22 November 2024

St. Louis Birds and Trees and Flowers

We took every opportunity to go birding in some of the great parks around St. Louis, but of course I don’t walk by flowers without stopping to look so here are some photos of colorful blooms as well.

Probably the most exciting thing to happen while we were hiking at a local sculpture park was rounding a bend on a trail and seeing a gorgeous barred owl right there in a tree. He assessed us and must have decided we were okay, since he then flew down into a small creek and proceeded to take a bath. Then he flew into a tree and continued to preen, and shake and fluff his feathers. We were absolutely beside ourselves with joy as we watched him from such a short distance.

Such a beautiful barred owl.
Have you ever seen a barred owl taking a bath?
Google says this is a cherry blossom tree.
I love tulips!
A wood duck always looks fake to me.
The house finches were eating the dandelions!
American Goldfinch.
A Northern Flicker always looks like it was made with parts leftover from other birds.
Okay, okay, I’ll stop with the tulips!
Red-shouldered hawk soaking up the evening sun.

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