Oyster Cove Osprey Update
The osprey in our area continue to thrive even through the extreme heat. The fishing is good and water is plentiful for dipping and dripping on the young to stay cool. Our Oyster Cove osprey nest platform is still a very popular perch for the area osprey. We were not successful this season in obtaining a new resident pair but our community continues to enjoy the presence of the many that fly over us and stop by for a visit.
All of the following photos were taken from my balcony.
Osprey
I always enjoy watching an Osprey and Great Blue Heron interact. Sometimes an Osprey will ‘tolerate’ a Great Blue Heron and just keep his eye on him. But not usually. I watched one instance where a male Osprey had come to perch at the platform and discovered a Great Blue Heron already down at the base doing a little fishing. This obviously bothered the Osprey who began to make threatening calls at him over and over again.
Osprey ‘threatening’ a Great Blue Heron
The Great Blue Heron tried to ignore the Osprey, until finally they had a stare down for several minutes. While I stared at them….
Stare down between an Osprey and Great Blue Heron
Finally the osprey dove at the Great Blue Heron but didn’t tag him, and then was gone. The Great Blue Heron watched him leave and then went back to his fishing. This time the Great Blue Heron won! He’s usually the one that is forced to move on.
The next photos are not the best but show some fierce action between two Osprey who were fighting over possession of the platform. As one was perched, another dove at him. The perched Osprey immediately flipped, ready for the attack. Check out those sharp talons! They both meant business!
Fighting over Osprey nest platform
We have this happen a lot. Sure makes for great action to watch! It usually doesn’t last long, and one will quickly fly off with no one hurt.
Here’s a few flight shots of osprey passing by while I watch and photograph.
The Osprey are gorgeous and interesting birds. They are noisy and territorial, but they are also dedicated and loyal to each other and their young. The fledglings are now experiencing a whole new world as they soar in the skies and perfect their landings, while mom and dad continue to feed and care for them. And it won’t be long before instinct kicks in and pulls them for their migratory journey to as far as South America for a winter vacation.
Until next time, have a great week, and be safe! As always, thank you for stopping by. 🙂
Thunderstorm Crossing Over Kent Island, Prospect Bay & Wye River, Maryland – July 18, 2012
My fascination with photography doesn’t end with birds. This post is off the beaten path of birds but is a share of another part of nature that enthralls me. Storms. They come roaring across the Chesapeake Bay and barrel down on the Eastern Shore. A few weeks ago we were hit hard with cell after cell around midnight that caused many people in Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, and Delaware with power outages and severe damage. With the extreme heat, many suffered for a week or longer as they waited to have their power restored.
We were lucky with no outage, but it was frightening. Being in a 12-unit condominium building and on the highest floor, we could feel our building sway in the 60-70 mph winds that slammed us. It came on so sudden as we were sleeping, we could do nothing but ride it out as everyone else did.
The extreme heat has continued to stir up more thunderstorms since. As I write this around 9:15pm, a wicked cell is passing over us now. Lightning is frequent and striking very close by. The waterview brightens up quickly and eerily before disappearing back into the darkness.
And yesterday around 6:00pm, we had another severe thunderstorm quickly come and quickly go. Since it was still light out, I stood on my balcony and watched it build as it crossed from the Chesapeake Bay, and over Kent Island, Prospect Bay, and Wye River. I decided to take some photos to see what I might capture.
Thunderstorm cell crossing the Chesapeake Bay and over Kent Island, Maryland
Along the edge of the storm, down-drafts were shooting off frequently, you can see some in the above photo. The Weather Channel had just recently talked about these occurrences but I cannot remember the technical name for them. I just worried that one would form a waterspout. Here’s another shot of one of those downdrafts that went down and then retreated back up as it passed over Parsons Island.
Thunderstorm cell now over Parsons Island (at end of Kent Island), Maryland
The winds picked up to about 40 mph as the center of the storm rolled pass in front of me. I noticed the cell began to grow, then suddenly it released a heavy downpour of much-needed rain.
Thunderstorm cell over Prospect Bay and Wye River, Maryland, with CBEC in the foreground.
It swelled bigger and bigger…..
Thunderstorm intensifies.
And then cloud to ground lightning started and continued with frequent strikes. I’ve only gotten lightning two other times after many hours of watching and trying. I hadn’t had time until this evening to check to see whether I even got one of the strikes last night. WOW!! This time I lucked out with four captures from one thunderstorm cell in three minutes! Missed many times more, LOL. Here they are….
As the downpour began blowing onto my balcony, I quickly retreated inside as I heard the fire sirens going off in Grasonville. I hope all turned out well for those in Prospect Bay and along the Wye River, who took the brunt of this nasty thunderstorm cell.
What a challenge to capture lightning! Of course, it’s important to be safe. I took these shots with my new Nikon AF-S Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 ED VR that finally came in last week after being on backorder for two months. My other wide angle lens is a much slower Nikon 18-55mm lens. So I’m guessing the speed of my new lens is how I was able to capture the lightning so many times yesterday! COOL! I love my new lens!! 🙂
Has any one else had any luck in capturing lightning?
As always, thanks for stopping by and your wonderful comments, I appreciate it!
A Few Newbies For Donna
As I work on accumulating my bird lifer list from my past photos, I’ve also been adding new ones recently photographed as well. I shared the Red-Headed Woodpecker in my last post from Blackwater NWR, he was a recent newbie for me. With the following other newbies, I’ve gathered photos now to a count of 61 for my lifer list, of which 43 were photographed either from my balcony & back yard or within our Oyster Cove community. My count is not big, but I’ve got many more photos to go through that I know include at least a few more. 🙂 I’ll be adding pages for each of those lists soon for my documentation and challenge.
I am not an expert in birding but I do attempt to identify with two books I own, the internet and your help. If I’ve made a mistake, please forgive me AND tell me what the bird really is! I’ll appreciate it, promise! 🙂
I have found the Spotted Sandpiper is a frequent visitor to our berm, and I’ve taken many images over the past couple months as they fly and scurry around. I never noticed them before, they blend really well against the rocks. But now I’m looking just a little harder! 😉 This image isn’t my best one but I liked the way he reflected in the water.
Spotted Sandpiper
Next are two types of terns. Both are very active around our community over Marshy Creek and around our osprey nest platform, either diving for fish or resting on the channel markers and buoys.
Least Terns
Forster’s Tern
My next bird I believe is a Fish Crow. I’ve posted two photos of him; after he was done drinking, he flew up to the osprey platform. The American Crow is very similar, but I chose Fish Crow since he was around brackish water and by the longer length of his tail. Let me know if he really is an American Crow, I’ve not counted either before, so whichever, he is a first for my count.
Fish Crow (or American Crow?)
Fish Crow (or American Crow?)
Several weeks ago we had headed down Tilghman’s Island for their annual seafood festival, and then traveled to the very end of the island where there’s a parking lot to sit and soak in the gorgeous view of the Chesapeake Bay. There were six Surf Scoters at a distance in the water, following the coastline, making their way north.
Surf Scoters
And finally, an Eastern Kingbird. I captured him at Ferry Point Park along the Kent Narrows. I’m really thrilled with this photo!
Eastern Kingbird
Hope you enjoyed these as much as I was excited to discover & photograph them!
I’ll close with a shot of a cloud in an interesting shape at sunset a week ago. I took it from Red Eye’s Dock Bar’s dock, looking across the Kent Narrows at the Chesapeake Bay Exploration Center. Do you see a Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab? There were others who said they saw it too….honest! 🙂
“Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab” Cloud – July 12, 2012
As always, thank you for stopping by, I appreciate it!
Visit to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
This past Saturday was one of the hottest day of the year for the Chesapeake Bay area, as well as other areas around the United States, with record temperature settings throughout. Hubby and I decided to spend the afternoon in our car’s A/C and cruise down through Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge and continue to the bottom of the Hooper Islands. It was 101 degrees when we left about 12:30pm, arriving at Blackwater NWR about 2:00pm with the temperature dropping to 98 degrees. (Still felt the same.) I took my camera, of course! But to be honest, I did not expect to see any wildlife at that time of the day. It was so hot and the sun was harsh.
Well, I was wrong. The 8-mile wildlife drive was full of panting wildlife alongside the water, trying to stay hydrated.
I’ll start with BNWR’s famous osprey family who are broadcast on their webcam for the world to enjoy. Momma was on watch while her two chicks were laying low, but as our car approached and I slowly got out, the chicks rose up and all three were checking us out. We were treated to some practice flapping by one of the chicks while the other enjoyed a late afternoon snack feeding from momma.
(Click on a photo for a more detailed image.)
Famous Osprey Family on BNWR’s Webcam
Osprey chick practicing flapping those huge awkward wings
Momma Osprey feeding one of her chicks
The osprey webcam and pole are pretty high and more at a distance than another osprey nest along the drive which is more eye level for us. This family had hatched four chicks total but during the last few weeks two were lost. The two remaining chicks were less active as they rested as best they could as momma shielded them from the sun under her wings.
Osprey family along wildlife drive
Yes, there are two chicks shielded under momma’s wings.
Osprey dad 100 feet away keeping an eye on his family’s surroundings
Great Blue Heron and Great Egrets were both abundant. I saw more this visit than ever before at Blackwater NWR.
8 Great Blue Herons and 1 Great Egret
9 Great Blue Heron, 5 Great Egrets & 1 American Bald Eagle flying away in the upper right.
Some close-ups…..
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Great Egret with juvenile
Great Egret – Coming in for a landing
Great Egret – Preparing to land
Great Egret – Touchdown!
Great Blue Heron – trying to keep cool
Great Egret
Great Egret – Preparing to take off
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
I mentioned an eagle sighting above, we saw nother adult eagle resting on a peninsula of land. He was also panting, with wings dropped.
American Bald Eagle
American Bald Eagle – closeup
Towards the end of the wildlife drive, BNWR visitors have been treated this season to a new eagle nest that produced two eaglets who have recently fledged. We came upon one of them down at the water, drinking and watching all the herons and egrets…..who were nervously watching him.
American Bald Eagle – Juvenile
I was standing along the road behind a bush, when suddenly an egret hidden behind it down alongside the water flew up, causing a second one to also take flight, both heading directly to the juvenile eagle. Scared me too!
Juvenile American Bald Eagle and Great Egrets
As the juvenile eagle watched them, a third egret was slowly trying to sneak by behind him, it was actually quite comical!
Great Egret trying to sneak by the juvenile Bald Eagle
Great Egret thinking as he picked up speed, “I’ve almost made it!”
Well, he didn’t make it. The eaglet turned quickly & saw him and both he and the egret took flight, causing another one to fly. Quickly, the eaglet was behind both of them, disturbing a fifth egret, who all were frantically trying to get out of his way.
Juvenile Bald Eagle in flight behind two Great Egrets
Juvenile Bald Eagle in flight behind two Great Egrets
Now a fifth Great Egret is outta there!
It really appeared the juvenile bald eagle was toying with the egrets, flying directly behind them but not in a high-pursuit chase. With all five now going in all directions, the juvenile eagle just as quickly turned around and went directly up to his tree home to perch alongside one of the parents already there. Bet he told mom or dad, did you see that? Did you see them fly scared? That was fun!” 😉
Turtles were seen everywhere on rocks and logs, basking in the sun and heat….
Turtle
and a family of raccoons were sighted drinking at the water’s edge. They quickly ran and I didn’t get a very good shot of the two babies who scurried after mom.
Two baby raccoons
Another terrible shot, but he’s a newbie for my bird list, the Red-Headed Woodpecker.
Red-Headed Woodpecker
After departing the wildlife drive, we traveled down Maple Dam Road where there’s another osprey nest directly alongside the road. I only saw one chick on this nest.
Osprey parent and chick
Momma osprey was not happy with us and took flight, circling and eyeing us.
Female Osprey
We quickly left her be and she returned to the nest as we drove away.
Finally, three landscape shots from the drive of the hazy hot day that it was. Although I was certainly worried for the wildlife, they seemed to know what to do to take care of themselves through it all. And they and us have since had a reprieve in the temperatures, and we’re all enjoying mid to upper 80’s for the high since Monday.
I hope you enjoyed another one of my visits at Blackwater NWR and as always, thank you for stopping by! Have a great week!
Our Feathered Friends Surviving The Heat
Although we worry, our feathered friends do have ways to survive the heat wave that has engulfed the United States. Most important is locating water. Birds do not sweat, and extreme heat stresses their body temperature. They must remove this excess body heat through their respiratory system. You can see this when they can be seen panting like a dog. This activity dehydrates birds and increases their need to replace lost fluids. Birds must also be ready to fly at all times, and bathing is a critical part of feather maintenance and staying in top-flight condition. Here’s an osprey I captured panting on a snag along Route 50.
Osprey ‘panting’ to cool off
Of course, we have plenty of water along the shores of the Chesapeake Bay where birds can drink and bathe to their heart’s content. But there are critical inland areas throughout the United States where a drop of water is nowhere to be found. Be a friend to your area birds and set out a bird bath in the area where they gather or nest; this can be as simple as a trash can lid filled with water and laid on the ground. Freshen it every few days. They will appreciate and use it! 🙂
Seeking shade and soaring also provide relief. In addition, birds will puff out/spread their feathers periodically to allow any breezy circulating air reach their hot skin as another way to cool off. I have recently seen many birds doing this. The following puffed-up birds were all photographed cooling off in my backyard and community.
Mourning Dove “cooling off”
Mallard “cooling off”
American Robin “cooling off”
Green Heron “cooling off”
House Finch “cooling off”
Killdeer “cooling off”
Northern Mockingbird “cooling off”
House Finch “cooling off” on my balcony
Great Blue Heron “cooling off”
Thank goodness for a bird’s instinct to try to find ways to get relief from the heat. Please remember, in extreme heat water is the most important thing for their survival, so if you can assist our feathered friends with any make-shift “birdbaths”, you’ll be helping them out tremendously.
Keep yourselves cool as well, and drink plenty of water! As always, thanks for stopping by, and I hope you had an enjoyable & safe 4th of July! 🙂
Our Baby Mockingbirds Are Growing Fast
Two posts back I shared photos of two sets of Northern Mockingbird families that I had been watching for many weeks, finally capturing the babies out of their nests. I’ve continued to keep an eye out for them, now I can hear the smallest babies by the tennis courts chirping as they stay hidden in the marshy grass and trees behind their nest tree. Their parents are in and out keeping them fed. The other mockingbird family in a bush at the base of the osprey nest platform that I’ve been watching from my balcony were a little older and have been quite visible and entertaining every evening that I’ve had a chance to watch them.
I also tried to capture some semi-clear shots each time, but they weren’t very cooperative as they would run and now fly around the entire area below me, from a walking path light, to a flower bed, to the rocks; just not staying still long enough for anything real good to share. Finally, this past Tuesday evening I lucked out I think!
First here’s sibling #1, who I discovered had recently learned to find his own bugs in the flower beds and grass and feed himself. He had stopped the constant chirping to the parents that he was hungry. The parents still shared some food, but he appeared to be doing his hunting all by himself for the most part.
In fact, that evening he became so content after a while of successful hunting & eating, he took a break, flew up to the bench, and hung out to savor the waterview.
Juvenile Northern Mockingbird – Enjoying the waterview
Giving his sibling a look as if to say, “Stop chirping already! Go find your own bugs!”
Now here’s his sibling, #2, the demanding one who is not feeding himself yet, and who does not give mom or dad much of a break….ever! His chirping is non-stop, even after the parent would depart to hunt for more food. If the parent stayed in the vicinity, #2 would fly to the parent and scream some more. Sometimes the parent left the area altogether, I think for a break! And so what did #2 do then? He would just get louder! And each time within minutes, a parent returned with more bugs. It seemed to never be enough though, and I felt for the poor parents!
In the first photo, baby #2 had just been given a mouth full of bugs. Was he happy? No. He’s now letting his parent and the world know he wants more!
Parent and Juvenile Northern Mockingbird
So off the parent went, while #2 continues to demand!
“Hurry up, I’m hungry!”
As soon as a parent returned and located baby #2, another mouthful of bugs would be transferred.
At one point, #2 was just below me, perched on a ‘decorated’ walking path light. And, of course, still telling the world he was hungry.
Does any one hear me? I am hungry!
Just as quick, a parent returned with a couple of bugs.
Parent arrives with couple bugs for the baby.
Making the transfer….
Getting that last one!
Within seconds of swallowing, the baby began his loud demands again. The parent tried to ignore him, which seemed a little impossible.
Parent trying to ignore baby’s demands.
Baby Mockingbird cutting his eye at the parent while demanding more bugs!
After that last shot, the parent was back in flight for more food. This has been going on each evening that I’ve had a chance to watch, and I imagine in the morning and throughout the day as well. What a rigorous schedule, poor parents!
Finally, in the midst of watching the mockingbirds that evening, I was also treated with a sighting of three deer walking along the shoreline over at CBEC, across Marshy Creek. Here’s a quick share of them.
Deer at Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center
I hope you enjoyed those growing baby mockingbirds, especially little #2. He provided some neat behavior shots as he told the world that little belly of his was hungry. Really really hungry! 😉
As always, thanks for stopping by and for your comments! Stay cool and safe with the heat!
A Great Bird Op Day Without Trying
Yes, today was a great bird op day without trying! To have a few of my favorites all in one day was absolutely fantastic! The 90-100 degree weather finally broke, for a couple days at least, with today’s temperatures in the low-mid 80’s. The blue in the skies and water was brighter without that heavy heat haze. And both this morning and this evening, the birds were in abundance, taking advantage of the cooler weather.
This morning at sunrise, I enjoyed watching and photographing two osprey flying around our platform. I couldn’t tell for sure if they were ‘together’ or from different other pairs, but it seemed they were playing with who had platform possession. One would land, the other would try but the first wouldn’t let him, then the second would make the first leave, and on and on. I’ve seen this happen two other mornings in last couple weeks and have been wondering if we finally have a new pair of osprey who might be checking out our platform as a future home. Time will tell, but in the meantime here’s my favorites from this morning.
(Click on photos for larger, sharper image)
Osprey on Oyster Cove Osprey Nest Platform
The osprey caused me to be late to work! 🙂 As I made my way home late this afternoon, I passed Walmart Pond and found Canada Geese enjoying a restful moment. Being so late in the season to see so many together in our area, I stopped for a couple shots. Even at a distance, they were leery of me. I quickly finished and left.
Canada Geese at Walmart Pond
I was thrilled to see the geese, I thought about how neat and unusual it was as I made my way home. I got home and took a quick glance from my balcony…..a Great Blue Heron was along our berm. Splendid!
Great Blue Heron
The Great Blue Heron stayed for only a couple minutes before taking flight. As I photographed his/her departure, I was thinking, darn, I should have been home a little sooner! I had to stop for those geese! 🙂
My disappointment diminished quickly, as the culprit who made the Great Blue Heron take flight landed in his/her spot…..another Great Blue Heron! 🙂
Obviously he/she was pursuing the first one. He/she got all fluffy/puffy excited watching the first one continue to fly away. 😉
And then he/she calmed down and stretched that long neck and body in protective stance as a couple community walkers passed on by.
As he kept still, thinking no one could see him, lol, I had also been photographing a Green Heron a little further away, also on the berm.
Green Heron
Another pair of walkers came by. This time the Great Blue Heron decided it was time to take flight as well and away he went. This alarmed the Green Heron who took off too.
I retreated inside, thinking how lucky to see both herons tonight! I couldn’t wait to download my photos. But dishes first, some cleaning up. An hour later I was ready to pop out my memory card and download today’s photos but first thought I’d quickly step out on my balcony. Just in case. Woohoo! I found a Great Blue Heron on the berm again. I took a couple shots and then prepared to capture his take-off as a couple more walkers were about to pass by him (it was an awesome night for a walk around the water!). Here’s a GBH in step by step launch!
Great Blue Heron preparing to take off.
Knees bent….
Head and shoulders down….
And launch!
It takes a lot of strength to get the big body in the air!
And then he was gone. Flying in to replace him, a Green Heron. 🙂 With the sun setting, he was in the shade of the marshy grasses.
Green Heron – in the shade
And then he began his ‘jumping’ from rock to rock, and made his way into the sunlight….for me! Right??!!
Green Heron
As I completed his photos, an osprey flew by and I captured him with some cloud action as he soared towards the sunset.
Osprey
Indeed, a great bird op day without trying!
As always, I hope you enjoyed and thanks for stopping by!
Do You Know The Mockingbird?
As I’ve made my way along my ten minute loop drive around our Oyster Cove community each morning, I’ve come to know a pair of Northern Mockingbirds that reside at the end of the tennis courts. Definitely a territorial bird, the mockingbird will chase other species from the area, while clearly making its presence known. Mockingbirds are very loud and vocal, and enjoy singing day and night. Their songs are complicated, as they continue throughout life learning new sounds, including imitating other birds’ songs. A male mockingbird may learn 200 songs in its lifetime!
I’ve taken many photos of this pair, but have also just sat and watched as they busily fly from branch to branch, keeping their territory protected. Although they chase others, I’ve watched this pair reside alongside a pair of red-winged blackbirds who are nesting 12 feet away, and a pair of pigeons who are nesting 20 feet away. Here’s a shot of one of the mockingbirds perched with the male red-winged blackbird. (The red-winged blackbird’s nest is located below and to the left in the photo.)
Northern Mockingbird and Red-Winged Blackbird
It has felt like the mockingbirds have come to know me as well! Instead of the immediate vocal flight taken when I arrived, they would stay perched and just watch me, with an occasional song of beauty, no screaming. Sometimes I didn’t see them until they sang out, giving their location away. Maybe saying, hi? 😉 Striking such nice poses, I found myself snapping a shot or two daily, collecting a nice series for my files. Here are a few of my favorites….
Northern Mockingbird
“The Pose”
“The Stare”
As I watched their activity, I soon learned where their home was located. Only four feet from the ground in a tree, it was easy to watch from a distance without disturbing them as they busily built their nest; and soon I discovered momma laying low within it, indicating she was incubating.
And now my presence wasn’t welcomed. I was reprimanded with screams from the dad, as he flew from perch to perch, almost circling me. I think he wanted to corral me, to force me out of the area! So from that day on, I drove or walked past them quickly with stopping, giving them the privacy they deserved.
Finally, I knew it had been more than enough time for the eggs to hatch. This past Tuesday morning, I sat and watched for activity from my car. Barn swallows and purple martins were soaring everywhere, while my red-winged blackbird buddy sang from his favorite perch above his nest.
And then I heard my mockingbird. I haven’t been able to figure out how to differentiate between the male and female mockingbird, but I just felt it was momma. She was perched on the picnic table, with a mouthful of insects. Yummy! And that means newborns maybe?
Bringing food to the nest
She then flew into her tree. Parked 20-25 feet away, I slipped out of my car, saw a clear shot into the tree while on my knees and snapped a few photos, hoping at least one would be focused enough to see if there the nest. There were three babies, and I somewhat lucked out! 🙂
Three Northern Mockingbird Babies
Those insects didn’t last five seconds! Momma then flew out of the tree and perched on it higher up. Another great pose with the berries!
I immediately got up, slowly backed away, and left so I wouldn’t startle her to fly away from the tree. She just sat there and watched me leave. The look of goodbye, now leave please!
Wednesday morning I was eager to see the activity at the nest. We went from cool spring-like days earlier this week, with Tuesday starting to warm up. But Wednesday morning, we awoke to the heat-wave that has settled over the mid-Atlantic region, with temps due to soar to the mid to high 90’s, and due to feel like over 100 with the humidity. As all wildlife tries to exist through the heat, I wondered how those three little mockingbirds were going to survive all stuffed down in their nest.
I needn’t worry. I found all three out of the nest, each perched on a different branch. They knew what to do. I found one of the parents perched up on the tennis courts fence, watching over them. I slowly positioned and was able to get a shot of each one, and then quickly left. Here’s the three little ones….
Fledging Northern Mockingbird
I’ve since stayed away but am tickled on what I got to see and experience, it was a joy!
Speaking of joys, we have another family of mockingbirds I can see from my balcony. Here’s one of the parents perched below me on the lower roof, overseeing their territory and nest that is in the marshy grass at the base of our osprey nest platform.
And here’s his/her two fledglings. I’ve been photographing them as well, but they don’t stay still very long; and they’re about 150-200 feet from me.
Fledgling Northern Mockingbirds
I have one final Northern Mockingbird photo to share that was taken at Lippincott’s Marina next door in their parking lot. I did not review the three photos I took until today and was surprised by the image in all three. In the background was a sailboat’s staff, which to me looks like a cross. I did not touch the image except brighten and crop it. (The ‘circle’ image on the cross is something hanging on the sailboat, not a blemish on my lens.) I thought this capture turned out special… 🙂
I hope you enjoyed the Northern Mockingbird through my lens! As always, thank you very much for stopping by, it is a pleasure to share my photos with you. 🙂
Osprey Everywhere!
For sure I have missed our resident osprey pair, Oliver and Olivia this season, and our osprey platform has remained empty. But the number of osprey in our area is astounding and has helped fill the void! For the last month, I have been photographing them from my balcony as they fly around in search of fish to feed the many chicks that have recently hatched or nesting material to enlarge their nests to support their growing brood.
I’ll start with a couple visits to our platform. It has been less frequent lately for any osprey visitors and I imagine it’s because they have had no time to hang out with their busy schedule.
Oyster Cove Osprey Platform
Osprey on Oyster Cove Platform
When the osprey in the next three photos stopped by a couple days ago, I was disappointed he was behind the platform board for a good shot.
I started to go back in and he jumped/flapped up to the board to perch. Now there’s a photo op!
Then the osprey outdid himself by perching one-legged. I don’t know how birds can balance so well when they stand on just one leg! I can remember couple years ago when I saw Olivia perched on one leg for the first time, I thought she had lost it and was heartbroken & worried! I had a really good laugh when she repositioned and dropped down her other leg. 🙂
The following are random photos of osprey in flight in no particular order.
The next two photos are not very good but it’s always interesting to see an osprey attack a bald eagle who wandered through the osprey’s ‘territory’. The eagle defended himself as he quickly exited the area with the osprey in pursuit.
There’s been little time for boating but I did get couple chances to photograph a few area osprey nests to share. You can see, as long as the home can be over and very near water, an osprey will build a nest anywhere they think they can. In our area, channel markers are definitely a favorite but the osprey aren’t too picky!
Unfortunately, sometimes osprey will attempt at building a nest on a channel marker with no platform base as in these next photos of the pair on Channel Marker 7 in the Kent Narrows. Definitely a tough situation with no room for growing chicks to expand. 😦 Fingers crossed, they can make it to fledging.
But it is possible as seen in the well-established nests in the next two photos.
Finally, I loved this shot of an osprey gazing off in to the sunset.
Sorry for the osprey overload, I’ll wrap this up before I post more! As you can see, osprey are a favorite of mine and I find it hard to limit the number of photos, so sorry about that! 🙂 As always, thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it!
Bunch ‘O Birds
First, to my followers, so sorry for the long lapse since my last post! And ditto for not keeping up with those I follow! With long days/overtime at work, personal commitments, as well as having re-injured an old wrist injury, I’ve been either too exhausted or hurting too much to get much free time in the evenings. 😦 And it’s been driving me crazy not working on my photos and blogging! So here’s an attempt to type and post a bunch ‘o birds with my right wrist wrapped up before I conk out…..
I wanted to begin with sharing a couple more photos of the Killdeer family that I shared in my last post. I’m still enjoying watching the family running around in the mornings almost daily. I now just stop for a minute to watch them from a distance; but a couple weeks ago one of the babies was so close in the road, I was able to stop and quickly get a shot before it scurried away fast. Adorable!
Juvenile Killdeer
As I was wondering where the parents were and why weren’t they protecting junior, one began screaming at me off to my right. Someone wasn’t on alert like they should have been but quickly made up for the delay!
Parent Killdeer
He then proceeded to walk between me and junior, who had already left the building. No screaming, just staring. Now you know why I just watch from a distance. I’ve been told to!
Parent Killdeer
In our Chesapeake Bay area, Canada geese are abundant in the winter months as they migrate to us in the tens of thousands, but are not so common staying as a resident during the summer. We have a few remain every summer down by Marshy Creek, and it appears they’ve decided to stay another summer with us. Sometimes I’ve seen three pair, but this day there was just the one pair. The one thing I’ve not seen is any families produced from this small group. Just adults, grazing and resting, but still cool!
Canada Geese
Canada Geese with Osprey on platform
The next two photos are of more Canada geese but with families. These were shot within a mile of my work, resting alongside “Walmart Pond”. Not getting to see any goslings around Oyster Cove/Marshy Creek, it was a treat for me to see these. There were actually three pair of adults with three sets of goslings, all in different stages of age. They were only there for one morning. I thought how nice they all stayed together protecting each other as they continued their travels.
Canada Geese and Goslings
Canada Geese and Goslings
We have many Mourning Doves, I love their cooing and trying to find them when they are calling out. In the mornings, they love to hang around in the pine trees.
Mourning Dove in the morning!
And spring is still in the air! There were a pair of Mourning Doves mating on our walkway below my balcony.
Mourning Doves mating
Mourning Doves mating
I even had the pleasure of one who visited my balcony one morning.
Mourning Dove on my balcony
Another morning, I had an American Robin resting on my balcony. Doesn’t matter our balcony is on the third floor, it gives them a much better view! Now if all the visitors could just learn to not leave me any presents to clean off when they leave!
American Robin on my balcony
A couple more American Robin shots….
American Robin
American Robin
When the sunlight is just right, the Grackle shines beautiful!
Grackle
Grackle
And so does the Red-Winged Blackbird…
Red-Winged Blackbird
Red-Winged Blackbird
Red-Winged Blackbird
Red-Winged Blackbird
Although the winter months provide many photo ops with all the barren trees along Rt 301 where I stop frequently on my way to & from work, there are scarce ops with the fully leaved trees. But there are a few big dead trees that are still standing and on occasion ‘someone’ is perched on one of them.
Red-Tailed Hawk
Red-Tailed Hawk
Red-Tailed Hawk
Turkey Vulture
Turkey Vultures
Turkey Vultures
Turkey Vulture
Now that was a Bunch ‘O Birds! I have many more to share of herons, eagles, barn swallows, purple martins, and of course osprey, I imagine those will each be separate posts as I limp along here.
Finally, I wanted to share this sun-setting shot I took yesterday evening while at Dirty Dave’s Tiki Bar at Kentmoor Restaurant on Kent Island, directly on the Chesapeake Bay. They have a cool beach bar with hammocks, adirondack chairs, swaying palm trees, and a great Happy Hour menu! A cool place to relax and watch the sun set while nursing the wrist…. 🙂
As always, thank you for stopping by, I appreciate it!
Bay Photos by Donna 