Tawas Point Bird Festival

Saturday we went down to the Tawas Point Bird Festival, a weekend-long bird weekend. There are all sorts of classes you can register for and guided bird walks you can take, and maybe in a year or two I will sign up. This year we just went to the free stuff at Tawas Point State Park, which included a live birds of prey demonstration. We were a tiny bit late, and Hank was bored with sitting in the backpack, so I went in and out of the tent where the demonstration was held, but we got to see a red-tailed hawk and a northern saw-whet owl up close and personal. I have seen both of these birds in the wild, but there is nothing like seeing them up close to gain a greater appreciation for them. The owl was incredibly tiny--about the size of a robin. I wish I had some pictures to show you, but it was a huge crowd and I didn't want to be obnoxious with my camera.

 

When the boys had had their fill of watching the birds (I could have stayed and listened for hours) Dave took them to the playground and I sat and watched birds at a feeding station for about 45 minutes. It was so much fun to sit and watch.

 An old favorite, the red-winged blackbird. I never get tired of these guys and have loved them from the time I was a very small girl.

 An orchard oriole, a new bird for me. So exciting!

 A Baltimore oriole, also a new bird.

 There were several types of feeders--the flat tray, the oranges, the suet feeder pictured above, and a hopper-style. It was so interesting to see which birds preferred which type of feeder, and made me want to increase the kinds of feeders we have in our yard in hopes of seeing more bird species.

 I do not know how I managed to get this shot. Just luck! One Baltimore scaring another away from the oranges.

 A male rose-breasted grosbeak. He is so gorgeous!

 A female Baltimore oriole. They are, of course, less showy, but still beautiful.

 A white-crowned sparrow

 a female orchard oriole

 And now her mate showed up! These two were so "twitterpated" and kept chasing each other around the feeders and flirting. It totally reminded me of BYU-Idaho in the spring!

 On the right, a female rose-breasted grosbeak, and the orchard oriole male on the left.

 I could NOT get enough of this guy! He is so gorgeous.

 The female Baltimore oriole

 and the female orchard oriole.

 Here's the rose-breasted grosbeak male up close and personal.

That flash of red on his breast!

It was so amazing to sit and watch these birds eating so boldly and see their colors flash through the air as they flew. Sometimes I am so taken aback by the beauty and vibrancy of birds' plumage--it's almost too beautiful to be real. And yet, they are! One reason I love birding so much is that I am reminded how much our Father in Heaven loves each of us, and each of His creations. Why would He put so much effort into a tiny flash of red, a few stripes of white, otherwise? If He will spend that much time on a small bird, He surely loves us even more.