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Friday, May 21, 2010

It Came From The Sky

There I was minding my own business, taking pictures of this field and the hills in the distance. I looked for an opening in the thickly placed trees and shrubs so I could get a good picture of those hills. This time of year it gets harder to find that opening on this particular trail at Heritage Park, where I chose to hike today.

I thought I saw a few birds flying in the distance, so all of my attention was focused far away. I was thinking what a potentially beautiful scene I'd be able to share. The only problem was that the Sun wasn't quite in the right position this time of day. I was lost in these thoughts.

That's when it came right at me, from out of the sky!

It was a bird that I thought looked like a small duck. It was almost as big, but lighter in color than most. I couldn't believe what was happening! It landed at the edge of the trail right in front of me! It landed so hard that I thought maybe it had somehow fallen!

My camera was zoomed out while I was trying to see the distant birds, and in my panic I couldn't get it to zoom back in. I had to get a decent picture of this bird! The pictures I tried to get were all too close and very blurry. Meanwhile, this false duck was crawling around in the high grass in the strangest way!

The bird didn't exactly appear to be injured as I continued to watch, but this bird was no duck at all. There was something different about it. Something I'd never seen before. It appeared to be trying it's best to burrow down under the old matted grass and weeds. I never did get a good picture while watching it act so crazily.

It soon found it's way under all of those weeds and was out of sight. I thought about poking around there with a stick, until I remembered that it wouldn't be a very nice thing to do. I never touch any wildlife, or disturb it at all, if I can help it. All I had left were these blurry pictures, but what was this bird?

After I got home, I did a little research. It was hard to see, but the pictures told me just enough. The identity of this bird is an American Woodcock. If you want a better look you can click on the name to go to a very useful place to find out a lot of good information about this bird. I just hope one day I'll get some better pictures!

Nature Center Magazine today has another Free Wallpaper for you this week. This one is an excellent photo of a black swallowtail butterfly. It was contributed by Steve of Out On The Prairie. Go there to see the photo and to get the links to more of Steve's excellent work.

14 comments:

  1. Even with him in the grass it is still a great shot Ratty, definitely enough for an ID. I have never seen a Woodcock either since they aren't on this coast. I hope he wasn't injured.

    Sometimes the best things will just land at our feet.

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  2. I took a look at the link...this bird looks as bizarre as it acted....hope you come across it again soon.

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  3. you are a trial blazer.
    awesome nature adventure post!

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  4. They're an odd duck for sure :) A shorebird that lives in forests. It may have been hunting worms or nesting.

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  5. I don't think I've ever seen one of these. Thanks for sharing your adventure with us today.

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  6. I just do not know how to view the picture and out of my mind to think it is a bird, but after coming back from the linked site, there it is, it is really a bird.

    How foolish I am.

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  7. Did you see the buff color on the breast? Similar species is a common snipe. Both birds do an aerial dive when breeding. I felt your excitement while you were watching, excellent post!

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  8. That was a surprising experience for you Ratty! At first I thought you meant it fell out of the sky because it was dead. Sure glad it wasn't. And it could have hit you on the head. Yikes! How exciting to see something different!

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  9. Oh, Ratty! I have never gotten pics of one alive. I did a post about a dead one a while back! How awesome.

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  10. Ratty, you always manage so much excitement on your journeys. You got some great pics of it. You are the true adventurer.

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  11. Very cool. I have to wonder why it landed like that though. I did check the link to get a better look and it said they are seldom seen during the day. I guess you were in the right place at the right time for this sighting.

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  12. Oh! What a great find! I noticed its black, long and slender beak. You've been at the right place this time :)

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  13. What a cool bird! You still got a pretty good photo of him, considering. You are still getting used to this new camera, so you should give yourself some slack. It's not that easy switching from one mode to the next, especially when something really exciting happens. At least that's what my human says.

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  14. What an encounter. Great shots Ratty! even while in panic. Never seen a birdie with such stripes before. Now why does it remind me of a Bengal Tiger! =D

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