Today was one of those sultry days. You know immediately when you leave the conditioned air and go outside in the morning that it is going to be HOT. I decided to drive the 30 minutes it takes to get to the Field and check out the sunflower patch where it is about time for the Goldfinch to start pecking away at the seed heads, a few of which are just beginning to ripen. I think we all love the bright gold and black Goldfinch males in their spring and early summer breeding colors. In our area, I usually get a flood of these birds at my backyard feeders in March-April, then I don't see them there very much through the summer. Of course they are always beautiful to see, but I do not like taking photos of them at the feeders--somehow they just don't look natural-I prefer to find them in the wild in their natural state, eating their favorite seed--thistle and sunflower. At the Field, the owner always plants a small area of sunflowers every few years, and then lets them reseed naturally for several years to form a very thick feeder plot for the critters.
I waited at the plot, hidden by a couple of small scrub pines. In about 10 minutes a trio-2 males and one female- came flying in singing their bubbly tune--they always announce their arrival. They are so striking in their own right, but add a sunflower perch and neat pics are almost guaranteed . After getting a few nice shots, I decided to check out another part of the field which has been planted this year with Grain Sorghum. I had not been there this season and was not aware that it already had seed heads and a few of them were beginning to turn from green to yellow, indicating they are getting ripe. I heard the metallic call of a Blue Grosbeak and decided to wait a bit to see if they were dining on the sorghum. They are primarily insect eaters, but will eat seed and seem to like this grain. Waiting in the car was getting hot, but soon 2 males came within camera distance, perched on seed head--they were eating the grain. Their blue is as pretty as the Goldfinch's yellow-- I was able to get a few pics even though they were far even for my 400mm lens---What a privilege it is to see such beautiful critters in their full dress uniforms!! Notice the Halloween Pennant Dragonfly on the sorghum with the Grosbeak. It made the very hot day a little more tolerable---See pics below from the morning, and a few from previous days.
I waited at the plot, hidden by a couple of small scrub pines. In about 10 minutes a trio-2 males and one female- came flying in singing their bubbly tune--they always announce their arrival. They are so striking in their own right, but add a sunflower perch and neat pics are almost guaranteed . After getting a few nice shots, I decided to check out another part of the field which has been planted this year with Grain Sorghum. I had not been there this season and was not aware that it already had seed heads and a few of them were beginning to turn from green to yellow, indicating they are getting ripe. I heard the metallic call of a Blue Grosbeak and decided to wait a bit to see if they were dining on the sorghum. They are primarily insect eaters, but will eat seed and seem to like this grain. Waiting in the car was getting hot, but soon 2 males came within camera distance, perched on seed head--they were eating the grain. Their blue is as pretty as the Goldfinch's yellow-- I was able to get a few pics even though they were far even for my 400mm lens---What a privilege it is to see such beautiful critters in their full dress uniforms!! Notice the Halloween Pennant Dragonfly on the sorghum with the Grosbeak. It made the very hot day a little more tolerable---See pics below from the morning, and a few from previous days.
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