Kestrel

Ran into this adult female Kestrel on the way to work the other day. Now to get a close up of the male.

Camoflage

This past weekend I bit managed to get myself out of bed early.  Decked out in full camo I headed to a spot that I like to watch birds.  It was an interesting experience noticing how the different species of birds responded to me.  The song and small birds acting like I wasn't there.  The herons and ducks however were very wary of me, the effects of hunting no doubt.  I saw an impressive number of species including an eagle (on the way home), osprey, blue jays, robins, chickadees, nuthatches, juncos, downy and pileated woodpeckers, cardinals, phoebes, red winged blackbirds, boat tailed grackles, crows, red tailed hawk, great blue herons, Canadian geese, mllard and wood ducks, hooded mergansers, mourning doves, belted kingfisher, flicker, titmice, and rusty blackbirds.

 This guy perched within ten feet for a few minutes. 

 Rusty Blackbirds were out in force.

 Freaking out upon spotting me.

 Next to the road on the long way home.

Kestrel on the long way home.

The Eyes Have it.

Living north of the 40th latitude line birds are spooky the vast majority of the time, but for some reason the same can't be said of many birds in Florida.  Every time I get to visit my parents in warm sunny Florida, I'm amazed at how close one can get to a wide variety of birds.  This year was no different and I got a nice collection of shots and what surprised me most was the variety of eye colors.
 

 Double Crested Cormorant

 American Oystercather

 Brown Pelican

 White Ibis aka  Chokoloskee chicken

 Anhinga aka Snake Bird

 Common Grackle

 Great Blue Heron

 Osprey

 Yellow Crowned Night Heron

 Common Merganser

 Little Blue Heron

 Horned Grebe in winter plumage

 Kestrel

Common Loon in winter plumage 

Below are some birds with dark eyes

Marbled Godwit

 Marbled Godwits

 Immature Laughing Gull

Long Billed Dowitcher

 Willet