hollywesberry's Favorites

White Rock lake, East Lawther Dr
Photo 1:
Papa At His Nest
This is my first Baltimore Oriole nest. Both parents were coming & going & you could hear faint cheeps coming from within the nest.

Photo 2:
Baltimore Oriole Nest
Best shot I got of the nest. Sad to see all the fishing line, plastic, ribbon and confetti that was used in the construction of this nest.

Had a wonderful time with the East Texas Master Naturalists today. Presented on botany, then led a little field trip around the Nature Center in Tyler.

I stopped to get some gas in Canton and went to this park that I've been to once before. This is an amazing park -- if you find yourself in Canton and want to see some nature, check out Cherry Creek Park! It's the closest place to DFW where you can spot sundews (Drosera) I think.

A few of these I'll have to work on ID's later on -- just wanted to get them uploaded first. :)

Had a wonderful time with the East Texas Master Naturalists today. Presented on botany, then led a little field trip around the Nature Center in Tyler.

I stopped to get some gas in Canton and went to this park that I've been to once before. This is an amazing park -- if you find yourself in Canton and want to see some nature, check out Cherry Creek Park! It's the closest place to DFW where you can spot sundews (Drosera) I think.

A few of these I'll have to work on ID's later on -- just wanted to get them uploaded first. :)

Had a wonderful time with the East Texas Master Naturalists today. Presented on botany, then led a little field trip around the Nature Center in Tyler.

I stopped to get some gas in Canton and went to this park that I've been to once before. This is an amazing park -- if you find yourself in Canton and want to see some nature, check out Cherry Creek Park! It's the closest place to DFW where you can spot sundews (Drosera) I think.

A few of these I'll have to work on ID's later on -- just wanted to get them uploaded first. :)

Had a wonderful time with the East Texas Master Naturalists today. Presented on botany, then led a little field trip around the Nature Center in Tyler.

I stopped to get some gas in Canton and went to this park that I've been to once before. This is an amazing park -- if you find yourself in Canton and want to see some nature, check out Cherry Creek Park! It's the closest place to DFW where you can spot sundews (Drosera) I think.

A few of these I'll have to work on ID's later on -- just wanted to get them uploaded first. :)

Had a wonderful time with the East Texas Master Naturalists today. Presented on botany, then led a little field trip around the Nature Center in Tyler.

I stopped to get some gas in Canton and went to this park that I've been to once before. This is an amazing park -- if you find yourself in Canton and want to see some nature, check out Cherry Creek Park! It's the closest place to DFW where you can spot sundews (Drosera) I think.

A few of these I'll have to work on ID's later on -- just wanted to get them uploaded first. :)

Had a wonderful time with the East Texas Master Naturalists today. Presented on botany, then led a little field trip around the Nature Center in Tyler.

I stopped to get some gas in Canton and went to this park that I've been to once before. This is an amazing park -- if you find yourself in Canton and want to see some nature, check out Cherry Creek Park! It's the closest place to DFW where you can spot sundews (Drosera) I think.

A few of these I'll have to work on ID's later on -- just wanted to get them uploaded first. :)

Decided to drive a little bit east of the DFW metroplex today. Amazing how just an hour drive east leads you to a completely different ecosystem! :) I explored some of this really nice park in Canton -- Cherry Creek Park.

Had a wonderful time with the East Texas Master Naturalists today. Presented on botany, then led a little field trip around the Nature Center in Tyler.

I stopped to get some gas in Canton and went to this park that I've been to once before. This is an amazing park -- if you find yourself in Canton and want to see some nature, check out Cherry Creek Park! It's the closest place to DFW where you can spot sundews (Drosera) I think.

A few of these I'll have to work on ID's later on -- just wanted to get them uploaded first. :)

Had a wonderful time with the East Texas Master Naturalists today. Presented on botany, then led a little field trip around the Nature Center in Tyler.

I stopped to get some gas in Canton and went to this park that I've been to once before. This is an amazing park -- if you find yourself in Canton and want to see some nature, check out Cherry Creek Park! It's the closest place to DFW where you can spot sundews (Drosera) I think.

A few of these I'll have to work on ID's later on -- just wanted to get them uploaded first. :)

Had a wonderful time with the East Texas Master Naturalists today. Presented on botany, then led a little field trip around the Nature Center in Tyler.

I stopped to get some gas in Canton and went to this park that I've been to once before. This is an amazing park -- if you find yourself in Canton and want to see some nature, check out Cherry Creek Park! It's the closest place to DFW where you can spot sundews (Drosera) I think.

A few of these I'll have to work on ID's later on -- just wanted to get them uploaded first. :)

Had a wonderful time with the East Texas Master Naturalists today. Presented on botany, then led a little field trip around the Nature Center in Tyler.

I stopped to get some gas in Canton and went to this park that I've been to once before. This is an amazing park -- if you find yourself in Canton and want to see some nature, check out Cherry Creek Park! It's the closest place to DFW where you can spot sundews (Drosera) I think.

A few of these I'll have to work on ID's later on -- just wanted to get them uploaded first. :)

White Rock lake, Greater Sunset Bay area
Well Look Who Branched
On my last trip to the Cooper's Hawk nest, I found the nest empty but saw this cutie on a branch near the nest. I believe it is the younger sibling, the facial features match. Most likely the older sibling has already fledged. You can see the nest in the background here. I did not see the other baby and did not see either parent on this trip. I really enjoyed following this nest.

White Rock lake, Greater Sunset Bay
A week after first seeing the baby Cooper's Hawks, I checked back in on them. the older nestling was standing on the edge of the nest looking back at me. It has grown up a lot and has a lot of new feathers. The streaking is starting to show up on its front. It won't be long before it ventures out of the nest to explore the adjacent branches, a stage called branching.

White Rock lake, Sunset Bay
I love fledgling season. I've never seen an Eastern Kingbird nest but I got to see some cute fledglings. Sharing my experience.
Photo 1: I had just arrived at the lake and as soon as I stepped out of my car I heard a ruckus high in a tree top. Had to use my camera to see what it was. I could not get very close so these shot are heavily cropped. Two eastern kingbird fledglings were yelling loudly for someone to come and feed them. I've never seen an eastern kingbird nest and these were my first fledglings. Did not spot a nest anywhere near. One seems to be yelling at its sibling.

Photo 2: While I was watching, a parent flew over and perched and for a few seconds the babies and parent just stared at each other.

Photo 3: The silence only lasted a few seconds then the babies started begging for food loudly and the parent started yelling too for some reason. The parent did not have any food for them.
Photo 4: As the babies continued to beg, the parent flew a little closer on the tip of the tree on a seed ball. I felt so sorry for the hungry babies with their open mouths pointed up at the parent. It was obvious the parent had no food for them.

Photo 5: A minivan pulled up in the parking lot and some people with 3 loudly barking dogs got out. The parent bird immediately flew to perch right by the babies and I got this last shot before all 3 flew off and out of sight. Hopefully the babies got fed soon. I loved getting to see this cute family.

White Rock lake, Winfrey Point
Rare Sighting Of A Loggerhead Shrike
I have only seen a shrike once before & had to go out to farm roads to find one. So was shocked to see this one at a place I visit often. They are becoming quite rare to find these days. It was perched on a guy wire. There were actually 2 of them but one flew off before I could get a shot.
Overcast day and a good distance away so heavily cropped photos. But very distinctive shaped bird and beak, I knew right away what it was. Note the hooked beak. It is a songbird but hunts like a raptor. A bit bloodthirsty, it will impale its prey of lizard, grasshopper, snake among others, on thorns or fence barbs. Mesquite trees with thorns were in the area.