Sparring Mockingbirds

Be Content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.

Royal Empress Tree

Confederate Rose

In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don't try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present.

Mother's Day 2009

I see lots of nesting doves as I walk around town. A popular nest site seems to be the top of porch columns. I know of two right next door. At my house the nest is in my fig tree. That's the second attempt by the same dove or another dove using the same nest site in the fig tree. Back on March 17 I photographed the bird sitting on nest then after she flew off I photographed two eggs. The next day the sitting bird was gone and so were the eggs.

More photos here: http://picasaweb.google.com/mike2cons/090510SundayNature?authkey=Gv1sRgCOGvzOaiqvm2qAE&feat=directlink

Mockingbird Family

My walk this morning brought me into contact with Mockingbirds feeding on blackberries. A mother and two of what appeared to be fledged young.
She carefully picked each berry from the vines growing on the bank of Bayou Lafourche and brought them to her chicks.
The berries were large enough that they filled the beaks of the young birds who consumed them with relish.

The young birds seemed large enough to feed themselves with such abundance all about.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mike2cons/090426Birds?authkey=Gv1sRgCLu6xsbG1vqTCg&feat=directlink

Spring Migration Visitors

I had two first time visitors to my backyard feeders this week. When I returned home from my AM walk there waiting for me on the birdbath was a Rose-breasted Grosbeak. I tried to sneak into the house to get my camera but that spooked him and he flew away. From inside I was able to see through the window a male Indigo Bunting sitting on the bird feeder. He was brilliantly blue in full breeding plumage and stayed at the feeder long enough to get many pictures of him. I then noticed that the Grosbeak had returned to the other feeder and I was able to get the picture that I had missed out on earlier. Two migrants on their way from southern climes to their breeding grounds father north had stopped by for a drink and a little food before continuing on their journey.

Winter Birds

The Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It occurs along inland waterways as well as in coastal areas, and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska down to Florida and Mexico. This one was seen over the weir downtown.
I found this guy in the library parking lot. The Eastern Phoebe, Sayornis phoebe, is a small passerine bird. This tyrant flycatcher breeds in eastern North America. It is migratory, wintering in the southernmost USA and Central America.

081228

What did the Thibodaux area look like in 1800? The community was settled in the 18th century. It was incorporated as a town in 1830 under the name Thibodauxville, in honor of local plantation owner Henry Schuyler Thibodaux, who in 1824 served as acting governor of Louisiana. The name was changed to Thibodeaux in 1838, and the current spelling Thibodaux was officially adopted in 1918.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mike2cons/081228SundayWinterWalkGloomyOvercast?authkey=u_AosHlvb88&feat=directlink