A Buggy Evening

After work I got out for about an hour and a half of birding this evening. I started at the T&C playing fields parking lot at the end of Meadowheath where I found this cooperative Vesper Sparrow. This sparrow has outer white tail feathers which are a great field mark in flight. But when it's not flying the dramatic white eye ring and white crescent under its face help to identify it.

I walked downstream past the playing fields. There is still a nice variety of ducks on the pond including Blue-winged and Green-winged Teal, Gadwall, and American Wigeon. The bugs are back, as you can see in this picture I took at the riverbank. The mosquitos are back too. Hopefully the dragonflies, swallows, swifts, and martins will help with that problem!

On my way back the sun made this nice scene by a big oak tree. Two Little Blue Herons flew overhead on their way north. And back by the playing fields I found the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher below. These exotic-looking birds are a welcome returning summer resident. Their exquisite long tails and pink-and-white colors remind me of their tropical central and south American winter ranges.