mockingbird — 2017 — The 21st Century Matriarch

I didn’t get much photography done during the times I was at Belmont for pre-school ‘Nature Tales’ and 7^th grade ‘BioBlitz’ field trips. I am so focused on the students while they are there….my primary picture taking time is the lull before they arrive or after they leave! The grounds are lush now even though I still miss the huge elm that used to dominate the lawn in front of the manor house.

The pond has a path mowed down to it but I like the taller grass everywhere else.

I took a picture of the horse chestnut in bloom early in May (one of my favorite trees…but this is not a healthy tree, unfortunately).

There were two pre-school field trips on the same day and I had a picnic between the morning and afternoon sessions…and took pictures of birds (mockingbirds and a robin) that came to the lawn in front of the nature center.

I brought of the end of the hiking group through the woods and hurriedly took a picture of a flower along the trail.

And the BioBlitz group found some brightly colored fungi on some rotting wood….while they made their entry in iNaturalist…I got a picture too!

Earlier this week I posted some sunrise pictures taken through the hotel window in Grapevine, Texas. I was at the hotel later one day during our stay and enjoyed photographing grackles and mockingbirds through the second-floor window of our room. It was a very cold and breezy day. All the mockingbird pictures show them looking fat with fluffed feathers. It’s always surprising how much bigger and rounder a bird can look when it’s cold.

The grackles (probably Great-tailed Grackles based on their size, tail, and location in north central Texas) didn’t seem bothered by the cold. They are all sleek and full of assertiveness. They seemed to be aware that they were being watched…and they glared back at the camera! Notice how robust the toes/talons are; they make the mockingbird look delicate.