Thursday, February 26, 2015

So, funny thing . . .


. . . I took a walk several weeks ago on one of our coastal birding trails.

And,


as I was walking along, up ahead on the trail I spied this....
a very exotic species of coastal bird,

CHICKENS! (who knew)




Before I could get much closer, they retreated back into the brush.



But then ahead, just slightly around the corner I could hear them so I positioned myself in a spot that I could see them if they decided to come back out. I could hear them, and had been waiting for about 15-20 minutes?  Of course, right when they walk out and start feeding on some bird seed a couple with a stroller walk by and stop and start taking quite loudly and then ask me...."Are you a photographer".....yep, I am. And off run my subjects back into the wooded area.

(Now, I know they're just chickens, but they were beautiful and it's not a usual sight for me to see them here on the trail, so yeah I was kinda bent on getting some photos.)

It was a tad warm that day and I was carrying around my 70-200 lens which is pretty heavy and so I decided I would just climb up this little hill and sit down on the bench and rest for a moment. I hadn't sat down, literally for 30 seconds, when I hear a loud rustling from behind me, and this beautiful rooster comes barreling right over to me as if we're long lost friends. 

And wouldn't ya know, someone else walking in the opposite direction takes notice of this rooster about the exact same time and stops and starts asking me if this is my pet? Ummm, I didn't really know what to say, because, who takes their chicken for a walk? lol


Of course he high-tailed it right back where he came from, and I moved on.

I did however, see some real coastal birds on the trail....

This is an Osprey. a type of hawk, a large raptor (with a wingspan of 59-71 inches) whose diet mainly consists of live fish. They have unique barbed soles on the bottom of their feet to help them grip slippery fish. And are quite fun to watch dive for food.



I don't know all my hawks, but I think this one is a Red Shouldered Hawk (anyone?) There were quite a few that morning soaring the skies.


Then a nice woman told me there were whistling ducks (Black-bellied Whistling-Duck) ahead on the right. She wasn't kidding, there were several groups just like this one and you couldn't miss them for all the noise they were making. And yes, their call sounds just like a whistle. They have the most beautiful bright pink bills.




Finally, I got some in flight....




And then on my way back to the car, I spotted this White Egret. They aren't as keen on getting their pictures taken, but this guy was concentrating pretty hard on brunch to care that much.


It was a sun up to sun down kinda day....and on my way home, I had to make one more pit stop when I spied these guys on the side of the road in a field. I need a bumper sticker - don't follow too close, I make quick stops.


I should note that right across from the street is Galveston Bay....the best of both worlds. At least this time I didn't run into any wild boar...I'm not that fast a runner anymore!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, looks like the sun may appear here for a bit and then back to a week more of clouds and rain.

Love, Kim







16 comments:

Barbara Lilian in France said...

Brilliant photos Kim, despite the unwanted walkers disturbing the subjects. What a lovely walk to be able to capture so much .

Tamar SB said...

These are wicked awesome!

jinxxxygirl said...

fantastic Kim!! Thank you so much for sharing your walk!! Hugs! deb

Nancy said...

You certainly saw a variety of creatures on your walk and such great captures. Well done! :)

Dotti said...

Well you certainly had a fantastic walk! The chicken in the third photo {have forgotten the name} is found all over Kauai. I mean ALL OVER. They were brought to the island many years ago but they have no natural predators so they have multiplied ... and multiplied ... and multi ... well, you get the picture. They are pretty, though, aren't they?

Nicki said...

Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom called and wants their animals back. lol! What an adventure and such variety. Wow!

Kim Cunningham said...

Oh I remeber when this happened on Facebook. I'm so glad you were able to salvage these photos inspite of the noisy rubberneckers. These are all gorgeous!

Michelle B said...

So many beautiful birds! My daughter loves chickens. She has been known to chase them around to get a good picture, she doesn't like to sit and wait. :) I think you need to sell that bumper sticker on Etsy. Your post put a smile on my face today. Have a great weekend!

Unknown said...

Oh my.... those are some pretty amazing pictures... plus, where do you live??? I thought living in the tropic I had a lot of birds around, but maybe you beat me! BEautiful pictures!

Mitzi said...

Beautiful! I love how someone actually thought you had a pet rooster & even more that you were taking it for a walk. LOL Now that is classic!

Brenda said...

How nice of you to take your pet rooster out for a walk :) Beautiful bird photos. You have captured wonderful details as well as the wonder of flight.

chasing the sun said...

Such an awesome walk without wild boars looming in the distance.. I love these photos :-)

Maggie said...

What a great day out that was,, your wonderful photographs took me along on the walk with you!

Unknown said...

Lmao-hope you told him you were taking your rooster for a walk-especially with a no leash law!! Bawahhhhhh!! Great shots Kim.

Unknown said...

How fun to see chickens and roosters on your hike. That had to be a surprise. Lots of great photos my friend.

Hugs~

Anita Johnson said...

We see a lot of chickens here, but those other birds are just beautiful...hoping spring comes here soon, the snow and cold are not inspiring for walking...I miss that!

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