I decided to check out some of the outlying areas of the Albany Pine Bush that I hadn’t visited before. It was a perfect day for a walk, and the lupines were in bloom.
I looked at the spot off Lincoln Ave where the Red-headed Woodpeckers were last year. No one had reported seeing them so far, but it’s always worth a try for such striking birds. No luck, but I watched these guys soak up the sun before catching a thermal. So sue me, I think Turkey Vultures are photogenic.
There’s a bird in here somewhere…
Oh! There he is! Well, that wasn’t very helpful at all!
Take my word to it — it’s a Red-eyed Vireo.
Indigo Buntings weren’t any more cooperative so I put down the camera and just enjoyed their blue lightning glow in the sun as they flashed in and out of cover.
This Eastern Phoebe posed with its breakfast — a huge long legged horrifying spider. Go Phoebe!
The View from Kestrel Hill 
Great stuff. Those turkey vultures are something. I think any bird that stops to pose for me is a good bird. LOL. Those lupines are so beautiful. Wonderful time.
🙂 Any time I get a bird in focus instead of a branch, that’s a good day.
I just love the Great Horned Owl in your header pic.
Thanks! I should have a catch-up post about them any day now…
OOOooh! I want to see an Indigo Bunting~!
My lupines are at peak right now :-). Theirs are going to seed!
I feel like Turkey Vultures probably were in cartoons growing up, you know? Weird, weird birds ;-).
Vultures have such character, don’t they.
And I’ll lead you to the buntings — or at least where they were. No guarantees in birding!
Fabulous, but scary, new masthead photo, Naomi! Scary because those owls aree natural predators of those herons. Is the owl nesting there or just resting there while keeping tabs on activity in the GBH nest?
I knew you’d be worried for the herons! 😉
That’s an active nest, though as of a week ago they were off it.
At least six active GBH nests in the rookery, plus a pair of Osprey.
I’ve got it down in my journal to check the area earlier next year.
Great, thanks for the update. Also, a coincidence: I, too, recently upgraded to 10×42 binocs. They make my camera seem underpowered now, lol.
What a beautiful post! I’m with you, love the vultures! Your photo looks just like my normal view of a Red-eyed Vireo! Great shot of the Phoebe enjoying breakfast.
Thanks for sharing all of this!
Thank you! Don’t you love how they always ‘flip you the bird’?
Thought you might enjoy the turkey vultures at http://rollingharbour.com/2013/07/18/carrion-scavenging-turkey-vultures-on-abaco/ if you have a moment. RH