I’ve posted all the pictures from my long walk to my Facebook album, which (if you have a Facebook account) you can see if you

click here

but here are some of the birds that I managed to capture on camera:

The

COMMON GRACKLE

and the

RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD

share a moment, and a rock perch, in the park:

Here’s the Grackle, by itself, bearing off a fried chicken piece that someone’s going to be missing!

Here it is, at the edge of the water, Narcissus-like:

Here’s the Red-winged Blackbird male, showing its beautiful red-and-white “epaulettes”:

The female is busy, bringing nesting material: The PURPLE MARTIN was endangered, and special nest-boxes have been set up for its breeding in the Park: The population, however, still seems restricted to the nest box area, near the Norman Probstein golf course. I got a juvenile, too: And another one: And one more at a website! I got this EASTERN KINGBIRD in the grass: And, a little later, perched on a tree: Far away, a RED-TAILED HAWK soared on the thermals: I saw a MALLARD couple: and also, a mother teaching her chicks to grub for food: The plentifully-present CANADA GOOSE was (what else?) goose-stepping: I got an EASTERN PHOEBE too, notice that it doesn't have the white band at the edge of its tail that the Kingbird has: I got this KILDEER sitting on what might be a nest/eggs, at the shore of Des Peres creek: and got this one at the waterfall area: A SNOWY EGRET (similar to our Little Egret) went about its fishing business in the creek: The GREAT WHITE HERON that we know as the Great Egret, was successful in catching a shrimp and despatching it: As I decided it was time to go home, I caught a very quick glimpse of a DOWNY WOODPECKER in the wooded area where the Great Horned Owls are to be found:

I’ll be posting pictures of the turtles, the dragonflies and other interesting stuff..but meanwhile, today is the monthly (first Saturday!) bird-walk by

Forest Park Forever

and the

Audubon Society of St.Louis

so I’m off in a short while!