Colored Heads and Striped Legs

 
Long day with not much sleep. But I caught some nifty critters while doing assignments.

First of all, the striped legs. I think this little guy is a clear winged grasshopper. But I'm no grasshopper expert. He's not full grown yet- see the short wings.



Next is a very pretty bird with some very bad manners. This is a cowbird. It has a black body with a coppery head. In the light the head is almost iridescent. But this bird lays its eggs in the nests of other birds and then the large hatchlings push the other babies out, so the foster parents have to feed the intruder.



I saved the best for last! I've mentioned before that I've tried to get a picture of a red-headed woodpecker without much luck. See Red and White (and out of focus). However, I've seen more of them than usual this year which has given me more chances. Last Friday, I watched one flying back and forth through a lawn sprinkler to get a bath. Today, I caught one, but I had to put the camera on full zoom (digital and optical) which makes the funny aura around the shapes. But you can see how distinguished this woodpecker is. The colors are so bright and defined it almost looks make from plastic.



I was going to finish my work assignments tomorrow, but then I realized it's a holiday, and we're not allowed to go out on those days. So... I've got my bike on the car already. I'll take it on the paper route and hopefully it will be cool enough to do a bike ride right after I finish. I suspect I'll come home and sit in front of the fan after that! I'll have to finish assignments Thursday, because resort cleaning is Friday.

I'm headed for bed.

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