Birds Surviving A Blizzard
We survived Blizzard Jonas! Approximately 12″ fell here in Grasonville, Maryland. Winds that were 30-50 mph caused drifts as high as 5′. We were lucky to have no power outages or damage for which I am thankful.
Wildlife has the instinct to know when a storm is coming. They prepare by eating extra and finding a sheltered area to hunker down until the storm passes.
With Marshy Creek freezing over and the impending storm, birds that normally shelter in the creek’s cove could not do so. When it does freeze over, they will tend to hang closer to our community coves and riprap. And that means I get the opportunity to see birds up closer with my binoculars, and maybe get some great photos.
This time did not disappoint!
Tundra Swans
Canada Geese & pair Hooded Mergansers
Canada Geese and Female Hooded Merganser
Hooded Mergansers (extra exciting visitors!)
Canada Geese, Gadwells, American Wigeons
American Wigeons (another extra exciting visitor!)
Gadwells (another exciting visitor!)
Ruddy Ducks
Canada Geese, American Wigeon, Gadwells
The blizzard finally arrived and I mostly stayed inside, but snuck in a couple shots here and there.
American Bald Eagle on Lippincott’s Channel Marker
Cove off to my left
Marshy Creek
The blizzard finally moved on late last night, and this morning I awoke to a winter wonderland. It was a beautiful sunrise AND moon set!
Sunrise over Marshy Creek after blizzard
Moon set over our community cove and birds
Within a couple hours, everything was glistening, the skies were clear, the strong winds had disappeared.
Our Osprey platform patiently waiting for a new pair to arrive March!
All of the visitors yesterday made roll call this morning!
Canada Geese
Tundra Swan, Ruddy Ducks, a Redhead, Scaup
Ruddy Ducks, Scaup, Canvasback
This lone Ruddy Duck came right up to our riprap which is unusual, I think he just wanted to say Hi!
Can’t forget the Mallards!
Bottoms Up!
Gadwells
Gadwells
My favorite pair of resident Eagles have been very visible since the storm, perching on Lippincott’s channel marker.
Whenever an Eagle took flight, they made the ducks nervous, causing them to take flight.
Two Buffleheads take flight with Ruddy Ducks – Eagle Scare!
We also have a juvenile Eagle that I see often and try to capture. Got him this time!
Juvenile American Bald Eagle
The Tundra Swans were amazing today. They love Marshy Creek but are very skittish on being close to us.
Tundra Swan Fly-By for Mrs. Eagle
There were several small groups of Tundra Swans, some were families.
Tundra Swan Family – the parents were always on both sides of them to protect them
Gadwells take flight over a lone Tundra Swan
Another Tundra Swan family passing by our Osprey nest platform
Tundra Swans
Airborn rather quickly for such a large bird!
As the sun was setting, a dozen adult Tundra Swans also passed our Osprey nest platform. I was way off on my settings so I lost all my captures. 🙁
BUT……I did get them as they headed into the sunset! 🙂
As you can see, I had a couple fun-filled days of photo ops! I have more to share, but I think I’ll spare you those until next time. I have already overwhelmed you enough for this post.
Thank you for stopping by and enjoy you week! 🙂
