Spring birdwatching at the Ocmulgee

We went this morning for some birdwatching at the Ocmulgee National Monument.  No two birdwatching trips are ever the same!  You always have a different experience even if you go back to the same areas again and again.

The Indigo Buntings are out.  They are pretty blue birds with beautiful songs.  They like to sing.  We saw Bluebirds too, with a bright blue color.  The usual birds were there such as the Great Blue Heron, Great Egrets, (some were flying and were so gracious!), Cardinals, Phoebes (singing their heart out!), Killdeer, Titmice and Chickadees.  A Red Shouldered Hawk was perched on top of a tree and watched us walk by. Did you know black birds could be pretty too?  Red-Winged Blackbirds, Rusty Blackbirds, Common Grackles, and Brewer Blackbirds.  They're all out in our area now. 

The Great Crested Flycatcher is visiting, and the Eastern Kingbird was begging to be seen by singing as loud as he could.  Sparrows and Wrens are always around too here.  So many birds when you start looking!

We were rewarded by observing a male and female Summer Tanager playing around like teenage birds in the foliage. The unique thing about the male Tanager was that he was not fully red. When we checked it out later at home, we understood that his red with yellows were the colors of a Summer Tanager in his first Spring.  Interesting that these birds have girlfriends so early.  We recognized the female immediately from our last camping trip when they were hanging around the campsite.

Chipmunks are out, as well as turtles, and the deer.

We also heard two Barred Owls hooting loud in plain daylight, then barking at each other.  Fun, just fun to be out.