Bald Eagles

Skywatch Friday
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On Thursday we went back to Proffitt's Porch near Columbus, MS to spend the afternoon photographing the Eagles that have been nesting nearby for the past five years.  Proffitt's Porch is a rustic restaurant with a large porch overlooking a small beach and lake a few miles west of Columbus.  A fellow photographer told us about the Eagles that were raising a new family about a quarter of a mile from the restaurant.  We like to go over there for lunch and then spend the afternoon 'bird watching'.

If you would like to see more of our day, click on Proffitt's Porch II  then click on 'slideshow'.
There are 67 pictures, most with captions, here.  We are so thankful for getting to enjoy this perfect day!  This Psalm came to mind:

Psalm 100
A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

I need help

I need help in identifying this bird! I thought at first it was a Great Crested Flycatcher by its size but this one looks gold all over. We were in the shade and I have added some light to the pictures. The first two were made when he landed on a bottle tree close to where we were sitting.

Bird of the Day

I just 'happened' to be at the dining room door with my camera in my hand when this lovely Great Crested Flycatcher perched on the tower guy wire.  This one is not showing a crest and may be a female.  I think they can raise and lower their crest, like the Cardinals.  We seldom ever see these birds, so I get a little excited when I spot one!

The Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus) lives in all states east of the Rockies and is common in open deciduous forests and orchards.  It is a dark olive gray on the back, with a yellow underside and light gray throat.  Its distinctive crest gives it its name, and it has a large bill.  It is nearly 9″ long and is the only eastern flycatcher to nest in cavities.  In fact, it will nest in nearly any kind of cavity.  It is a fiercely territorial bird. 

In spite of its long bill, the flycatcher does not make its own cavity, depending on rotting trees or posts, or on holes made by woodpeckers or those provided by bird-loving humans.  Flycatchers feed in the tops of trees, primarily on insects, and emit a loud “wheeeeep.”  They frustrate bird watchers, as they are more often heard than seen. 

They are aptly named, as they may sit on a perch watching for insects, and then dart out and catch even a dragonfly in mid-air.  They also eat beetles, bees and wasps, but do not eat many mosquitoes or gnats.  Flycatchers are known for using the skins shed by snakes in making their nests. (copied from Wikipedia)

New Birds Stopped By

For the past two or three days, we have been blessed with new birds stopping by to refuel on their way up North.  These are Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and they go to the northern states and Canada to breed and raise their young and then they travel to Central America, South America and the Caribbean Islands for the winter.  This pair did not seem to mind me making pictures of them.

Several little Indigo Buntings have stopped by, too.  I'm always so happy to see 'new' birds at the feeder!
Also, I'm happy to be back!  I've missed y'all so much!

He is Risen!

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"  
John 11:25-26 NKJV