Turkey Run State Park

Blue Jay... my all-time favorite. I have come across some awesome birds over the years but this one continues to stay in the number one position! The entire family of Jay's are my favorite group of birds so I might occasional allow another Jay to tie for first place - but, this one will always be a tiny notch closer to the top!

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This weekend was all about the birds but with little time to actually go and "bird". This past Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I, along with the other wonderful Board of Directors for the Indiana Audubon Society came together to kick off another great year of educating the public about birds. We covered allot of ground. I am especially excited about what we will continue to do in support of Indiana's Young Birders via the Indiana Young Birders Club. The IYBC year will kick off with the Great Backyard Bird Count at Eagle Creek in February. From this point, we will be having "Let's Go Birding!" hikes all over the state.

As far as birding goes, Saturday night we spent a little time listening for owls. Just as we thought we were skunked, a Barred Owl began to call. Unfortunately, it never came into view, but, it was close, and its presence was all we needed.

On Sunday, after our meeting adjourned I was finally about to spend a few hours watching the feeding stations at the nature center. I was very pleased with the assortment of feeder birds present which included: Purple Finch, Red-headed Woodpecker, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Red-bellied Woodpecker, both Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, White-breasted Nuthatch, American Goldfinches, Tree Sparrow, Mourning Dove, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Wren, and my favorite - Blue Jay.

I spent most of my time photographing Blue Jay's with little success. They seemed to know that I was targeting them because the refused to hold still long enough for a picture. In the process, I was able to snap a few shot of some of the others species and did capture some decent pics. After a few hours of fun frustration it was time to head home. Now that I am here, I am ready to go back to Turkey Run. I don't want to go to work tomorrow!

Red-headed Woodpecker... this is THE true Red-headed. Many people think some of the other woodpeckers are Red-headed Woodpecker because so many have read markings on their heads but as you can see - this is the real deal!

Red-bellied Woodpecker... another awesome bird. See why some may think they have a Red-headed here? Once you see them both, you will never forget which is which.

American Goldfinch... even in the winter they are cute. I appears that this one may already be on his slow road to having all of his bright yellow feathers back in time for the season of love.