I’ve known some great pilots, and admired many more. Among those I admire are many non-human aviators like this one we saw at a creek near the airport.
1112 Fancy Flying
I don’t know yet what breed of bird this is, but it sure had a large repertoire of moves. It could briefly hover like this, then sit on a stone and watch with its head snapping from one potential target to another. In a heartbeat it was darting toward another snack.
1117 Quick Takeoff
In flight it might notice a flying insect, and turning on a dime snatch it right out of the air.
1118 Air Meal
This action was almost too quick for me, but you can just make out the winged insect in the bird’s beak above. Even with all the joy we find in flying Tripp, it’s still breathtaking to watch an aviator like this putting on a free air show.
John & Anne Wiley 
John, my friend in the know says it is a Black Phoebe. She and her husband have identified over 700 birds around the world. She said she did not realize how much brown they had. She also enjoys all you post that I send to them. Marie
Comment by Marie Mancilla — 2012/07/19 @ 03:06
Thanks, Marie. Looks correct. I’ve put a link to the wiki page about the species on my Photo Page.
Comment by John — 2012/07/19 @ 08:30