New yard bird!!

I glanced at the feeders and saw this rump at the grape jelly dish late this afternoon. I knew it wasn't a bird I had seen before. So I grabbed the camera. Can you tell what it is from this view?

Even after getting these better views, I wasn't sure what it was because it's in a transitional plumage--end of the first year male.

He doesn't have the black cap and chestnut colored cheek, he will get later. So do you know now?

It's a Cape May Warbler!! The 171st species for our property!!

Can't resist showing something else we got a brief glimpse of on Saturday too. Sorry he wasn't more in the open.

It's been a good few days on the Toogoodoo!

Puffy clouds and Parulas

I'll start with a Skywatch first and then go to birds. We saw these beautiful thunderheads, but nothing came of them. Fortunately our part of the state doesn't need any rain, but the inland parts of SC are still parched.

Click HERE to see lots more Skywatch pictures from other bloggers.

I'm ashamed to call myself a blogger since I seem to skip so many days so many times. Real life has interferred as usual. It took a lot of catching up when I got my computer up to speed again. Then my husband, as they used to say, 'took a spell' in church last Sunday and ended up in the hospital, but they couldn't find anything wrong and he is home and right back up to par. They did put him on a beta blocker. We should learn more next week.

Meanwhile back on the deck we had a migrant arrive for the winter.

A northern parula warbler.

Y is for Yellow

Who would ever think there were so many very bright yellow things in nature!!

Here are a few.

Probably the favorite of everyone--sunflower
Lotus blossom--this picture has won prizes in two contests and was published in the Jan/Feb 2008 South Carolina Wildlife Magazine

Prothonotary warbler announcing his territory at Beidler Forest

The center of a day lily

A sulphur butterfly on lantana

Seaweed on a North Topsail Island, NC, beach
The guts of a daisy

Yellow-throated warbler

Bumble bee on a ditch daisy

A yellow day lily

Two giraffes in a brilliant sunset in Botswana

Three ditch daisies

A pair of American goldfinches on a niger feeder

Bignonia blossom

Golden orb weaver

Only one more letter to go in the alphabet. I bet you can guess what the theme will be!

Please send any questions or comments to:

bwkrucke@gmail.com

Thanks.