OT short day at work

Had another short day at work today. Lately, just getting over 20 hours per week! Anyway, took my camera in the truck, figured it would be short. Went about 15 miles north of Omaha, after getting off at 1:15, and got some decent bird pictures. By the way, what is the lanky one called. Can't say I have ever seen one like him before! Greg
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Looks like a Great Blue Heron but I could be wrong.

Vito

That's a Great Blue Heron.

Is that out by Boyer Chute ?

Great Blue Heron in the lower picture, appears to be a Hairy Woodpecker in the top one.

Yes, it is on a beaver pond about 4 miles south of Boyer Chute. Greg

Nice pics!

The little woodpeckers are fun to watch. (In the FiL's book of birds, he'd be classified as an upside-down suet sucker.) Ol' long legs is a blue heron, which falls into the larger class of shitpokes.

Actually was lucky enough to see one of the pileated variety of woodpecker last weekend. Don't see them too often around here, especially out in the open like it was.

Nice bird pics.What would that first one be,a flicker? just a guess,I don't think we have those here on Vancouver Island.I sure recognize that Canada Goose.They ,along with about 14 deer have devastated the 10 acre hay field I bale at the widows place.I wish the Gov't would take the hunting ban off them.I wouldn't be able to shoot anyway being in a no shooting area.Too many people around I guess.But maybe there could be a cull.Kinda neat seeing the flying"V" all the time. Got lotsa Herons here,too.

Excellent photo taking.I used to have large;tall dead oak and one day I saw some large bird but couldnt tell what it was up to.I got the binos and it was an Osprey eating a fish.

The little fella would be the common red-headed woodpecker, not as big as a robin but bigger than a chickadee. Woody was a pileated woodpecker, which is a much bigger bird with a lot more red on his head, and more the size of a flicker, like a smallish crow.

great photos, what type of camera?

Pentax istDL. Digital SLR with 300 zoom lens. Got it for Christmas, hasn't lost the 'fun' yet! This is probably my favorite picture! Greg
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Here in Western Washington we have Blue Herons everywhere but I never did see one in the Midwest. They may be changing their habitat. Also the Bald Eagle that is on the endangered species list is doing very well now. They are everywhere now. Very god pictures.

Frank

short days at work? ever thought about taking pics of the baboons, monkeys, apes at the zoo?

think the 'pecker is a Downy Woodpecker

woodpecker looks like a Hairy,bigger than a downy,smaller than a pileated. bill m.

Not trying to rain on anyones' parade, but pilleated woodpeckers are much larger than flickers--maybe twice as big. They leave tell-tale rectangular borings in dead trees. We have a couple in the woods--SW Michigan. All woodpeckers fly with that scalloped, rising-falling flight. Just a tid bit like cranes fly with their necks extended; herons with their necks pulled in. Great blue herons are very common here.

Great pictures.

Larry in Michigan

Great Blue Heron. I always have several pairs here in SE SD every spring.

Gordo

Here's the pilleated woodpecker. My former co-worker has a pair in a wooded area behind his house. They have a pair of chicks every year. I had one behind me until they filled it with homes.
Hal

Have several of those woodpeckers, and they start early, right on the black cherry, 60 feet from the bedroom window, I have seen and sometimes hear that pileated woodpecker, they are like the size of a crow, but the ones like in the photo, put holes in everything, even the pressure treated posts on my uncompleted 20x32 pole barn.

The geese are a real nasty pest, I have to call our DEC agent, to see what can be done to rid them from our 20 acre pond, problem is there is a nice 30 acre field to one side and our small fields on the other, farmer won't plant that larger one anymore, darned geese just mow it down, I succeeded in harassing them out of the oats last year, but it was a daily, early morning affair, wasting a lot of .22 rounds to scare em out, I don't like to be mean to any critter, but we never had these take residence until the mid 80's, not sure if they were ever native here, they have to go, and I hope so, like to see that 30 acres in crops again, it's close to many other fields he works too, but they did the hay grasses in around '05, those birds can ruin a lot in a short time.

We get the heron, egrets (white), and all kinds of similar crane type birds, we even get some white swans into that pond, not sure where they come from. I saw one of those herons hit a high voltage line, break a wing, and tumble back to the ground, went over to get him, know a rehabber of birds, too big for me to fool with, that sucker tried to poke at my eyes, and feet, with that skewer of a beak, which I was aware could happen before I went to capture him, one thing is for sure if anyone ever has to fool with one of these, put some eye protection on and contain that beak, I had to fold his head up like a pocket rule to carry him off so he could not get me, his wing sure was a mess, but he calmed down once back at the garage, watch yer eyes around them.

Great pic! Of course he's beatin' feet outta there, what with that swamp thing chasing him ;>)

I guess camera technology has progressed a lot in the last 5 years- I sure couldn't get that good a shot with mine.

Well, he's alright, but as Blue Herons go I'm not sure I'd call him great.

You're prolly right. First I thought it was a Nuthatch.