Crops & Clips: Birds in two back yards

This post is about birds seen in our dooryards this year, both in Florida as well as in our daughter's yard in northeastern Illinois.

In early May, during our stay in Illinois, I tended to a slow-cooking roast in the barbeque on the back deck of our daughter's home. Since we lost all the undeveloped land near our condo, I relished the opportunity to just sit and enjoy their bird feeders. I set a goal of seeing 20 species during the hour or so, and actually counted 21 (including a couple of flyovers).

A Cardinal stopped at the feeder and then perched on the back fence...







...as did a Mourning Dove:



The dove rested atop the feeder:



Black-capped Chickadees picked up seeds one at a time and ate them up in the trees:



An American Robin caught a worm for its newly hatched chicks:



A Red-tailed hawk flew over, one of the "bonus birds:"



White-crowned Sparrows were abundant:





A Chipping Sparrow peered shyly from the other side of a feeder...



...but later gave me an open shot:



Siboney, their 5 1/2 month old Tibetan Mastiff, already weighed 50 pounds. He chewed on a stick and watched the birds with me:



A colorful sunrise greeted us upon our return to Florida in mid-May:



Shortly after returning home to Florida I saw a Tricolored Heron which was busy tending to its feathers. I crept out onto the patio and obtained a series of photos as it preened at the lake's edge. Click on the photos for larger images which show its plumage in greater detail: 











The younger of the two eaglets in the local Bald Eagle nest indeed perished, either from injuries in fights with its older sibling or because it could not compete with her for food. The first-hatched was about 65 days old when I took this photo on May 20, 2016. It would be expected to fledge within a week or two:

 

For this week's wildflower, here are Dicentra cucullaria (Dutchman's breeches) growing at Bliss Woods, Kane County, Illinois:



Thanks so much for visiting! I will be on the road for the next couple of weeks and often away from WiFi and even out of cellular range. Mary Lou and I are celebrating our 56th Wedding Anniversary! Tending to my blog from a cellphone does not work out very well, so I have put my posts on "autopilot" in the interim, but promise to visit you as soon as possible when I get back to my PC.
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Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

Linking to GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa). 

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

Linking to Today's Flowers Friday by Denise

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue
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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display

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