This One’s For You, Mom
This past July I quietly celebrated my blog’s four year anniversary of sharing my Chesapeake Bay photography with whoever would ‘stop by’ and take a peek. I made many friends from around the world during that time who encouraged me to want to improve my work. It has been an amazing experience! And then there’s my #1 follower, Mom, who constantly insisted I should be making lots of money working for some major publications with my photos. I’d laugh and say me and others can only wish for that dream job. Right?!! But of course, that’s a Mom for you, always the most proud of their children and no one can be or do any better.
My blog became the reason Mom got a computer and connected to the internet so she could keep up with my posts. And although I know I have improved considerably on my photography since the beginning, I couldn’t help but smile and get all warm & fuzzy inside when Mom would have to call to tell me how great the latest ones were. And when was I going to quit my job and make lots of money on my photos. LOL
Thank you for being my #1 follower, Mom.
I sadly lost Mom a few days before this past Thanksgiving. She had suffered a severe stroke three weeks prior that produced complications and emergency surgery which she could not recover. She had not been doing well since the summer, with several ER and rehab visits. My photography and blogging stopped, as there was no time for it.
Today would have been Mom’s 75th birthday. Even though she loved all birds, her favorite was the Great Blue Heron, one that I regularly get to see and photograph year-round. Below is one of her favorite photos of mine.
This one’s for you, Mom. Happy Birthday.
Great Blue Heron
Although times are still tough, I have comfort in knowing Mom is in Heaven. And now she can be alongside me as I strive to get back into my photography hobby. Which is wonderful, because then she can continue to be proud of me. I love and miss you, Mom.
The Lord saw you getting tired
And a cure was not to be,
So He put his arms around you
And whispered, ‘Come with me’.
With tearful eyes I watched you suffer
And saw you fade away.
Although I loved you dearly
I could not make you stay.
A golden heart stopped beating
Your beautiful smile at rest.
God broke my heart to prove
He always takes the best.
It’s lonesome here without you
I miss you so each day.
My life just isn’t the same
Ever since you went away.
When days are sad and lonely
And everything goes wrong
I hear you gently whisper,
‘Cheer up and carry on.’
Each time i see your picture,
You seem to smile and say,
‘Don’t cry, I’m in God’s keeping,
We’ll meet again someday.’
Goodbye To Our Osprey
I apologize for my long absence, life’s recent ups and downs have kept me hopping with little time for my hobbies. Although some things are still ongoing, this is my attempt to get back to routine posting. I’ve really missed blogging and reading others’!
Catching up with my last post, we continued to have numerous attempts of a new Osprey pair trying to take up residence on our nest platform this summer, but it was not to be. The long-time Osprey pair across the water on the Kent Narrows South Entrance Channel Marker 3 loved our platform too much as a resting spot where it afforded them a direct clear sighting to their nest for the area’s intruders. They continued to steal the new resident’s nesting materials, never allowing a nest to get built.
Here’s a photo of another started nest of the new Osprey pair being protected by the female with the male coming in with a meal. Unfortunately, once they left the nest to hunt or exercise, the KN Channel Marker Osprey would swoop in, grab, and leave.
As the summer winds down, most of our area Osprey have already departed for their Caribbean or South America winter vacation. Last week, several Osprey dads were still visible, hanging around their nests, waiting for their last chick to hit the migration sky trail. Once the last chick departs the nest, the dad can finally go too! The moms have long gone, they are the first to leave.
It has now been three days since I’ve seen an osprey on any of my local area’s couple dozen nests or in the sky. I’m getting that empty-nest feeling, if you know what I mean. 🙂
Here’s a few of my favorite photos from the past few months when I had a chance to do a little shooting of my favorite bird, the Osprey.
Look at those talons! Yikes!
The next few photos are of the Osprey chicks on the Kent Narrows Channel Marker 3 taken from our boat. The long-time resident parents could care less with all the boats that must pass them so narrowly close year after year, they have gotten very use to them. But the chicks think otherwise. They will get quite vocal to let you know you are not welcomed.
Juvenile Osprey
One of the juvenile Osprey took flight as we passed by and really gave us an earful while he followed and circled our boat as we headed out to Prospect Bay. Maybe he was showing Momma who is in the photo’s background how good he was at chasing us away! 🙂
The juvenile Osprey following our boat.
Goodbye to our Osprey! We will be here next March waiting for your return! 🙂
We May Have A Resident Osprey Pair!
Geez, life can really get in the way when your trying to blog regularly! Sometimes, it was because of good times. 🙂 But I also happen to fall victim to the deadly computer crash. I was fortunate to be back up and running this past week, thanks with hugs & kisses to my son. I miraculously didn’t lose a thing but was definitely frantic at the time because it had been five weeks since my last backup….
Note to all – backup as often as possible…..and more!!
Now onto the Osprey. Can it be?? Lo and behold, it appears we have a pair of Osprey trying to take residence and keep possession of our nest platform. 🙂
With the storms that had barreled through our area weeks ago, I’ve wondered if this pair was totally displaced from a previous home. For several weeks the pair aggressively brought nesting materials to the platform, only to fall victim to the male Osprey resident on Kent Narrows southend Channel Marker who stole the materials just as fast as he could to take to his plush nest and family.
Here’s the largest start of a nest that I got to photograph.
Oyster Cove Osprey Nest Platform
The sticks and nesting materials come and go regularly as if it’s a stop and shop Home Depot.
The female of the Osprey pair seems to be the primary protector of their new ‘home’, perching on it much more than the male. I’ve seen the male more times either bring a stick or a fish to eat at the nest, and then leave when finished. Sometimes he shares his catch with his lady, sometimes he’s a meanie a and mantles over it so she can’t have any. In turn, she gives him an earful. Hopefully his manners and maturity improves for his bonding sake!
Here’s a series of recent photos from my balcony.
The male Osprey enjoying a meal while protecting the platform.
The male Osprey taking a stick to the platform.
The male Osprey arriving with a daybreak breakfast.
He didn’t share this one, shame on him!
Here’s some flight captures as our new pair and others do a fly-by my balcony.
Peek-A-Boo!
Trying to capture the Osprey defending the nest wasn’t my thing lately, but I did get one nice one. Our new female Osprey was protecting the platform, screaming at an intruding male (not her partner) circling overhead. The intruder descended quickly down at her to attack; as she rose up in defense, I captured this next photo.
Our new female Osprey rising to defend the platform against an intruding area male Osprey.
The intruder quickly retreated with our female in hot-pursuit. She’s one tough Osprey! Hopefully nature works out and the Osprey pair are able to keep possession of the platform with not so much hassle this season and return next year to start a family. Our platform is due for a new family!
A quick side-note, I apologize for being AWOL from the many blogs I follow, I have really missed them/you. My email blog folder is slam full of new posts, I’ll try to catch up with random readings of each blog as I can. Please forgive on skipping around and maybe not leaving comments until I get caught up!
As always, thanks so much for stopping by my blog, I really appreciate you!
Flock of Newbies
I photographed a few birds that I’m familiar with while at Lake Greenwood, South Carolina (as my last post of the Great Blue Heron); but I also photographed several newbies. Most are land birds as I call them. Living around tidal waters, I don’t see too many land birds.
It’s exciting to share these. What a challenge they are, I love it! I have also found a new respect for those of you who photograph land birds. 🙂 They are small, they are flighty, they are fast. And they can be very hard to identify since I’m still learning. So PLEASE, if I’ve identified one incorrectly, let me know! I am here to learn as well as share.
Because they are newbies, some of the photos just may not be so great. Just another challenge for me to replace them some day with a better capture. 🙂
Orchard Oriole – Male
Orchard Oriole – Male
Blue Jay
Blue Jay
Chipping Sparrow
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Brown Thrasher
Brown Thrasher
Lift-Off!
Brown Thrasher
Caspian Tern
Common Loon
Common Loon
Broad-Winged Hawk
Orchard Oriole – Female
Orchard Oriole – Female
House Finch
Tree Swallow
Tree Swallows
Always great to add to my photographed bird list!
Thanks for any ID help, now and in the future is appreciated.
Great Blue Heron at Lake Greenwood, SC
We vacationed recently along Lake Greenwood, South Carolina, where I got several opportunities to photograph birds local there during April. (Got some newbies for my bird list!)
During the past few months at home in Maryland, I haven’t seen any Great Blue Herons along our water’s edge (not the norm), basically due to the chaos of the bulkhead getting rebuilt. I’ve spotted them in different inlets along the roads, but that’s no fun when you can’t sit and enjoy them for a while. If you sit and watch one, you’ll learn what patience is all about.
While at Lake Greenwood, I spotted many Great Blue Herons flying about here and there, sometimes landing down by the local docks. I took many photos from a distance while they flew around or fished/rested by the lake, just okay shots…..and finally was at the right place right time for closer and crisper ones.
One of my favorites, the beautiful Great Blue Heron stands about 4 feet tall, with a wingspan up to 6 feet wide. Yet the adult weighs only about 5 lbs. because their bones are hollow. That surely helps to get their body up and in flight!
Great Blue Heron
The Great Blue Heron at Lake Greenwood certainly made up for my missing them at home! 🙂
This Osprey Pair Doesn’t Give A Hoot
This post is primarily to document Osprey behavior that I thought interesting and a bit funny. I’ve wanted to get back and capture more shots with better lighting but haven’t had a chance as yet.
Although they do nest over land, Osprey are most comfortable nesting over water, and the higher the better to get that 360 degree view. One of the Osprey’s major threat & fear is the Great Horned Owl. The GHO will snatch an unguarded Osprey chick like a ghost in the night. 😦
This season an Osprey pair has nested on top of a dock piling driver that anchors in the small inlet alongside the Holiday Inn Express at Kent Narrows Rt. 50 Exit 42. As you ramp off Rt. 50, it is off to your right as you pass the water.
At the start of the nest building, the owner removed the Osprey nest when the driver was moved out of the area. When the driver returned, the Osprey were waiting and quickly built another nest. For some reason, they insist this is home.
I see this nest every day; and on a quick stop in mid-April, I took a couple of photos.
At the water’s edge, I could see what appeared to be an attempt to discourage the Osprey.
Osprey Pair and their home
Osprey pair and their tenant, a fake owl
It was like a stare-down, with no one moving. LOL
Since then, the female appears to have settled in the nest and is incubating eggs. A few mornings ago, I got this silhouette capture.
An Osprey incubating eggs with her fake owl buddy
I’m hoping the driver owner will not destroy the nest but I fear they will need to move and use the driver.
If luck has it and the nest remains, then that means the Osprey will be looking at that owl for the rest of the season, day in and day out.
Obviously, this Osprey pair doesn’t give a hoot!
An Osprey Lover Is An “Ospreyer” (Or So I Say)
Unfortunately, our Oyster Cove’s community Osprey nest platform that is 150-200 ft from my balcony did not successfully entice a pair of Osprey to take residence this year again. Part of the reason is the returning resident pair on the southend Kent Narrows Channel Marker #3 pair has used our platform for a perch to keep a close eye on their home and especially now with the Mrs who is incubating eggs. Other Osprey perch on it as well but are always challenged to leave by Marker #3 Mr. Osprey. It is obvious he does think it is his perch, and believe me he keeps his eye on it.
Even though there are no full-time residents for our platform, there still is a lot of Osprey activity so I’m a happy Ospreyer. There are at least eight active Osprey nests that I am aware of on the water within a 1/4 mile, so one is practically in the air somewhere above or in front of me.
Here is an Osprey series from the past month. 🙂
KN Channel Marker #3 Mr Osprey chasing off an ‘intruder’ on his perch!
Marker #3 Mr. Osprey challenged a passing Osprey by flipping upside down and flashing his claws. The Mrs. is down in the nest verbally giving her two cents.
Although they challenge and holler at each other when one is in another’s ‘territory’, on a steady 15-20mph windy day our area Osprey will soar together. Go figure, lol. I was watching six Osprey on April 13 doing this and finally was able to get five of them in one frame. Note the bottom Osprey has a fish. He ate it while flying!
No quarrels here! Five of six Osprey soaring on a windy day. Bottom Osprey has a fish that he ate while flying.
These next photos show those very sharp talons.
High Five!
Geez, looks like he could poke his eye out with those talons.
Our community’s bulkhead was renovated and straw grass was put down to cover and protect our seeded lawn alongside the bulkhead. I have enjoyed watching different Osprey swoop down and grab a clump for nesting material. If anyone in the community wondered where some of the missing straw is, now you know! LOL
KN Channel Marker #3 Mr. Osprey with a snatched clump.
You can see he’s gotten his share of straw for their nest.
A Marshy Creek Osprey resident taking his turn.
Capturing an Osprey with a fish up close is my ultimate challenge. Bingo!
Heading home to the Mrs. with breakfast.
Another one of my Osprey overloads! 🙂
Hope you enjoyed and thank you for stopping by!
Visitors Who Always Thrill!
Today was ending with dreary grey skies, incoming fog, and showers. The only birds seen are the resident ospreys in the distance on their platforms and nests riding out the rain. Everyone else has found their shelter. Nature is quiet as evening approaches.
Or so I thought. Out of the corner of my eye passing within 15-20 feet of our big floor-to-ceiling window, I caught a glimpse of two quite large dark birds with bright white tails. Almost knocking my dinner plate onto the floor, I rushed to the balcony door grabbing my camera along the way…..
Swooping in and landing on our Oyster Cove osprey nest platform were two adult American Bald Eagles. Always ALWAYS a treat for our community when one, let alone two Eagles visit our platform!
Due to the weather & lighting conditions, my photos aren’t worthy of print but I couldn’t not post them just because of who they were. There’s just something about seeing an Eagle that thrills my heart and soul. Two is twice as nice!
American Bald Eagles having a shouting match with the Osprey on KN#3 channel marker.
The largest Eagle on the right is the female.
The male Eagle quickly departed and headed over Marshy Creek while the female hung out for a bit, keeping her keen eye on everything around her. In the next two photos, I saw quite interesting on how much the female Eagle could turn her head as she looked to her left……
And then continuing to turn it and look behind her, hold it there to get a real good look, before turning back around. Pretty good head swivel, huh?
Yep, these visitors are ALWAYS a thrill! 🙂
An American Robin Reflects (His Turn)
My previous post ensured that Mr. Robin would receive his turn on showing off his beautiful profile!
A few days ago, this American Robin had been feeding just a few feet away from a Killdeer in the small tidal inlet along our community’s boundaries early morning shortly after the sun had risen. What luck to discover these two birds reflecting in the still waters on my way to work. Sure made my drive in a little chipper!
Just as the Killdeer did, this Robin gave me so many positions of perfect reflections, I cannot just post a couple. 🙂
American Robin – Male
(If the next photo is too large for you to view all at once, please double-click for full version!)
(I liked how his foot’s reflection appeared in this one.)
The photos of this Robin and the Killdeer in my previous post will definitely go in my favorites folder! 🙂
Have a great week everyone!
A Killdeer Reflects
Leaving early yesterday morning for work, I swung past our community’s small tidal inlet behind the tennis courts for a quick sneak-peek of who might be resting or feeding. The sun is to my back here in the mornings. The tide was out. The best time to check!
I was wonderfully surprised to find a Killdeer with a buddy. The buddy comes later.
I did not have my teleconverter on my 70-200mm lens. I am sooo disappointed about that! But I am still very happy with the cropping I was able to do to bring him closer to the screen.
The Killdeer offered me a wonderful session as I photographed from behind the tall dead marsh grass, shooting between the stalks. (And not always successful as they swayed!) I had a little difficulty with the partial shading too.
You know me, I have a tough time picking just one or two of a good thing. 🙂
I told you! 🙂
And so who was the Killdeer’s buddy? An American Robin. Here’s my best shot of both together in one frame. I couldn’t believe I finally got the opportunity with both giving a side body reflection at the same time. That’s called luck!
Killdeer and American Robin
Mr. Robin doesn’t want to be outdone and will show off his reflections in my next post.
Thanks for stopping by and have a super Spring weekend!
Bay Photos by Donna 