Lots to See on a Sunday in July

I took well over 100 photos today on my hike around the park. There were lots of birds out today including young ones such as a juvenile Barn Swallow sitting on the baseball infield with his mouth agape waiting to be fed. There was also some bird courtship on display –this time from a pair of Baltimore Orioles high up in a tree. I was looking directly into the sun during this so I had to drastically lighten up the photo to see any detail. But it was interesting none the less to see that it almost looks like the female is pursuing or displaying for the male instead of the typical other way around. I don't know if that's truly what's going on in this photo and I'd have to do some research to find out if that's even a possibility. After stopping to watch a Rabbit in the green grass and take note of an unidentified bird overhead, I found the male Indigo Bunting singing from the treetops near his usual territory on the north side. It's been such fun to see this guy so often this year but he's sure hard to catch any lower than about 25 - 30 feet up in a tree. Thus most of my shots are "under view" perspective but at least I'm picking up a bit more detail now with my new Tamron lens. One more bird I spotted on the north side today was something I've just not seen much of at all this year. In fact I heard other birders also say that Eastern Phoebe's (a very common summer species) have been somewhat scarce this year. I first took notice of this myself way back in early Spring around April. In other years at PLP, I have noticed that Eastern Phoebes are one of the very first migrating songbirds to return. In fact I usually start to notice them when I'm out watching the returning Waterfowl which come back weeks earlier than most of the songbirds. So finding one today was something of a treat. They're not a distinct looking bird by any means but rather plain looking. Mostly brown with a belly that looks olive-yellow in the right light. In fact there are number of other species that can look quite similar –also being in the same "Flycatcher" family. Don't even get me started about Flycatchers. There are two species of Flycatchers known to be differentiated ONLY by the call they make, otherwise looking perfectly identical in appearance. One bird that is often misidentified by birders around the country are Red-winged Blackbirds. Specifically the female Red-winged. She is also drab and mottled and lacking any very distinct coloring or patterning. Many times birds of each sex from the same species will bear some general resemblance to each other. But I've always thought the male and female RWB almost break that mold. After seeing so many females in the park each year I've become a bit more familiar with their shape and behavior so that I'm seeing other variances. Such is the case with this one who appears more yellow colored overall, especially in the face. She is in fact a juvenile female Red-winged Blackbird who hasn't grown into her full adult plumage yet. Other species seen today included; Barn Swallow, White-breasted Nuthatch, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Mourning Dove, Common Yellowthroat, and American Robin.