Kip’s Comments - May 24, 2025 — LadagePhotography.com

Lookout Leonard! (And much more!)

Seldom do I name healthy wild critters and when I do, there must be a good reason. For this bird - a Northern bobwhite quail - it deserved a name after a friend made me aware of it.

Apparently the bird has been at his home for a day or two and does not appear to be afraid of humans. Through our messaging we are concerned this bird will fall victim to predation. So, if we are going to give a warning the recipient should have a name. A couple names came to mind, but we settled on “Leonard” so it went well in “Lookout Leonard!!!” or “Leonard, be alert before you get killed!!” Hopefully Leonard will survive a while.

Really, I wonder if Leonard is a pen-raised bird that was released to maybe establish a wild population. Leonard did make for a good picture!

My first wildlife observation of the day was this bald eagle. The picture isn’t that good, but what I saw was certainly interesting so I am including the photo.

I was driving down the road and noticed this bald eagle feeding on something. As I approached, the eagle attempted to take flight with the road-kill. The bird made it about 25-feet in the air before it dropped its meal to gain speed and altitude as I approached. What was it eating and carrying away? A young red fox. The scene was rather gruesome.

I did see and photograph other wild scenes today. Notice the not-so-common warblers I found. I was not able to photograph the blue-gray gnatcatcher or indigo bunting I saw. (Images recorded at high ISO. Please ignore the digital noise.)