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!
Dr. Killdeer I Presume…..
I’ve been watching and photographing the killdeer residing in Oyster Cove. A month ago I was finding them relaxing or running around in the parking lot around the pool, being very cordial when I drove by. No playing dead or injured, but definitely keeping that beautiful eye on me. I was able to sit still in the car and take numerous photos, here’s a couple.
Killdeer
Killdeer – with an itch!
The two killdeer I was photographing were enjoying the early morning sunrise it seemed. Then along came a third larger killdeer who flew into the parking lot area, causing the other two to run quickly to get close together. I assumed I was going to see a territorial ruckus but that wasn’t the case. The third killdeer boldly ran over to the other two who were watching him and proceeded to mate with one (who allowed it!) while the other one just stood there and watched. This behavior was surely confusing to me, and it looked like to the by-stander killdeer too!
Killdeers mating
Killdeers mating while third Killdeer looks on
Killdeers mating
The deed is done
What transpired after that was just as confusing. The intruder killdeer quickly ran over to the grass while the other two got back together close, and sort of chased after him, with the female who mated with him screaming her head off at him.
Killdeers not too happy with the one on the grass
The original two killdeer then flew off together leaving the third one just standing there. I then left him too. Since then I often would see one here and there early mornings and late evenings running around, but always just one. Then one morning a little over a week ago I found a killdeer closer to our community’s entrance by the fountain pond, but no longer cordial with anyone! Lots of faking injury and flying to another close spot, just trying his best to get my attention elsewhere. My mind was thinking……hmmmmm babies maybe?
I first spotted the family May 20th, running around between our fountain pond along the property fence and along Lippincott’s Marina entrance drive on the other side of the fence. They are absolutely adorable!!
Killdeer Parent
Killdeer and baby
Killdeer Family
Killdeer family
I’ve been watching them since when they are out and about, but have kept my distance as Dr. & Mrs. Killdeer have become quite fiesty and protective as they should be. Here’s a few more shots of them in their protective stance from the last few days. The chicks were not in sight.
Dr. Killdeer
The Mrs.
Dr. Killdeer giving me a piece of his mind!
Dr. Killdeer – Smiling because I told him I was leaving!
For those in the community, be careful driving in and out that you don’t run over a little one! Thank you!
And thank you all for stopping by, I appreciate you!
New Feathered-Friends’ Captures
Due to time constraints, I’m actually still overwhelmed with several of my ‘regular’ bird species’ photos that I really want to share; but as all birders know, new photo captures are more exciting to share because they’re exciting to the birder to add to their ‘count’ of species. 🙂 When I started this blog, it was dedicated to chronicling the life of our osprey pair located 150 feet from my balcony. But with our Oliver & Olivia a no-show this season (so disappointing!), my daily ‘osprey’ time has diminished, allowing my eyes to open wider to the other birds and wildlife that live during the osprey season around our Oyster Cove community.
With the world of blogging, I’ve ‘met’ many birder bloggers who track their species & have awesome counts, ranging from annual lists, to lifer lists, to specific area lists, and more! These great birders have piqued my curiosity and have me wondering just how many have I sighted and captured? Obviously, no where near my friends, but I’ve got to start somewhere, right? So I’ve decided to jump on the bird bandwagon to create two lists, one for my captures within Oyster Cove, and another one for my lifer list. Soon I’ll post those numbers with a photo page to show my pathetic count, which will make me work harder to sight new ones and increase those numbers! 😉
First, if I have identified a bird incorrectly, please PLEASE correct me! I’ll be the first to thank you! I am indeed a beginning amateur with birds and rely heavily on books, the web, and fellow bloggers’ photos and postings; so I do try my best, but know I can and will make mistakes.
So back to new birds for my lists! In the last couple weeks, I’ve captured four species within Oyster Cove that I’ve not photographed before. The first one is a Grey Catbird who was perched over by the marina early one morning during my ‘loop’.
Grey Catbird
Also by the marina but during the evening of another day, I had a Rock Dove fly by me and land on power lines above, with an eye still on me.
Rock Dove
Rock Dove
Rock Dove
My third is of the Cooper’s Hawk, who flew out in front of me from over the roof while I was on my balcony. I was actually photographing an eagle off to my left (later post!) when the hawk appeared. He was being chased & harassed by a black bird. I only got three quick shots, with my next ‘best’ one not so great, and minus the blackbird. But it counts, right?!!
Cooper’s Hawk
My fourth is the American Goldfinch, which I also captured from my balcony early Saturday morning. Two males and a female flew towards me from CBEC across the water and landed just below me. I’ll admit my first dozen shots were terrible because I was so excited and was shooting hand-held so they were blurry-city! I tried to settle down and did manage to get a few goods ones. The first shot is a male who was the ‘outsider’ in the threesome.
American Goldfinch (male) – the ‘outsider’
American Goldfinches (two males, one female) – Far left male is the ‘outsider’
American Goldfinches – the male ‘outsider’ decides to try & impress the female, which doesn’t work, so he flies off.
American Goldfinches (female & male ) – the love birds
Finally, not a bird photo but I thought cute to share. I’ve watched this gal and her dog jet-ski many times last summer around Marshy Creek from my balcony, and this past weekend they were out for the beginning of another season of fun. The dog really does seem to enjoy it, and I get a kick out of watching them. You should see them do circles!! And for the record, I’ve never seen them fall off, the girl does not get crazy as some jet-skiers do.
Jet-Skiing Dog and buddy
So those were four new birds for my lists. I hope you enjoyed them and the jet-skiing dog, and as always thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Oyster Cove Critters
The Oyster Cove community where I live is situated on a narrow peninsula surrounded by water, allowing us to experience birds galore which I enjoy sharing with you. As I meander around the community, I’ve been photographing some of the critters that we also have amongst us. Of course, we have the typical rabbits. I’ve yet to photograph one, I never have my camera with me when I see one. I had a neighbor tell me about a single deer that had gotten ‘trapped’ in our community and eventually jumped into the water and swam to shore on the other side. He made it okay she said! But about a week ago another neighbor said they had sighted a fox our vicinity. I’ve been looking for the fox in the early morning when I ‘loop’ before leaving for work, but haven’t sighted him. Hopefully, he has moved on to somewhere else, we really don’t want him around our other critters and birds!
First I’ll share Mr. Squirrel enjoying his breakfast.
Squirrel
We do have a few feral cats on the property. Our management doesn’t do anything about them, and we have some neighbors that feed them. So of course they are happy and have no reason to leave. They are very skittish so it’s almost impossible to get close to one; and 95% of the time, they stay hidden out of sight. I happen to catch this one out & about early one morning. He heard my camera shutter, looked up, and was gone! (UPDATE – His name is Lucky, he’s lived 10 years at OC, and he is neutered!)
“Lucky” a feral cat ‘resident’ of OC for 10 years! (thanks Lucy for info!)
A few weeks ago I had spotted an otter alongside our property by the tennis courts from the highway but would miss him by the time I cruised into the community and over there. With him enticing me and the weather being quite nice early in the mornings, when cruising my loop before work, I’ve been getting out of the car and walking down alongside the marsh and peering through the brush. Finally, one morning I spotted one! He was across the water inlet and as I started taking some photos, he began to swim across and directly at me. 🙂 (UPDATE – now I’m questioning my ID on this critter, is he an otter or muskrat?) (NEW UPDATE – it was a muskrat!)
Muskrat
Muskrat
Muskrat
He disappeared just below me and was gone. I don’t even think he saw me. As I looked up and around, another was approaching me.
Muskrat #2
Muskrat #2
Muskrat #2
And then he/she was gone! I wondered if they had a home below me in the embankment. I’ve continued to look for them in the mornings and have them several times since.
One evening from my balcony, I noticed there was some movement in the water to my right. At first, I thought it was a fish….until I saw all of him.
Snake
I don’t know snakes and tried to identify him with the next cropped shot but couldn’t. It was the closest crop I could do without any more blurriness. Probably too poor a shot but maybe someone might know what kind?
Snake
Finally, while photographing barn swallows and purple martins by the marina a few mornings ago, I happen to see a jelly fish in the water. As he rose to the top, the sunshine was shining nice on him, and I wondered if I could actually get a decent photo, so I tried, taking a few dozen. He continued to stay on top, pulsating around. Excuse the dirty water!
Jelly Fish
Jelly Fish
Jelly Fish
Jelly Fish
I haven’t had time to identify what type of jellyfish it was as yet. But he was pretty and the sunlight on him was perfect!
Well, that begins my photo collection of the critters that roam around our community, I hope you enjoyed them. And, as always, thank you very much for stopping by!
