Who there? Hoodoos. That's Who.

 

This is a shot of the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon and they were just spectacular. Absolutely as advertised. The view from this ridge just takes your breath away. And it is only 20-25 feet from your car if you can believe it. As I said before, you should have to start from a day's hike away to get to see something like this. It is a long drive from Vegas or Phoenix but that doesn't count. The Grand Canyon is something to see but I think this matches it and then some. Anyway, one day I hope to bring all the grandkids to see Bryce. That would be a trip!!! 

Meteor Crater, Arizona

 

I was checking out some old shots last night and came across this shot from the top of Meteor Crater when Michael Jr, Anthony, Bill and I visited back in 2017. Yes, it is just a big hole in the ground but thinking that a 50 meter iron rock made that hole is something. Fifty meters is about half a football field and the length of the Olympic 50 meter pools. So, a pretty big rock. The crater is about a mile wide and about 570 feet deep. Looking forward to visiting some national parks again, including a second visit to the Great Smokies NP for some fall colors next month. 

Black-capped Chickadee and the White-breasted Nuthatch

 

The black-capped chickadee (on the left) and the white-breasted nuthatch gave a visit at the same time yesterday so I was able to capture them at once. They seem very similar as they both hang on trees upside down, generally with their heads pointing towards the ground as they look for insects on the bark. The nuthatch is actually the larger bird but here it looks smaller as it was slightly set back away from the camera. The chickadee grabs a seed and flies off to eat it on a branch. The nuthatch is more particular and grabs a seed before what looks like he digs a hole in the bark to put it there for later. Anyway, two colorful interesting birds hanging at the feeder. 

Penetrating Stare

 

Our friendly neighborhood Cooper's Hawk has found the desert bar in the Davern backyard. Michael Jr saw this guy take one of our birds out earlier in the week and he almost got one with me out there today. He didn't get his treat but hung around long enough for me to get a shot. Those are some penetrating eyes. I am thinking he is pretty pissed off at me right here. If you are a little bird, those eyes have to be in your worst nightmare. That is a penetrating stare. Goes right through you. Well, I heard if you put up a bird feeder you will get hawks coming around. They were not kidding. This thing came out of nowhere. With so many birds around, it is amazing they can get anywhere near the feeder without being seen but that was the case. Impressive. 

Nice range of motion in his neck. Very important to look all around you without moving. Any movement gives away your location. 

Finally, got the Hummingbird

 

It took all summer but finally got the elusive hummingbird in my feeder. My visitor was very shy. I moved the feeder away from the deck and I started getting more visits. Still, only a couple of times a day. Since this little guy was very skittish, he (she?) would fly away as soon as I reached for the camera. Finally, got her coming along when I had the camera already in hand and mission accomplished!!!! 

Coming to a feeder near you

 

Not here in Illinois yet as far as I know but this little fellow was caught on camera by me back in April in the Great Smoky Mountains in Tenessee. I wasn't really birding then but I saw this bird and didn't know what it was so I took a picture. Looked it up this morning and see that it is called a Dark-Eyed Junco, a visitor to Illinois starting in the fall. Tends to hang around the ground under feeders so I might get to see one at some point in the backyard. For now, I am "birding" through my back catalog to see what I have captured over the years on camera and I can now go identify. Hard to take a picture of a grey bird on grey stones but was able to catch this shot nevertheless. I was probably resting on some of the hikes that Michael Jr was dragging me on. So, help me out and be on the lookout for some little grey birds. Now that you know what to look for, these should be easy to see and no other birds really have this all grey/black top and white belly look so they should be easy to see. Good luck. 

Breakfast at the all day cafe

 

Look at the mess I created! These birds are going nuts (so to speak) for the all-you-can eat, all-day breakfast buffet. That feeder was filled yesterday morning. Half way down in the course of a day. Then they fight when there are rungs that don't have access to food. I image the female cardinal speaks Australian for some reason and is calling me out for not refilling the feeder faster. I have counted 14 to 15 birds at a time. They are relentless.