When you’re trying to learn about native animals ….
On a bluebird sky day, hiking on a serene trail, I saw this beautiful bird. Trying to identify birds is a challenge for me. Colors, bill size and shape, and geography are all useful in identification.
I returned home with clear photos thinking it was a Gray Jay. But the bill was too long. Fortunately, with an excellent search engine and websites that show similar looking species, I was able to learn about Clark’s Nutcrackers today.
They live in the mountains. ✅
Gray overall with black wings. ✅
Long daggerlike bill. ✅
Friday afternoon happy hour by the pond, a lone heron sits among the ibises. It turns out birds of a feather don’t always flock together and that ibis are known for mixed species foraging.
Muscovy duck above and ibis below 
