His cheeks are full of seeds.

This little Camera Critter is so dumb. He comes out when the doberman is outside and then he almost gets caught. Then he makes chipping sounds for hours. I hope he doesn’t get caught but he needs to be more careful.

I really love Blue Jays. So, my Skywatch Friday photo is of a misty cold day taken back in March. This shot is very different from my current shot in my last post, I think it is mysterious.

ABC Wednesday is featuring the letter J. I took this Blue Jay photo in my backyard and it turned out pretty well.

Here is my Jay (J)!

Check out ABC Wednesday!

Yesterday my mom made me a new flicker account. It is a pro flicker account now . When she told me I had a pro flicker account I was so excited.

American Robin

Eddie has been teaching me how to use his camera, a Cannon EOS Digital Rebel XTi, and I love taking pictures. This is getting to be my favorite hobby except for birding and bugging.

I will be able to upload unlimited photos now and am so happy! Now that I can take more photos, I can join the Camera Critters Meme more often!

I went to the doctor and got my brace off. My knee is feeling a lot better and there is no injury anymore. I have not gone birding yet, but in my yard I have seen the usual residents and I saw a Swainson’s Thrush and a few warblers like American Redstarts and a Black-and-white Warbler.

Last weekend was my uncle (Eddie)’s birthday. We got him a blind called an Outhouse Blind (hee hee). It is for taking photos without the birds getting scared. I tried it out when I was on crutches and I got a few pictures of some type of flycatcher, which I haven’t uploaded yet.

Eddie’s new blind - Photo by Birdfreak

Tomorrow, we are supposed to go on a birding field trip to Illinois Beach State Park but it is supposed to rain a LOT so we might have to cancel it. That would be sad.

I’ll keep you informed.

9-11-2001

Over Labor Day weekend I injured my knee. My neighbor’s dog ran into my leg and it twisted it backwards and it really hurt. The dog didn’t see me and ran into me but it was on accident.

So, birding has been no fun because I can’t walk very well. I was able to sit down and bird in the backyard though and luckily there are some warblers and other birds like Common Nighthawks to watch.

Hanging out in the Callaway Nature Preserve - photo by Birdfreak

In my backyard there are three Ruby-throated Hummingbirds that are coming to the feeders. They are fun to watch hovering and drinking.

It is hard to deal with not playing baseball or hiking and I don’t know yet how long I will have to wait to get better. I hope it is soon.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird - photo by Birdfreak

My uncle Eddie took this photo in HDR, which is a process I am learning about. You take three photos of the same thing in different exposures and put them together through a software program called Photomatix.

Check out Camera Critters #20.

My Mom got a phone call about a Mississippi Kite spotted a couple miles away from my house. We decided to try to find it because it is pretty rare around northern Illinois.

When we got there we found a group of people pointing in to the sky. That is how we found where the Mississippi Kite was. This is a really cool LIFER for me!

There was two of them and they were soaring around and they flew really low and we got a great view. I got some really cool photos.

Photo Life List

1. Wild Turkey
2. Ring-necked Pheasant
3. Turkey Vulture
4. Green Heron
5. Pileated Woodpecker
6. Common Loon
7. Yellow Warbler
8. Yellow-breasted Chat
9. American Robin
10. Mississippi Kite

On the field trip I got to go on in Massachusetts I saw a LOT of great birds. We saw different types of terns, gulls, and lots of shorebirds. Total LIFERS for this trip? 24!!! Most of the lifers I saw are from this trip to South Beach, Cape Cod.

Sanderlings are one bird that I saw for the first time. I can’t believe how many different kinds of birds were out there. There was also a lot of them!

Sanderling - photo by Birdfreak

One of the coolest birds I saw was the Ruddy Turnstone. It is one of the best looking birds and it actually turns the rocks over and we got to see them doing that! We also saw a big Ruddy Turnstone battle, but no one was hurt.

Ruddy Turnston battle - photo by Birdfreak

NEW To My Life List

1. Greater Black-backed Gull
2. Lesser Black-backed Gull
3. Common Eider
4. Laughing Gull
5. Northern Mockingbird
6. Semipalmated Plover
7. Piping Plover
8. Black-bellied Plover
9. Common Tern
10. Least Tern
11. Roseate Tern
12. Arctic Tern
13. Black Skimmer
14. Ruddy Turnstone
15. Willet
16. Wilson’s Phalarope
17. Whimbrel
18. Peregrine Falcon
19. Snowy Egret
20. White-winged Scoter
21. American Oystercatcher
22. White-rumped Sandpiper
23. Red Knot
24. Sanderling

I saw Horseshoe Crabs and Gray Seals for the first time too. I had so much fun on this trip, I don’t remember another time that was so fun. I really got to explore and study a lot. My uncle took a lot of photos. I can’t wait to go on another birding trip!

Horseshoe Crab - photo by Birdfreak

Short-billed Dowitcher - photo by Birdfreak

Red Knots - photo by Birdfreak