A Man With A Wasp On His Finger

And now for something completely different, a male House Finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) singing in the rain. The wasp comes towards the end.  In the meantime, we have a Warbling Vireo below.

 I believe this bird to be a Warbling Vireo (Vireo gilvus), but the lighting is bad, so I cannot say.  Warbling Vireos rarely sit still, and should be called the Marathon-flying Vireo.  For the non-birders, this is a bird that makes noise and flies a lot.  There are several of these coming up.

Several Goldfinches (Spinus tristis) were found in a grove of trees, as seen above.

On the ground, meanwhile,  White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys) and Brown Thrashers (Toxostoma rufum), among others, browsed among the dandelions.  I'll let you guess which is which.

Are these female Red-winged Blackbirds, or something else?

Field Sparrows (Spizella pusilla) perched on branches just above the main prairie grasses...

... As did Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), like the female above.

This Yellow-rumped Warbler (Setophaga coronata) is called the  Butterbutt by birders, on account of the yellow spot above its tail, which you cannot see in this photo.  Take my word for it.

A small flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) allowed us to get very, very close, as in within six feet or so of them.  I'm not entirely sure why they were so unafraid.

A whole bunch of White-throated Sparrows (Zonotrichia albicollis)...

What, you want to see a wasp on a man's finger?

How about a Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) and a number of toad tadpoles instead?

Or a banded Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)?  Hunters consider banded geese a notable prize for their rarity.  As this is a public park, this particular goose probably is in no danger.

Alright, here's the wasp...

I don't know what species of wasp this is, but it was unusually tame.  A budding entomologist in our party was the brave man who put this insect on his finger.  I am a tad bit afraid of wasps after an  unpleasant encounter with them in my elementary-school years.   Anyway, that's all for now.  I'll have more out next week, but this week I'm too busy to do more than one post.  Have a good day!