June - July, 2010 Edition
These are birds we have observed in and near our home in Madison County, Indiana. Most have been found in the city of Anderson along the banks of Killbuck Creek and White River, or in Shadyside Park, including the wetlands and the Shadyside Lakes. For a detailed, annotated map of the area see map and directions.
A male Rose-breasted Grosbeak pauses to refuel at the sunflower feeder on his way north. This one was migrating in May, a bit late. For more birds from Madison County, see Indiana Birds.
This month we are featuring birds that we photographed in late May in the Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge near De Leon Spring, Florida. This is a managed wetland in the St. Johns River basin. Large areas of marsh are threaded with dikes and berms, giving access by foot to extensive wetlands. Here we see a Great Egret. For more of these beautiful birds, see Egrets.
This Red-shouldered Hawk and his mate rule a corner of the Woodruff NWR. Here he is calling noisily from the top of a "decapitated" palm tree. See Red-shouldered Hawks to find out what they are up to.
Flocks of wild birds are common at Woodruff but this one is unusual in that it contains a mixture of species and ages. There are Glossy Ibis, White Ibis, Snowy Egrets, and a pair of Great Egrets keeping watch. There are also numerous juveniles of several species in this flock. See Woodruff Flock for more of this unusual congregation.
A Black Vulture looks over the marsh from the top of a decapitated palm tree. These southern relatives of the Turkey Vulture are the "garbage collectors" of the marsh. More of them may be seen at Black Vultures
This Alligator reminds us of why we stay on the berms and don't venture into the marsh. This is one of many kinds of non-bird wildlife found in Woodruff. See Woodruff Critters for more of them.
For our final page of this edition, we return to Indiana and northern Madison County for birds that Mick and Connie Hardy have photographed. This Brown Thrasher looks like it's about to take the plunge. See Hardys' Birds for more Madison County birds.
Screen Savers
This month, Birds of Madison County brings you three high resolution pictures. Clicking on one of the images below will cause the corresponding high resolution image to be downloaded to your browser. You may save this image by dragging it to your desktop or using the "SAVE" command on the File menu. These images are large and may require a little time to download, depending on the speed of your Internet connection. The size of the picture in pixels and of the file in bytes is given for each picture.AOL Users should use Internet Explorer instead of AOL's browser to download these images.
These images are suitable for use as a screen saver or desktop. They may also be printed in large sizes for personal use only.
Snowy Egret
A Snowy Egret watches for fish in the waters of Woodruff NWR.
2400 X 1600 pixels; 408K Bytes.
Great Blue Heron
A Great Blue Heron calls loudly from the top of a decapitated palm tree in Woodruff NWR.
2400 X 1600 pixels; 736K Bytes.
Black Vulture
A Black Vulture mucks about in the mud at Woodruff NWR.
2400 X 1600 pixels; 672K Bytes.
