Red-Winged Blackbird

A couple weekends ago I got a picture or two of this spotted bird hanging out in the cattails. Not sure what it was, it sort of looked like a starling but I knew it wasn't. Off to the books I went. Surprise, surprise it was a Red Winded Blackbird. A female Red Winged Blackbird, actually. So this weekend I went looking for them. Not a problem this week, they were, again, hanging out with the male on the cattails. Must have been a nest nearby 'cause they were pissed. I did get one picture that you can see a pale red patch on her shoulders but wind and birds on cattails make blurry pictures. I lucked out on the way back to the truck and had one land on some rocks.

Senators SkyWatch Sunset

SkyWatch is from Metro Bank Park again this week. Sitting in the left field cheap seats staring at the sun for 5 innings was almost justified when the sun finally set out over Cumberland County.

This is my SkyWatch, hit the icon on the left side of the page to see everyone else's.

The Embarq Barn (PG 108)

Everything old is new again. When E4LT told me about this barn on Route 11 North in the area of Mt. Rock at the intersection with Kerrsville Road, I had to go and check it out. I knew for sure that it was just a banner hanging on the barn. No. To my surprise it was real, you can see the louvers and door frame. Awesome. I hope this catches on and we get to see more of this. Thanks Lieu.

Big Spring Color

Today is another multiple post. These are all from Sunday's walk along the Big Spring. The only post processing I did was to crop and sharpen. And the were all taken with my big zoom lens (70-300mm). Enjoy.

Royal Fire Company No. 14, Harrisburg

The Royal Fire Company No. 14 was formed shortly after the area east of the city was annexed to the city. Named after John K. Royal, Mayor of Harrisburg, the Royals started in an old repair shop to the rear of the Flatiron Building at Shellis Street near 19th Street. The company went into service to the city in July 1910. A new building, the one pictured here, was built and dedicated in October 1915 at 2048 Derry Street. In January of 1971 the city closed some of the one man stations and the Royal engine was moved to the Allison Station. The building lives on in fire service as the union hall to the local chapter of the International Association of Firefighters.

Of note, the Royals 1928 American LaFrance pumper that served them until 1949 was sold by the city to the Rescue Fire Company of Estherton, Susquhanna Township, in 1950. It was their first pumper. In 1956 the Rescue's gave it to Powell's Valley Fire Company. It served as their first pumper. Do the math, that makes that 1928 American LaFrance the first pumper for three different fire companies. Recycling is nothing new people.

Ducklings and Goslings, Oh My!

Another chunk of the ton of bird pictures I've amassed recently. First picture was taken at Dykeman's Spring last Saturday. The second is a small flock of Wood Ducklings, soon followed by momma (picture #3) then they headed off down stream (picture #4). And last is some Canada Geese and goslings and if you didn't notice (go back and look now, I'll wait) is a Barn Swallow flying above the Spring. Pictures 2-5 were taken along the Big Spring Sunday, a week ago.

American Robin

I literally have a ton of bird pictures right now and you can expect to see a large portion of these every Saturday and Sunday. Today we feature the American Robin as seen in my back yard and the neighbor's front yard. The first two were some of a bunch I took of this little guy. He was bopping (or does a Robin bob?) around in the neighbors front gardens. The next two pictures show some foraging and gathering to feed some young ones in my back yard. The nest is located in this cedar (picture #5) and the last picture was the nest taken on Memorial Day.