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Friday, June 14, 2013

Bird Watching at Ouabache State Park

Sometimes, Doug and I enjoy going to a nearby state park and just spending the afternoon reading under a shade tree next to the lake. Of course, the camera always goes along, too. This series of photos is from last week's visit to Ouabache State Park.

(The official pronunciation of "Ouabache" is "Wabash," but the locals almost always refer to it as "Kwa-botch-ee." So you just go ahead and pronounce it any way you want to.)

A female Eastern Bluebird

A fairly large nest, but I don't know what made it.

A baby Eastern Bluebird. There was an adult sitting lower on the same branch.

Male Eastern Bluebird

Doug thought this might be a flycatcher of some sort. (Eastern Phoebe, perhaps?)

Cedar Waxwing

Female Eastern Bluebird

I don't know what this one is...possibly another flycatcher? (Eastern Pewee, perhaps?)

Red-Bellied Woodpecker



9 comments:

  1. not sure on the unknown. almost looks like it has a trace of blue on the tail for an immature bluebird, but could be phoebe or peewee?

    love that you got to see a cedar waxwing!

    and wabash? would have never guessed it.

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    1. Thanks, Theresa. I looked up the birds you mentioned, and I think you're onto something with your ID of them. The waxwing was a treat for me, too.

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  2. Looks like a good place to see a variety of birds.The Eastern Bluebird is such a beautiful bird,I never get tired of seeing them.

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    1. Ruth - I agree with you about the Eastern Bluebird. The male, especially, is so pretty.

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  3. I'm definitely glad you take your camera along with you when you go to the park for a quiet afternoon of reading. You got some wonderful pictures, were you able to get any reading done?

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    1. Thanks, George. My reading definitely suffers. There are so many birds to see. Most of them are too quick for me or too shy, hiding in the leaves. So there were a lot more attempts at photos than there were photos. 

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  4. Linda, these are so good! What a fun day. I'm thinking the unknown bird might be an eastern phoebe, but it's hard to say. With all those birds it would certainly be difficult to concentrate on a book! Hope you have a terrific weekend. :)

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    1. Thanks, Gail. After TexWisGirl’s comment, I looked up the Phoebe and the Pewee and concluded that the first of the unknowns could very well be a Phoebe. The second one seemed to fit the Pewee description better, especially because of the eye rings.

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  5. Lovely bird sightings, Linda. I have never seen a bluebird and would very much like to. The cedar waxwings make their way through here a couple of times a year and they're always a treat.

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