Monday, April 30, 2018

The Orange Invasion Continues: Bullock's Orioles on the Tuolumne River

I'm loving the arrival of the tropical migrants in our region. Many are brightly colored, including the Black-headed Grosbeak, the Western Tanager, and the Bullock's Oriole (Icterus bulockii). For this year, I'm still looking for a Hooded Oriole and a Varied Thrush. But in the meantime, I've seen the Bullock's Orioles a couple of times in the last few days, with a small twist: the ladies were present. After scanning the bluffs and the treetops for any sign at all of these beautiful birds, I had two of them fly right in front of my face, and land on the shrubs a few yards away.

I didn't manage any pictures of the quality of my post two weeks ago, primarily because I was torn about which bird to concentrate on! Get a picture of the flashy male, like the ones I already have? Or get some shots of the only less slightly colorful female who was collecting nesting material? Thus I got so-so pictures of both in the end. But heck, that just means I'll have to spend some more time walking to get more pictures! And that thrush is out there...somewhere...


No comments:

Post a Comment