2017 Summer Part 2

Getting acquainted with Powershot SX60 HS.

First shots, August 12. It was someone else's lunar photo that drew my attention to this camera's zoom capability. This (mine) is uncropped at max optical zoom (x65).

Also uncropped, this is at max optical plus digital zoom. 
Time to pull out the Moon book and ID some of those craters!

Hand-held, zoomed in on local bunny. I think this is the younger one I often see.

Dragonfly at Diehl Lake, Aug 13. Maybe a bit smaller than what I think of as the typical dragonfly, but I don't recall seeing one of this colouring before. Maybe it's a water specialist. The little blob at left is one of many little insects on the lake surface.

 

Clouds so wispy on drive home.

Aug. 17, male American Goldfinch.
What has he been eating? I dunno.
Fool disclosure: I melded two images to extend the wonderful background colour on the left. 

This looks worse than it should because it's very low res. and Youtube has scaled it up.

Export, August 12

 Black snake on Dad's house. Uploading video of this, my first with new Powershot SX60 HS (answering the question will it autofocus with video).

Mystery Bird

July 31 2017 
I have my guess of what this is, but still have doubts. Comments invited.

Didn't I do this last year for the same bird?

Maybe I should call it the deja-vu bird instead!

Bigger than Goldfinch.

 Seems to have come for the suet, which was empty.

August 2: Scale.

A ruler in the exact same spot puts head-to-tail at 5-1/4 inches minimum. 

It was angled a bit (top of ruler closer to us) but I doubt as much as the bird.

 For comparison, similar dimension for a House Finch is closer to 5 inches. Different twig, but ruler photographed at same place as bird. Yes, I shopped the ruler again for contrast.

Bottom line: 

I first thought young or female Scarlet Tanager, but now think Summer Tanager.

2017 Summer

July 2 
The spectacular Red-headed Woodpecker. It's been a banner year for us with these guys such that I started hoping we'd eventually see kids (*below).

House Wren, for the record. Mostly they stay on the west side where their house is.
July 22 update: after Bluebird clutch #2 fledged, the wrens are persistently trying to move in. I made a little video of their work with sticks, soon to be posted perhaps.

One of the local bunnies. I am wondering if they eat poison ivy. That would redeem them from (suspicion of) eating my baby milkweed!

July 4. Great-crested Flycatcher? Overexposed, sorry.
 Our book has 3 similar that it says are best identified on the basis of song/call.
 

Downy and Bee Balm.  

Tiny Toad in Gravel Pile.

July 22 - I must have walked right by this little runaway on my way to the mailbox. On return I spotted it and immediately went for the camera. It had remained in the same spot keeping quite still. I snapped some photos then wondered if it was hungry. Went for some worms, still there but quite unresponsive, even when I touched its beak with a worm. Maybe a minute later it decided I was bad news and ran off cheeping.

 Just about that time I became aware of this unit, acting parental and confirming ID: Brown Thrasher. And no, it's not missing a leg, I just caught it mid-step!

What nicely folded wings!

*As I'd hoped, a young Red-headed Woodpecker appears.
A short video sequence of it talking.

(July 29) Comparing wing feathers to those of the adult (July 22):

Wet male Towhee with some kind of feather disarray?

More wet disarray. This may be one I was observing that struck me as being young. 
It seemed lacking in that brash Blue Jay attitude.

July 28: Purple Finch and American Goldfinch, both males.

Wildflower City

 2017-06-21 First day of summer the calendar says, I thought I'd photograph an interesting flower I'd seen during previous lunchtime walks.
Then I decided I might as well document all the wildflowers I saw. 

There were more than I expected.
This is without leaving sidewalk or parking lot (but I still managed to pick up a tick).
It was hard to tell if my phone camera was focusing or not, being so bright out.
Consequently I've omitted maybe two that were too blurry.
I think I can ID some of them, need help with the rest, any takers?

 

This is the one that inspired the project.

Some kind of Daisy I assume?

Chickory

Must be Orange Hawkweed.

 Clover

Thistle

Teazel (not blooming yet but I couldn't pass it by)

Milkweed