This and all of the following pictures we’re taken near my home in Georgetown Texas between February and May 2021. This is a young Great-horned Owl in Berry Springs Park

Great Egret, high breeding plumage displaying near nest on the island in the pond at Murphy park in Taylor

Purple Martins nesting for the first time in our boxes at Legacy Park! These two are exchanging nesting material mid air!

One of the less common Spring migrants through our area, Bay-breasted Warbler is a handsome fellow

For some reason, lots of Clay-colored Sparrows have come through our area this year! This one is eating a bug.

One of the real standouts among the eastern migrant warblers is this Blackburnian Warbler

Thrilled to have Yellow-throated Vireos Nesting near me at Legacy Hills Park! Listen for the repetitive “three-eight” call, in fact we like to call this bird simply 3-8!

I was lucky to get a photo of this crepuscular/ nocturnal Common Nighthawk in a tree at Berry Springs Park.

Difficult to spot a female hummer, like this Black-chinned Hummingbird, on the nest

Birders often come up with devices to remember bird songs.The Red-eyed Vireo sits in a tree singing “look at me, here I am, way up high, in the tree”

Handsome male Purple Martin sitting on our Martin tower, can’t wait to see if he fathers fledglings!

The other “red bird”, Summer Tanager’s are only here in, well, summer, returning to the tropics after they breed

OK, this is not a bird, but I thought it was really cool to spot this beaver at dusk in the pond at Berry Springs Park

There is something both beautiful and comical about Black-bellied Whistling Ducks!

Symbol of the Audubon Society, Great Egrets were once hunted to near extinction in for fashionable women’s hats-but it was usually men who shot them.

Had to include at least one reptile, or actually two, a baby River Cooter on a larger one’s back

Female Summer Tanager, elegant though not as colorful as her male counterpart

2 Mississippi Kites take a rare break from migrating to perch for a bit

Kite in elegant flight

Noisy Great Crested Flycatcher catcher

Shy and increasingly uncommon, Woodhouse’s Scrub-jay

Socially distanced but prepared

Elegance

Obligatory cardinal shot!

“My wingspan is bigger than yours” said the Turkey Vulture to the Black Vulture

Spotted Sandpiper, we only see them with their spots for a short time before they migrate to the arctic

Perhaps the most flamboyant Warbler, this and the next picture is of a male American Redstart

Looks and acts like a thrush, but it’s a Warbler called Ovenbird (this and the next slide)

Male Black-throated Green Warbler checking me out quizzically

Lingering White–throated Sparrow, most are gone by May and we will have to wait until the fall to hear their mournful but melodic “pure sweet Canada Canada Canada”

During breeding season, Great Egrets get this distinct green color around their eyes

Vultures are my favorite photographic subject, check out the look this guy is giving me!

Safe for now after a bitter battle, this endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler has environmental groups like the Center for Biological Diversity Covering its back from zealous developers and city planners

I love roadrunners, could watch them all day, but I sure wish they didn’t eat all the lizards and snakes in my yard!

A marsh skulker, this warbler is appropriately called a Common Yellowthroat, although it is not commonly easily observed.

Domestic Muscovy Ducks, entertaining nevertheless

Summer Tanager transitioning into his adult male plumage. Looks like a tasty popsicle?

Forster’s Terns, squabbling over a roost at Granger Lake

With us here all winter, Myrtle Warblers depart soon after they reach this lovely plumage

Only a coot, but I liked this picture

Elusive, highly sought after, nationally threatened, and incredibly difficult to photograph, this is a male Black-capped Vireo

Harlequin faced Lark Sparrow

Wilson’s Phalarope at Hornsby Bend. One of the rare species in which the female is more colorful than the male

Painted Bunting

Yellow–throated Vireo, collecting nesting material. Exciting to have them nesting here at Legacy Park!

Eastern Bluebirds took a real hit from the freeze, but this male is one of the survivors

Sometimes called the Rain Crow, Yellow-billed Cuckoos often become vocal just before a storm hits.

Sharing space on the rookery at Murphy Park are a Double-crested Cormorant, a Great-tailed Grackle, and a number of Cattle Egrets

This was a lucky find on Lake Georgetown, a group of migrating American-golden Plovers amidst the early wildflowers

Told you they were comical, this one is up in the tree!

If you scrolled this far without getting bored, I am thrilled! A Mississippi Kite flies off into the mist.