A walk around.

I still haven't had any luck with finding an owl, or relocating the elusive Bluebird, but during a walk around the gardens of where we are staying (7 acres of them!) a few more north American birds were tracked down for an image.

Brown-Headed Cowbird, possible juvenile. From a distance these birds look very much like the European Starling. They group together in small flocks and as their name suggests can be found feeding around cattle. This individual was searching around for food on the ground under some horses, lucky for me it flew nearby and landing in a tree top!! Once you get a closer look it is quite obvious they are not Starlings at all, especially when the beak in noticed.

Further along the track I chanced upon this Chipping Sparrow, with a beak full of grub!

In the pasture immediately to the front of the property can be found a very unusual "back yard" bird. In fact there are dozens of them and they breed here too. Now getting near enough for a decent image has eluded me all week. This image (below) is the best I have managed so far, it has been very heavily cropped and consequently the quality has reduced, however it's identify can still be made!

Now I know what it is, do you??????

And finally a few more Ruby Throated Hummingbird images. My patience and endurance of the midday heat is finally starting to pay off with some "better" images of these delightful characters. To try and understand how small their body is, look at your thumb, (from the nail to the first joint),.........tiny hey!!!!

My first "usable" in flight image.

My favourite USA image so far, their colours are just awesome......