Saturday, December 28, 2019

Interesting Hike from Start to Finish!


We drove over to the Pruitt Trailhead to hike the Halpata Tastanaki Preserve trail and saw a Hawk perched on the gate post as we turned in! That was exciting!


The photos I took were later. 


This is the one I took when we pulled into the gate. 


Can you see the feathers on the far right of the pic? You'll just have to take my word that it's a Red-Shouldered Hawk! lol


Lots of beautiful birds but this Kestrel was one of my favs!

You just have to take a chance when they fly, but I liked this photo!


We have a long list of sightings for the day and some we didn't get photos of. We saw big flocks of White Ibis and Glossy Ibis in the ponds and flooded fields. They are amazing to see but there's no place to pull over to get good photos.


BUT....when we got home and drove into our neighborhood we were greeted by this little group! 

One mature White Ibis....


and some juveniles.


I think they are considering our neighborhood to retire when they get older. 


At least they were checking out the house for sale on the corner! heehee!

I hope your weekend is filled with Joy!

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE 
and I’d Rather B Birdin’.


26 comments:

Tom said...

...this week I saw a red tail hawk perched in a tree, by the time I stopping it flew away. Happy New Year.

Debbie said...

hawk sightings are always thrilling, your images are beautiful!! funny, i have so many flight shots that look just like your third picture!! hehehehe

nice captures of the kestrel and i think you may be right about those ibis...they may be moving into the neighborhood!!

have a great weekend diane, we are having nice warm weather here at the jersey shore!!!

Gayle said...

I will take your word for it because I often get these same shots. ;)

Edna B said...

Now that's the kind of thing I love to come home to. Beautiful birds! You have a wonderful day, hugs, Edna B.

MadSnapper said...

those Ibis may be your future new neighbors, they do look interested in that house. I like the colors of the juveniles more than the adult. that kestrel is beautiful. I don't think I have seen one in the wild, but then I may have and not known what it was. I am not fond of hawks. and of course that is what we have, hawks, no other birds at all. they ate all the birds. not a dove or a jay or even a cardinal in sight and very few squirrels.. they don't seem to bother egrets and ibis and ducks though.

Susie said...

Diane, I love the hawk pictures. Those ibis are interesting to me as we never see them in Indiana. LOL Blessings for more fun hikes. xoxo, love, Susie

Small City Scenes said...

Funny to see Ibis checking out the neighborhood. I like it!
MB

eileeninmd said...

Hello,

I also enjoy seeing the Hawks and the Kestrel. The Ibis are neat birds, we saw some while on our recent Florida trip too. Thanks so much for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!

Terri D said...

There are white ibis everywhere we look around here. Must be good eating in our lawns! I always enjoy your hikes and photos! Thanks for taking us along!

Barbara said...

I agree with you that it looks like the Ibis family is looking for a retirement home!

That photo of the flying Kestrel is GREAT!

Ann said...

Fun sighting with the hawk.
That's funny with the ibis. I wonder what kind of neighbors they would be. A single parent of 4 children.

David M. Gascoigne, said...

I think that White Ibises have developed a real attachment to lawns in residential areas. Many years ago a friend of mine had a place in Florida, and every night the birds would come up onto his lawn. He watched them getting big white juicy grubs out of the ground, and he figured that whatever they were eating probably wasn't beneficial to the lawn anyway, so he learned to live with the birds. Every morning he would go pat his grass back down and wait for the next group of diners to arrive later that afternoon.

R's Rue said...

Beautiful.

Sandy said...

Beautiful hawk pictures. Jeff saw a bald eagle today while fishing. He got some pretty good photos with his phone. Love seeing those bird photos.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Those ibis checking out the real estate are too darn cute! Lovey raptor sightings and I’m envious of the flight shot. It’s too bad that drive through didn’t have pullouts. That is so frustrating. Happy New Year (I will be back to blogland next week).

Linda said...

I wonder if they have a realtor?

Shiju Sugunan said...

Beautiful sightings! Love the ibis.

Anni said...

Long ago, we had white ibis in our neighbor's yard. I was shocked...we are about 15 miles away from water! Great photos (even the tail...I have had many just like that)

With your lovely post viewed, I want to thank you for linking in at I'd Rather B Birdin and wish you a most prosperous new year!

Arlene G said...

We saw several hawks up in trees on our little trip to Oxford MS the other day. And a few Sandhill cranes are at the refuge here. Whooping Cranes were in residence recently as well. Marvin took his camera and got some good shots of them. Do you often have Ibis in your neighborhood?

Jenn Jilks said...

These are wonderful.

Buttercup said...

Hope you had a great Christmas. Thanks for your warning. Spam deleted!

carol l mckenna said...

wow! love all your feathered friends photos ~ sweet that they were at the 'House for Sale.'


Wonder if you could suggest a lightweight binocular for bird watching? Thanks, ^_^

Happy Moments to You,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)

Debby Ray said...

Those are some great shots of those beautiful birds. I have seen quite a few hawks right around here and there are many owls as well. I am hoping to get lucky and get some good shots of them! Only a few more days until 2020...it sounds almost like science fiction...twenty-twenty! God bless your new year, sweet friend and I hope to better visiting my sweet blogging friends. ;)

Lowcarb team member said...

LOL! It does look as though the Ibis family is looking for a retirement home!

All the best Jan

Buttercup said...

Love all of your pictures, in every season! Wishes for a very happy and healthy new year. Thanks so much for all of your sweet visits to Buttercupland.

Diane S said...

Lovely set of photos, I always love the birds of prey and these are great shots. Happy New Year Diane