Carolina Chickadee

There were lots of hummingbirds at the fountain this morning.

Black-Chinned Hummingbird... Bird names don't always make sense. This has a dark purple area on the chin if the light hits it right. I guess it could look black. But, usually their chins are just plain gray.

Black-Chinned Hummingbird

There was a feeder right above my head. Not many birds were willing to get so close to me. This is another Black-Chinned Hummingbird. The red on its chin is a reflection.

Black-Chinned Hummingbird

Black-Chinned Hummingbird

White-winged Dove

This was my catch of the day. I wish it were a tad bit more focused. It is a Yellow-throated Warbler. He came and went so fast that I barely had time to get a shot. I actually thought it was a Golden-cheeked Warbler, even though the timing was off. Like I said, it came in a flash, and I couldn't really see it until I got it on the computer.

This is just a group of birds sharing the fountain. One is a Cardinal, but I am not sure if it is a juvenile male or a female. The others are male and female Lesser Goldfinches.

Black-Chinned Hummingbird

Black-Chinned Hummingbird

Black-Chinned Hummingbird

Black-Chinned Hummingbird... He took a bath in the water. I didn't catch that, but did follow him to the tree where he went to dry off.

This is a juvenile male Northern Cardinal. Notice the black beak. It will turn orange at maturity.

Some of these Cardinals were puzzling. Is this a not fully mature male? Is it a freshly molted older male? I just don't know.

Guadalupe River State Park has some of the prettiest views of the sky. I wish I would focus on the scenery more, like I used to before my passion for birding began.

This is in the parking lot near the day use area.

The bird blind is really close to the Nature Center. You can see the amphitheater behind the trees. There was supposed to be a 90 minute guided hike to the scenic overlook, but the volunteer didn't show up. Jessica Bergner, who is the brand new interpreter led us out there. She wasn't familiar with that hike, so we all sort of winged it. She was super embarrassed, but I could see how impressed the other couple with us was with her. I was really proud of how well she did under such awkward circumstances. Back when she was a trainee with AAMN, I was her mentor. Then, we volunteered together several times at Government Canyon. If you remember me telling a story about being lost in that park for several hours during a Golden Warbler Survey, she is the partner that was lost with me. I have enjoyed watching her journey in the Park Service and can't wait to see what new things she brings to the programs at Guadalupe River State Park.

This female Summer Tanager was sitting in the top of an Ashe Juniper in the parking lot near the Nature Center. I was sitting in the amphitheater, so this is zoomed in a lot.

Another sky view from the amphitheater.

This is the view of the Nature Center from the amphitheater. You would consider this the stage area.

These galls caught my eye as I was headed to the bird blind after the hike.

Female house finch... She was so big, I didn't really think she was one.

White-winged dove

Female House Finch

When I got back to the Colby 2.0, this poor little squirrel was trying to drink from the AC run off. I need to put a bucket to catch that in the future.