Blue Ridge Birds

I went to a conference in Asheville, NC and took lots of pictures of course.

From the third floor of the hotel with my phone

Rain over the Blue Ridge Mountains

Clear skies and blue haze

Partly cloudy with awesome blue skies.

I stepped out of the hotel the first morning and was greeted with song! So I went back in and grabbed my camera.

Gray Catbird 

This Northern Mockingbird was at the tip top of a 60-ft tree in bloom, singing his heart out. 

Black-capped Chickadee

A pair of Tufted Titmice were busy collecting materials for nesting

 

The mockingbird moved down to a much easier height to shoot

 On the University of North Carolina-Asheville campus, everything was in bloom and buzzing.

Carolina Wren

House Finch 

Song Sparrow 

The next few days were windy and the birds were scarce.  On a flight of my own, I got a glimpse of the Blue Ridge Mountains at sunrise

Blue Ridge sunrise from the plane with my phone

Finally!

One of my goals this spring was to photo a Cedar Waxwing.  There are three flowering crab trees outside by building on the UMD campus that I have seen large flocks of waxwings in the past, but I have not caught sight of them in a few years.  They are usually only around for a day or two and then move on.  I have been watching the trees all spring and today, finally, there was two in one of the trees.  One stuck around for a bit and I got a few shots.

There was also a some large bumble bees visiting the tree.

Cedar Waxwing in a flowering crab tree

Cedar Waxwing in a birch tree.