I always look forward to the first Ruby-throated Hummingbird arriving at my feeders. They seemed to have arrived earlier than usual here at my house. I made these photos on April 22. I was told that people were seeing them so I put a feeder up and had one show up the next day.

The adult male, shown in the photo, has a ruby red throat patch, also known as a gorget which may appear black in some lighting, and a dark forked tail. The female has a dark rounded tail with white tips and generally no throat patch, though she may sometimes have a light or whitish throat patch. The male is smaller than the female, and has a slightly shorter beak. A molt of feathers occurs once a year, and begins during the autumn migration. (Wikipedia)

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This Pied-billed Grebe hit the jackpot on finding several crayfish in one spot at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge In Oklahoma. I watched it dive under water and each time it came up with a crayfish. I counted three that it caught but I was only able to photograph it catching one. These birds are difficult to photograph when they dive and catch something because you never know where they will pop back up. This bird was a little easier because it was making dives in the same spot but as soon as it popped back to the surface it would have the crayfish swallowed before I could get my camera on it.

A Pied-billed Grebe Bringing Up A Crayfish

A Pied-billed Grebe With A Large Crayfish

A Pied-billed Grebe At The Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge In Oklahoma

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I have seen lots of Blue-winged Teals at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma this spring. The great thing about these ducks are that you can get close to them most of the time for photographing. They don’t do much but dabble in shallow water at the edge of marshes or open water feeding on plants, molluscs and aquatic insects.

Blue-winged Teal are generally the first ducks south in the fall and the last ones north in the spring. Adult drakes depart the breeding grounds well before adult hens and immatures. Most Blue-winged Teal flocks seen after mid-September are composed largely of adult hens and immatures. The northern regions experience a steady decline in Blue-winged Teal populations from early September until early November. Blue-winged Teal in central migration areas tend to remain through September, then diminish rapidly during October, with small numbers remaining until December. Large numbers of Blue-winged Teal appear on wintering grounds in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas in September. (Wikipedia)

A Profile Of The Blue-winged Teal

A Blue-winged Teal At The Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge

A Blue-winged Teal Searching For Food

A Blue-winged Teal Paddling Through The Water

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I guess the Squirrels on my property are trying to entertain me so that they can get more food. I had one doing a pole dance and another was doing a table dance. The one squirrel on the pole kept climbing the pole and sliding back down. I have to admit, it was entertaining. The other one did a dance on the table but I guess I’m a pole guy because I liked the pole dance a lot better.

The pole dancing squirrel got the food after that great performance.

Pole Dancing Fox Squirrel

Fox Squirrel Preforming A Table Dance

Fox Squirrel Giving Me A Smile After The Table Dance

Fox Squirrel Sitting In The Bird Feeder

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My trip out west was great but it’s nice to be back home and to take a trip to the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma after being away for over a month. As soon as I arrived at the refuge, I spot this Great Blue Heron catching fish. I was able to finally get enough light to start photographing just as it caught this large fish. It didn’t gulp it down as fast as it normally does because it was so large.

I was going to spend some time photographing this Great Blue Heron but a man arrived and ruined that for me. I usually don’t do a lot of complaining when people ruin a photo opportunity for me but this guy was bad.

It is very obvious that I am photographing this area because you can’t miss my large camera and lens. The man comes over next to me and throws a net toward the Heron scaring it away. I started to say something but I doubt it would have done any good. Just because I have a camera instead of fishing equipment should I not get the same respect? I wonder how he would have felt if he was fishing and I threw rocks into the water scaring the fish.

Sorry for complaining but I just needed to vent. Life is good!

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