the left in the photo of my back yard.
 
Heading to Maine first thing in the morning.

In the meantime, a short visit to the swan pond today and there are still 5 chicks. The parents have them over where people come by and feed them.



 
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