A Bit Late But……….. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Hello Everyone, I hope all of you had a wonderful and safe holiday season! I’m finally back after MIA for a couple months. My daughter was getting married back mid-November and I needed just a ‘small’ leave of absence for the planning and festivities but I never planned it to be this long! Sorry!!
The wedding was beautiful from start to finish! Then Thanksgiving quickly rolled around which whisked us off to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina (a future post is imminent with my visit to Pinckney Island NWR during that trip). Then Christmas was upon us. During all this time my mom has been ill and in and out of the hospital. She’s home now and fairing much better as I write. 🙂
Enough of the excuses, I’m back and ready to share the nature I observe and photograph from my third floor balcony overlooking Marshy Creek, Prospect Bay and the south end entrance of the Kent Narrows, nature which never stops pleasuring those that will take the time to stop, look and listen……
First for my blogging diary, I want to record the fact of my last sighting of a transient osprey who was perched on a Rt. 50 sign here in Grasonville this past November 13 and 14. I was not able to tell if it was an adult or a juvenile but he/she seemed comfortable up there perched, one day eating a fish! 🙂 A bit late in migration, I wondered if he got thrown off his travels by Hurricane Sandy and was attempting again to head south.
So here we are! Old man winter is trying hard to enter our area recently with crisp, cool days. And he’s also bringing along our winter visitors who fly in for the season for our community’s pleasure and my ongoing nature photography passion! Here’s who’s been arriving these last couple months….
But first, some shots of our gorgeous Great Blue Heron, who never left for a migration and continues to visit us almost daily around the berm and osprey nest platform. At dawn, I still find him frequently perched on the nest platform, facing the rising sun, waiting for it’s imminent warmth.
Great Blue Heron at dawn
Great Blue Heron at sunrise
And then he’s sometimes just prancing around the rocks, doing a little fishing while keeping an eye out for any enemies.
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron havin’ a laugh!
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron – wingspans can reach six feet wide!
This next shot is for fun, it really cracked me up. What a stance, Mr. GBH!
Great Blue Heron – struttin’ his stuff!
It is now the American Bald Eagle’s mating season and activity and sightings in our skies are much more promising. I’ve seen more sightings of eagles in the last two weeks than I’ve seen for months. What a sight to behold! For those in the community, keep your eye on our osprey nest platform and Lippincott’s channel maker #3 where they love to perch during the winter months.
American Bald Eagle on Lippincott’s channel marker 3, eating a fish
American Bald Eagle, passing on by!
Another frequent visitor to our osprey nest platform recently is this Belted Kingfisher. Such a tiny, cute fella!
Belted Kingfisher
Belted Kingfisher at sunset
Belted Kingfisher
Those adorable Buffleheads began showing up in November and can be seen almost daily, diving for food.
Male Buffleheads at sunrise
Male and Female Buffleheads
Ruddy Ducks and American Coots have joined us as well!
Male and Female Ruddy Ducks
American Coots
It seems they may have moved on, but last week for several days we had the pleasure to observe 20-30 Surf Scoters tightly grouped and diving/feeding at the entrance of Marshy Creek. I’ve captured this species further down Maryland’s Eastern Shore, but this was a first for me here at Oyster Cove. 🙂
Male and Female Surf Scoters
Surf Scoters
Surf Scoters (males have orange and white bills)
Surf Scoters taking flight
In addition, Canada Geese and Tundra Swans have arrived in our area. At sunrise, it is a delight to stand outside quietly and listen to them chatter to one another. Pretty cool stuff.
Stay tuned as I continue to share who’s visiting our area, or other nature photos I take along my excursions. And as always, thank you for stopping by! And to those blogs that I subscribe to, I’ll be back in touch with yours, I miss you!!
