Hooded Oriole

Finally!  Caught up after a really rough week.  The first back blip was, in my opinion, the most beautiful prickly pear flower I've ever blipped.  The other three begin here. If you have time please take a look.  I lost a lot of sleep working on them.

This was the first Hooded oriole i've snagged in my yard.  All day I saw the bright orange male snacking on the orange but by the time I picked up the camera he had flown away.  I shot this late in the day when my yard was shrouded in shade so it's heavily processed.  The original is posted as an extra.

I called the camera shop to check the status of my tripod repair.  Bad news.  There were two problems but one isn't covered by the warranty: a slightly bent leg.  Vanguard doesn't make that model anymore and have no spare parts.  The store owner has asked them to replace it with another model as a courtesy.  So I continue to wait.  It's nice of him to give that a whirl.