Birding Waughop Lake

Our record-breaking streak of sunny days this late in the year has kept me from finishing Hesse’s third novel, but I figure there will be plenty of rainy days coming up that are better suited for reading.

Leslie was gone, so I took the pickup and drove to the nearby Lake Waughop again.  I was surprised at how low the water was and was wondering where all the ducks had gone since I wasn’t seeing any close to shore.  Turned out there were lots of ducks, but they were all out in the middle of the lake, far too far away for a good shot. 

About the only bird I saw near the shore was this Double-Crested Cormorant.  In the early-morning sunlight this rather plain bird seemed positively elegant to me.

The dominant bird of the day seemed to be the Spotted Towhee,

one of the hardest birds to photograph because it loves to hide in the dense underbrush and warn all nearby birds of your presence.

This Towhee, though, tempted by the fruit in the trees offered a much better pose near the end of my walk.

My favorite shot of the day, though, was this one of a local Steller’s Jay which seemed to best reflect the day’s brilliant blue skies.