Raptors Perched in Trees
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Another post sharing different raptors perched in trees, taking in the big views!
Winter provides the best opportunities with all those bare branches, so I’ve had some great chances the past couple months, making this post even better for side-by-side comparing. 🙂
We’ll start with…..Guess who’s back?? 🤗
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Osprey (male)
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American Kestrel (female)
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Red-tailed Hawk
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Cooper’s Hawk
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Red-shouldered Hawk
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Turkey Vulture
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Black Vulture
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Peregrine Falcon
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Bald Eagle
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Bald Eagle (immature)
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Bald Eagle
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I think I need a bumper sticker that says, “I Brake For Raptors” 😏
(All photos in this post were taken at Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge, Rock Hall, Maryland)
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1-2-3 Medium Bird Jubilee – #15
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Hooray for the medium-sized birds!
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American Robin
Length 7.9-11.0 inches (20-28 cm)
Weight 2.7-3.0 oz (77-85 g)
Wingspan 12.2-15.8 inches (31-40 cm)
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Blue Jay
Length 9.8-11.8 inches (25-30 cm)
Weight 2.5-3.5 oz (70-100 g)
Wingspan 13.4-16.9 inches (34-43 cm)
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Belted Kingfisher (female)
Length 11.0-13.8 inches (28-35 cm)
Weight 4.9-6.0 oz (140-170 g)
Wingspan 18.9-22.8 inches (48-58 cm)
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Killdeer
Length 7.9-11.0 inches (20-28 cm)
Weight 2.6-4.5 oz (75-128 g)
Wingspan 18.1-18.9 inches (46-48 cm)
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Northern Cardinal (female)
Length 8.3-9.1 inches (21-23 cm)
Weight 1.5-1.7 oz (42-48 g)
Wingspan 9.8-12.2 inches (25-31 cm)
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Northern Cardinal (male)
Length 8.3-9.1 inches (21-23 cm)
Weight 1.5-1.7 oz (42-48 g)
Wingspan 9.8-12.2 inches (25-31 cm)
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2023 Winter Scenes at Eastern Neck NWR
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Here are my favorites of several scenes that caught my eye while venturing with nature at Eastern Neck NWR these past few months. Be prepared for several sunrises, my favorite time to start my visit. 😊
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Another morning…..
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A final sunrise shot 😊
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I hope you enjoyed seeing one of the places I love to go and photograph the birds I share with you.
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Five On The Wing – #34
Continuing my series of five bird species captured in flight!
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Ring-billed Gull
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Buffleheads (females)
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Wood Duck (male)
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Snow Geese
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Canada Geese
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Canada Geese taking flight
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1-2-3 Birds and Berries – #5
It’s about time to share more bird captures with berries as an added bonus in the composition!
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American Robin
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Yellow-rumped Warbler
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White-throated Sparrow
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Chipping Sparrow
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Northern Mockingbird
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European Starling
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Farewell Tundra Swan
Sharing a final post this season on the elegant Tundra Swans, I’m thinking no one will mind that.
These gorgeous swans are presently departing our region and beginning their long trek home to the Arctic tundra where they will breed and live directly on the ice.
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What a joy to see and listen to these huge birds as they live on the Chesapeake Bay and it’s tributaries for the winter.
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Tundra Swan at sunrise
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A tiny male Bufflehead leads the flock!
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At 16-23 pounds and a wingspan of 66 inches (168 cm), to see them fly by in close range is astounding.
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Parents and their youngster
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When they are 2-3 years old, Tundra Swans will pair up for life. When they migrate south for the winter, they travel with their season’s young in large flocks. The family will stay together and return back to the arctic together, where the young will venture to flocks of other non-breeding swans until they reach breeding age, while their parents prepare to breed again.
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Family of Three
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Family of Six
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It just so happened the two sets of families above were headed for a head-on collision, with no one wanting to change course.
Then the ruckus began….
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Lots of bickering
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Ouch! A youngster from the 3-family attacked a youngster from the 5-family
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A quick get-away from an angered parent
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The Classic “Goosing”
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All settled quickly as the 3-Family decided to change course and go behind the 5-family to pass on by.
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One of the parents of the 3-Family still had to flex it’s wings for the win
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while the 5-Family could care less, lol
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One of the youngsters had to follow with its own wing stretch
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A few more of my favorite photos….
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Tundra Swan, Snow Geese, Canada Goose
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Farewell Tundra Swans
Until we meet again, November 2023!
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(All photos taken at Eastern Neck NWR, Rock Hall, Maryland)
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Tundra Swan Stretch
Even a swan has got to stay fit!
Tundra Swans
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“Here we go! And lift….”
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“Come on, keep lifting….”
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“Stretch that leg!”
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“And hold….2….3….4”
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What form! And they make it look so easy. 😊
(Photos taken at Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge, Rock Hall, Maryland)
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Duck Duck Goose
Ready to play? 😉
Northern Pintail (male)
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American Wigeons (female, two males)
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Ring-necked Ducks (female, two males)
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Canada Geese
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Buffleheads
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Northern Shovelers
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American Black Duck
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Mallards
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Snow Goose
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Northern Shovelers
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Greater Scaup
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Lesser Scaup
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Common Goldeneye (female)
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Greater White-fronted Goose
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Red-breasted Mergansers
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Long-tailed Duck
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Green-winged Teal
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Ruddy Ducks
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Snow Geese – White and Blue Morph
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Wood Duck (male)
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Canvasback (male)
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Wood Ducks
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Canada Goose (leucistic)
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Mallards
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Most of the above ducks and geese are now into migration pattern heading north. It was a joy to host them here this winter around the Chesapeake Bay and Eastern Neck NWR!
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Eastern Neck NWR Sunrise
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Another beautiful sunrise taken at Eastern Neck NWR.
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Eastern Neck NWR bridge
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Thirty minutes later….
Bogles Wharf beach, overlooking Chester River
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Bogles Wharf Road
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“Nature unfolds her treasure at the first ray of sunrise. ”
– Kishore Bansal
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1-2-3 Cute As Can Be – #26
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Little bird, little bird, thank you for sharing the winter with me!
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Song Sparrow
Length: 4.7-6.7 in (12-17 cm)
Weight: 0.4-1.9 oz (12-53 g)
Wingspan: 7.1-9.4 in (18-24 cm)
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Swamp Sparrow
Length: 4.7-5.9 in (12-15 cm)
Weight: 0.5-0.8 oz (15-23 g)
Wingspan: 7.1-7.5 in (18-19 cm)
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White-throated Sparrow
Length: 6.3-7.1 in (16-18 cm)
Weight: 0.8-1.1 oz (22-32 g)
Wingspan: 7.9-9.1 in (20-23 cm)
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Dark-eyed Junco
Length: 5.5-6.3 in (14-16 cm)
Weight: 0.6-1.1 oz (18-30 g)
Wingspan: 7.1-9.8 in (18-25 cm)
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Tufted Titmouse
Length: 5.5-6.3 in (14-16 cm)
Weight: 0.6-0.9 oz (18-26 g)
Wingspan: 7.9-10.2 in (20-26 cm)
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Downy Woodpecker
Length: 5.5-6.7 in (14-17 cm)
Weight: 0.7-1.0 oz (21-28 g)
Wingspan: 9.8-11.8 in (25-30 cm)
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American Goldfinch
Length: 4.3-5.1 in (11-13 cm)
Weight: 0.4-0.7 oz (11-20 g)
Wingspan: 7.5-8.7 in (19-22 cm)
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Red-breasted Nuthatch
Length: 4.3 in (11 cm)
Weight: 0.3-0.5 oz (8-13 g)
Wingspan: 7.1-7.9 in (18-20 cm)
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White-breasted Nuthatch
Length: 5.1-5.5 in (13-14 cm)
Weight: 0.6-1.1 oz (18-30 g)
Wingspan: 7.9-10.6 in (20-27 cm)
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Golden-crowned Kinglet
Length: 3.1-4.3 in (8-11 cm)
Weight: 0.1-0.3 oz (4-8 g)
Wingspan: 5.5-7.1 in (14-18 cm)
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Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Length: 3.5-4.3 in (9-11 cm)
Weight: 0.2-0.3 oz (5-10 g)
Wingspan: 6.3-7.1 in (16-18 cm)
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Yellow-rumped Warbler
Length: 4.7-5.5 in (12-14 cm)
Weight: 0.4-0.5 oz (12-13 g)
Wingspan: 7.5-9.1 in (19-23 cm)
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