Walking the High Trestle Trail

After we got done at Jester Park, we went home for a bit, and then went out again to walk the High Trestle Trail. We usually walk it at dusk, so never take the camera, but today we were early enough to have some light.

The rare and elusive cotton tail rabbit

Another rare and elusive rabbit
these guys are super hard to find

3 mallards and a hybrid.
Apparently, mallards will breed with anything that's even remotely duck-ish, and so there are innumerable variations of these "hybrid mallards" 

Sand pipers are back!

molting female cardinal 

the Tree Swallows are also back!

silk worms

Barn Swallows are back!

this hilarious halloween bat has been in a tree on the side of the trail since before Rick and I moved in

Eastern Towhee!

blue jay

My Muskrat!
I look for this little guy every night!

Magenta Honeysuckle

Black Capped Chickadee

Yellow Honeysuckle

Not sure what this is. At first I thought it was more honeysuckle, but the flowers are different.

White/Pink Honeysuckle

Birdwatching at Jester Park

We love the bird blind and feeder at Jester Park! 

So many visitors! We can't wait to build our own someday!

The rare and elusive red squirrel 

juvy rose-breasted grosbeak coming into his adult plumage - I had no idea they had red under their wings until today!

The juvy RBG again

female rose-breasted grosbeak

female cardinal

female cardinal

blue jays - these guys were EVERYWHERE

male cardinal

red-bellied woodpecker

blue jay

it turns out that redwing blackbirds CAN eat together

but not happily

mourning dove

the juvy RBG (left) with an adult male (right)
They're So Pretty!

mourning dove

blue jay

These male cowbirds were really trying to show off for a little female who was too busy hopping around eating to pay much attention to them.

He was very persistent

 We were lucky to get in some great pictures before a small child went running up the side (the outside) of the blind and scared everything off.

We decided at that point to go hiking the trails instead.

fox sparrow

Hermit Thrush

 The trail was hopping with Hermit Thrush, we heard a lot of warblers too, but they like to sing from the tree tops and with the cloudy skies we couldn't get any decent pictures of them up there.

Hairy Woodpecker (male)

Hairy Woodpecker (male)

Ditch Garden

Last fall for her birthday, Rick, Renee and I ordered Janice something like 400 bulbs and planted them in the front ditch. This spring we've been getting to watch them come up and they are gorgeous!

The Crocus came up first.

Followed by the Daffodils

And then the Tulips and Grape Hyacinth

It's fun knowing this show will get bigger and better every year! We'll always have something to look forward to over the winter.