Despite gusty winds and my lack of an adequate zoom, I was able to capture better photos of the four loggerhead shrike fledglings, as well as one of the adults gathering insects for the nest in the pasture yesterday afternoon.
Winter is our normal dry season, but we are experiencing a severe to extreme drought here on Pollywog Creek. The dry ground crunches under our feet as we walk through the pasture and the open field toward the road, and the fire danger is very high all around us.
Only drought resistent vegetation and a few wildflowers and native plants along the banks of the pond and creek are surviving. This lack of normal spring flora is made even more depressing by our reluctance to replace the landscaping we lost in this winter's back to back freezes until the forecast for a wet season comes into view.
In other words, there's not much to look at right now on Pollywog Creek, and we're praying for rain.
