How about a new thread for October? I did get some good grackle and cardinal shots today:

Those are fantastic photos, Elaine! Thank you for the new thread.

The grackle looks angry and then the cardinal is looking over as if "what is your problem".

Elaine, thanks for the new thread ... hard to believe it's October already. Great shots of the Grackle and the Cardinal! Those Grackles always seem to have an angry look about them.

Great shots Elaine! That grackle does look angry

Little chickadee taking a drink

Looking for a little sympathy here, because one of the grackles that was here today really has a reason to look mad. He's got a big cyst of some sort on his chest right in front of his wing. I never noticed it, but I got a picture of it and it really took me by surprise. Then he was around a few more times through the day and I saw it. He seems to be able to fly all right, and eats lots of seeds but . . it's disturbing.

Nothing to be done, of course because I can't possibly catch him. If you want to see the picture, I'll Tree-mail it to you but it's sort of gruesome so I don't want to post it here.

That's a really pretty little chickadee.

Awww, Elaine, it's very upsetting for me to see any animal in discomfort or have something wrong. Sorry you have to worry about your grackle! We'll worry with you. He looks so nice and shiny from the view in the pictures.

Well, I have a small gang of grackles around, and the one in the picture isn't the one with the cyst.

But . . . well he/she will either heal up, or disappear I guess. If it is a wound that has abcessed, it might just heal up. Let's hope it happens soon anyway.

Thanks, I needed a 'group hug'.

A for both you and the Grackle, Elaine

Elaine. Poor grackle. Thanks for the new thread and those photos are tee-rific! Yours of the chick a dee too Ronnie!

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary has another Folklore Friday post on Facebook today! And it's another bird - the Kingfisher. Here's what they say:

"Folklore Friday: The Belted Kingfisher can be spotted at the Sanctuary October - March. Kingfishers play a variety of roles in Native American folklore. To the Northwest Coast Indians, the Kingfisher is a messenger and a sign of good luck to come. In Makah legends, however, a human thief was punished by being transformed into the first kingfisher. In the Siouan tribes, the Kingfisher is associated with fertility. Most often, the Kingfisher appears in traditional stories as a proficient hunter. It is said the Kingfisher is the promise of abundance, prosperity and love that is about to unfold within your life. According to Greek legend, Alcyone, daughter of Aeolus (king of the winds), found her husband drowned in a storm and so great was her grief, that the Gods permitted him to live again as a Kingfisher. Alcyone was also metamorphosed into a Kingfisher. The Gods provided that every year there should be 7-14 days (the seven days before and the seven after the winter solstice), when the sea was calm so Alcyone could tend her nest. This calm period became known as Halcyone days, a time of peace and tranquility. Thus the Belted Kingfisher’s species name, alcyon. Corkscrew Sanctuary offers “Halcyone days” year round."

Elaine, ((((( Hugs ))))) for you and the poor Grackle.

Ronnie, great photo of that beautiful little Chickadee!

Melanie, thank you for today's Folklore Friday! The Belted Kingfisher is a fun bird to watch. I've seen them here in August but it's usually late October or early November before they show up.

Belted Kingfisher August 2012 ................................ two sightings in November 2013

Oh I like the kingfisher, have seen them often in the woods but no pictures.

Great shot Lin! They always make me laugh. That head of theirs with the feathers/crest always reminds me of a harried man. Think Don Knotts on Andy Griffith show when Barney would ran his fingers through his hair & it would get all wonked out.

Kingfisher bird is so attractive. I don't think I've ever seen one. With the name Kingfisher, I had him so much bigger pictured in my mind.

I missed your post, Ann.

It's been gloomy and rainy here all day but this duo has been around off and on all day, feeding in the next door neighbors yard.

White Ibis .............................................. Juvenile

wildflowers said:Kingfisher bird is so attractive. I don't think I've ever seen one. With the name Kingfisher, I had him so much bigger pictured in my mind.

Kingfishers really are small birds. But you ought to see them fish!!!! THAT'S where the name comes from. They are amazing in action.

My Dad said he used to see Kingfishers feeding up and down the river when he lived in West Virginia. And if you haven't checked out the BBB Articles thread, look at this stunning photo of the never before photographed male Mustached Kingfisher! http://garden.org/thread/view_...

Ann, I would love to see one in action!

Wonderful story of the mustached kingfisher, being the first one ever found and photographed (it's a beauty)! It really must have been like finding a unicorn!!


--Around here, I haven't seen the hummingbirds in about three days. But, it's getting cool at nights, 55F right now and they are right on schedule, usually gone the first week of Oct.

Last trip to the store, dh asked if we needed to trade the sugar purchase in for some bird seed. I said yes.

All right, bird folks. I've got some pictures and I even know a few of them. And as a bonus, I did not get stuck in a ditch today!

I was caterpillar hunting and heard a weird noise above me in the oak tree. I had two Muscovy Ducks on a limb. One was hiding in the Spanish moss so you can just see its rump.



I was walking out the front door when a Cardinal came swooping into my Jatropha. I tried to be stealthy and get a picture, but it flew into my Black Cherry. It took me a minute to locate it, but I got a picture. Turned out better than I thought, too.



I drove looking for some caterpillar food when I saw two different Egrets in a ditch. I pulled the car over (safely, this time) and took pictures. One is a Great Egret and I believe the other is a Snowy Egret based on size, black bill, black legs, and yellow feet. I saw the feet when it kept flying away. Okay, here's the Snowy Egret first.



And the Great Egret.



As I drove down the road I saw four black birds on the ground. They scattered as I got close but since there was no traffic behind me, I stopped and took pictures. One had something he was eating on the ground but hopped on the fence to continue pecking at it. Now, before I knew about birds I would have just called this a Crow. Apparently, I'm right. But I see my book has the American Crow and the Fish Crow and I'll be darned as to which this is. Good thing is, I got decent pictures for you guys to stare at! FYI, the first picture is a different bird than the other pictures but they were together. It's just that the one in the first picture wasn't trying to eat something and had better posture.




I keep hearing an owl hooting but I can never find it. I also saw a flock of White Ibises but it was raining by then so I kept driving.