Bald Eagles Visiting Oyster Cove Osprey Nest
This past week the migrating waterfowl increased more in numbers in our Oyster Cove area. The Canadian geese abound and are enjoying their protection over at CBEC every night, and early the next morning they’ll swim on by our osprey nest towards Kent Island where they take a gander at our little cove before taking flight for their day’s adventure.
In addition, our infamous gulls have continued to visit our osprey nest. Both yesterday and today, one enjoyed perching and even some snoozing.
Not sure if he’s been around this week, but I didn’t catch any glimpses of Blake, our visiting Great Blue Heron. But my treat of the week occurred today while I puttered around cooking for the holidays. They didn’t stay long but we had the pleasure of having two bald eagles perch on our osprey nest briefly. Here are several shots to enjoy! Note the larger of the two on the right would be the female eagle who like the female osprey are larger than their male partners.
They each gave me a stare-down while I photographed them as still as I could from my balcony. They most certainly knew I was there.
After a bit, the male took off from the nest.
After he left, the female eagle followed. Notice she grabbed some of the osprey nesting material to take with her. We all know Oliver, our osprey dad, would not be too happy! He works so hard every year to build back his family’s home.
Weren’t they beautiful? So majestic in stature! The bald eagles in our area are now busy bonding with their partners and working on their nests for their upcoming breeding season when they will mate and lay eggs late January/early February. Their nests can be massive, reaching 10 feet in diameter, 12 feet deep, and up to two tons in weight. Here’s a photo of an eagle’s nest on nearby Wye River that can be seen by boat that my husband and I’ve been watching the last couple years. Now that’s a nest!
As we wind through the hustle/bustle of the upcoming week, everyone please be safe and have fun! I may not be able to post again until after Christmas so I want to wish nothing but the best for you and your family as you celebrate the upcoming holidays. Merry Christmas my friends!
Blake In Action
Last week started out and continued with wind, cold, and lots or rain. Lots. Waterfowl was at a minimum around Oyster Cove, shelter became an absolute necessity and was sought elsewhere. In the distance, the honking of geese and the cooing of the tundra swan could be heard from CBEC across Marshy Creek. But that was it….
And then the sun arose and shone on Saturday. It was my day to decorate for Christmas. A quick glance outside around 9:30 a.m. after dragging everything out, and lo & behold I spotted Blake, our Great Blue Heron, down on the berm during an extreme low tide. Blake hung around for a couple of hours, fishing with huge success in the shallow waters. I saw him catch eight small fish in just a few minutes that had gotten caught up in small pools of water that formed within the rocks. It was easy-pickin’ for him! Although it was hard to not spend the entire time just watching him, I did steal a few moments here and there and captured many awesome shots. So many so, it was hard to select just a few to share, sorry. 🙂 So here’s Blake in action!
Blake, of course, kept his eye on his surroundings. To his right, a neighbor was approaching and Blake took notice.
Realizing they were coming right towards his area, he took off and turned to his left, flying low across the lawn in front of me. The following sequence shows well his massive wings. He was beautiful when he flew on by!
Blake returned a few minutes later and was back on the hunt for fish. A bit later I took another quick break and I got the next two shots.
Not sure what that was all about, he then continued to hunt and eat. As I decorated our Christmas tree, I could see Blake through the window; I decided to try the next shot through the tree to get a little creative and give Blake a little bit of a festive look.
Saturday afternoon, Blake had disappeared, and we had mallards all around our osprey nest. I was taking a break with camera in hand, when all the mallards took off quickly at once.
I’ve learned that sometimes when that happens, I’ve seen an eagle appear, which of course frightens the ducks! And indeed this young bald eagle passed on by high in the sky.
He didn’t bother the ducks, and continued on over to Kent Island. The mallards circled back around and landed back where they were.
What an awesome Saturday it was for photo ops! I had a great time that day!
Sunday was no different, we had Canadian geese….
and of course the mallards. A couple solo shots…
I saw no sign of Blake all day, but a gull enjoyed the warm sun rays while perching for quite a while on our osprey nest.
I can imagine our osprey nest had more activity around it since we had another sunny, calm day today. I didn’t arrive home until sunset and I could hear the waterfowl calling in the distance as I watched the final light dipping in the horizon. It’s usually the clouds that create interesting sunsets as this one did, and with the calm/no winds, the reflections were astonishing. The next four photos were taken over a 25 minute period. It was a beautiful moment in time to end a great day!
As we wind down to the final two weeks before the holidays, everyone please be safe out there in the hustle-bustle! And in your busy travels, thank you for taking the time to stop by to visit our Oyster Cove osprey nest surroundings with Blake and I!
Along With The Geese & Tundra Swans, Those Cute Buffleheads Are Back!
Our area experienced 10-15 mph windy conditions this past week, which kept waterfowl activity to a minimum along our berm and around our osprey nest. But in the distance, you could hear geese and tundra swans, both arriving in the area more and more each day. By Thursday, our conditions had calmed and the mallards were back hoping for a hand-out along the berm from a friendly neighbor. Friday morning’s sunrise was beautiful and I could see our waters and skies dotted with our migrating visitors. A couple of distinct black and white ducks out past the nest caught my eye; my binoculars confirmed buffleheads have begun their return to us for the winter! These are the smallest ducks in North America, getting no larger than 13 1/2 inches. Buffleheads breed in the summer from Alaska and across Canada, and winters along both the east and west coasts and interior lakes/rivers in the United States. These to me are the cutest of the waterfowl, with the males sporting a ‘tuxedo-look’ and comically scooting on the water as much as 15-20 feet as they land.
Two more males arrived to join the three as they made their way past our osprey nest.
Then a sixth male bufflehead landed and met the five; they all then swam over to CBEC.
Both yesterday and today, I again spotted a small group of male buffleheads. Within the next month, both males and females will be abundant. I was also excited to see Blake the Blue Heron yesterday, the only time this week. He was at the base of the osprey nest and walked to the right along the berm, searching for food.
Mallards swam around Blake, neither caring about the other’s presence.
Blake didn’t seem to have much luck at spotting any fish for dinner and took flight over to the point for another try.
In the evenings, the Canadian geese are arriving by large numbers in search of Marshy Creek’s and CBEC’s protective coves.
And each morning as they rise with the sun, they begin their honking and come swimming out of Marshy Creek, making their way to the open waters before taking flight for their day’s journey. Yesterday as a group made their way past our osprey nest, some split off to follow a lead goose to investigate our cove. The majority continued heading towards the Narrows.
There was one particular goose who apparently didn’t like the other goose leading them in, so he went into high speed and passed the others to try to be the lead.
I lost track and can’t confirmed which leader made it first to perch on the berm to be the ‘looker’.
The larger group of geese began gathering closer and honking, which alerted the smaller group to head back out to merge back into the group. And then they took flight!
A male and female mallard traveling along at sunrise as the world awakens.
Finally, walking along our community path, I was in awe at the summer flowers that are still blooming. The recent couple of frosts have definitely begun their damage as winter arrives, but there are still quite a few survivors. Here’s a little brightness for your day!
Enjoy your week and as always, thank you for visiting my blog!
Blackwater Wildlife Refuge & CBEC
A couple of weekends ago we visited and enjoyed the spectacular beauty of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (BNWR). Geese, tundra swan, eagles, Great blue heron, egrets, and many ducks were just a few of the sightings. BNWR will be host to a huge variety of migratory birds that come to winter throughout the next several months. You must visit if you can! Here are a few photos from our visit on November 12th.
To see several more photos from this trip, visit my Blackwater Refuge photo page under the Photo Gallery tab found at the top or you can click HERE for a quick jump to that page.
It’s been a month now, but I also escaped over to CBEC for a couple hours to hike around their pond and enjoy the serene beauty there. Here’s a few photos from that visit.
To see several more photos from my visit at CBEC, visit my Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center photo page under the Photo Gallery tab found at the top or you can click HERE for a quick jump.
If you love bird-watching and nature, visit both of these places soon!
Blake The Blue Heron’s Still Hangin’ Around
Blake the Blue Heron made several appearances this past week over at the marshy point where he’s more likely to be seen these days. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Blake at our osprey nest base. A few days ago he appeared as if he were going to land at the base but made a quick change of plans as I caught him doing a fly-by as he headed over to the point to spend some time hanging out and to do a little fishing.
At first I wondered if he saw me and made the change in plans. Then I picked up on the distinct calling of a bald eagle over from the CBEC/Marshy Creek area where Blake had flown from. When I finally spotted the eagle, he was circling down and landed on Lipincott’s channel marker for only a couple minutes before heading over to CBEC to perch for over an hour. Maybe it was the eagle’s presence that made Blake continue past on by the nest.
For those in the community with binoculars, that clump of trees is a favorite perching area to catch a glimpse of CBEC’s bald eagles over the fall/winter months. Note the osprey nest platform in the water to the right for zooming in on the location.
Last night we had another awesome sunset…..
And this morning another gorgeous sunrise over CBEC.
After the sun rose before the day’s overcast descended on us, it shined bright on the water at the berm, appearing as if it were liquid gold. It was pretty cool-looking!
As always, thank you for taking the time to stop by my photo blog to check out the on-goings of my little world around an osprey nest and the surrounding Eastern Shore of Maryland. I enjoy sharing them with you and appreciate your comments and likes!
A Quiet Week At Oyster Cove
We had a quiet week here at Oyster Cove. This past Monday evening, we enjoyed another spectacular sunset here at Oyster Cove. Yes, I am a sucker for a sunset shot. 🙂 Although this recent time change doesn’t work in my favor now to be home in time to capture them…..it’s getting out of the office in time to make it, lol.
The first photo were taken at 4:45 pm Monday evening. The three vertical lines are vapor trails from three jets that made their way towards the setting sun.
You never know whether a sunset will continue to just fizzle out for the night or give way to more beauty and brightness which is what Monday’s sunset did. This next photo was taken at 5:06 pm.
We had rains and wind Tuesday and Wednesday, keeping everything quiet and remote. The rains stopped and Thursday was sunny and bright. Coming home, I enjoyed our skies present another interesting sunset. I made it home after the sun had dipped below the horizon, and I watched as the cloud illuminated as if the sun was behind it. While growing up, we called these ‘sundogs’.
Friday morning before departing, I was pleasantly surprised to see Blake the Blue Heron off to my left along our berm. He was puffed up to keep warm in the windy cool conditions. I had only seen him one other time during the week.
Yesterday was another bright & beautiful breezy day. An early morning perch was enjoyed by a gull on our osprey nest, enjoyed enough to sit-and-stay for a while.
Saturday was a bit chilly with the wind but that didn’t stop my 5 1/2 month old grandson and I from taking a walk around the waterside path of the community in the afternoon. The ducks were busy coming in to the cove just to the right of our nest, hoping someone had seed to toss to them. These two photos also give you a glimpse of our OC osprey nest platform in the background.
After rounding the community between the two marinas, we came across a great blue heron along the berm, keeping an eye on us as he stood motionless. After stopping to watch, we proceeded which did scare him enough to fly away. He wasn’t our ‘Blake’ who has been visiting our osprey nest area for the last 12 weeks, his body was smaller and his chest was not the dark rusty-look Blake sports.
As we continued and made our way towards our community entrance, I photographed a few flowers to practice macro shooting. The breezy conditions didn’t help, but I got one I really liked.
Our entrance tree…..
Although I’ve been determined to keep this a wildlife, nature & local photo blog (and it’s been hard with the hundreds of awesome shots I’ve taken to date of him! LOL), I gotta share a photo of my walking buddy and grandson, Benjamin. A keepsake for me, it was our ‘first’ nature walk together! 🙂
Finally, as we all know, Christmas is around the corner, and Santa made his merry appearance last night in our local Kent Narrows’ Christmas boat parade. I learned a big lesson on NEVER leaving again without my spare battery, but I did manage to get a few shots of some of the nine decorated boats and the fire boat that led the parade with Santa, before it stopped!
The decorating was awesome and enjoyed by the crowds that lined the shores and restaurant windows to catch a view!
As Our Fall Season Changes
This past week we have begun to feel the early morning and early evening cooler crispness in the air. The trees have been performing their fall fashion showcase. A continuation of incoming and passing-through migrating birds are in the air. In the distance, you can hear their distinct calls as the area continues to change with the season.
(In the above photo, front tree line to the far left, can you see the bald eagle perched in the tree top? He’s tiny in the photo but there!)
Blake the Blue Heron still visits but I’ve seen him more now over at the point. When he took flight two different times, he turned west and went towards Kent Island instead of coming my way to the osprey nest.
But we are having more regular visits to the nest by different gulls.
One gull caught a small crab and pecked & devoured him on the walking path off to the left of our osprey nest.
And, course, we have the cormorants and mallards. It seems to be ‘their’ area for now, until our wintering species arrive and settle in.
These fellas were sunning on a neighbor’s kayak moored in the cove, a continuous favorite perch for them….and unfortunately a mess for our neighbor!
With the recent cooler temperature changes, it gave way for another beautiful calm sunrise this week over CBEC.
The next day another clear morning sunrise gave way late-morning to a fog cloud that rolled directly at Oyster Cove from the southeast. Fog is normal in the spring and fall along the water, but this huge low fog cloud was amazing to watch as it came slowly towards and then engulfed us for almost three hours before burning off early afternoon.
Sunsets have been awesome this week as well. I especially liked the next one when I captured a gull flying through my shot.
This afternoon we had two wind surfers enjoying the windy conditions just beyond our nest. They were really cruising across the water, racing towards and zipping right by each other. It definitely doesn’t look easy!
And tonight’s sunset was another beautiful one!
It is truly amazing the different colors a sunset can produce each day.
Blake the Blue Heron Continues to Visit
So sorry, spare time has evaded me these last couple weeks, but rest assured the photo-snapping didn’t stop and we’re back, Blake the Blue Heron and I. 🙂 To our enjoyment, Blake has continued to stay around and visit us. As in the past ten weeks, he still keeps his vigil, absorbing the warm sun rays or doing a little feather preening while on our osprey nest…..
or at the base of the nest…..
…or over at our Oyster Cove point…..
…..along with doing a little fishing…..
Did you notice during the fish capture and digestion that Blake fluffed his feathers couple times? And with a toss & throw-back of his head, you could almost hear Blake gulping that little fish down!
Another cool sequence of Blake doing a touchdown-&-go on our nest. He had been over at the point and was spooked by a fishing boat slowly coming his way. Not sure what, but something made him change his mind on not staying on the nest as he squawked & flew away….
Another Blake departure, this time from the water.
What long legs and massive wings you have, Blake!
As you saw above in previous photos of Blake on the OC point, we do have our share of mallards in our area. They are always good for a comical shot!
Hey, look at me!
I know they are arriving in the area from hearing the distant ‘honking’, but here’s a first that I’ve seen this season, the migrating Canadian geese are dropping into our OC waters. They know they are safe here in our small cove year after year. And they know feedings from my neighbors are pretty good too. Let the winter noise begin! I love it!
Finally, we have locally enjoyed several gorgeous sunrises and sunsets this past two weeks. Here’s a few pretty shots. Everyone loves the beauty of a sunrise….
and the warm, dreamy feeling of sunset.
“The sunrise is God’s greeting. The sunset, his signature.”
~Author Unknown
Herons & Egrets
Herons and egrets are abundant in our area year around and can strike some awesome poses! Here are some of my favorite shots…..
It took that Great Blue Heron a total of 12 minutes from capture to final swallow!
Thank you for viewing this gallery, I hope you enjoyed!
Oyster Cove’s Blake the Blue Heron
The Great Blue Heron I’ve been posting about has been visiting our osprey nest since early September, he’s become such a great fixture and enjoyment for us that I felt he needed a name! So yes, he is now Blake the Blue Heron. 🙂 Almost every morning before sunrise and barely visible, Blake the Blue Heron is already perched on our osprey nest, preening himself, ready for his day to begin. I’m guessing Blake’s a male, I captured him Sunday watching and then following after another Great Blue Heron over to CBEC where they descended down into the trees. Hmmm….
I was eager to post the next photos of Blake the Blue Heron that I took yesterday just before 5 pm. Watching him just sitting on the nest being his handsome-self, I noticed a kayak coming towards him. Although Blake had his back to them, he was fully aware they were approaching as well. I realized I had a ‘photo op’ of action setting up before me, which is what I’m always wishing for! 🙂 I immediately started snapping and took about 30 photos total; here are a few to show Blake’s reaction. He was quite verbal as you can tell with his mouth squawking as he flew directly at the kayakers, much to their and my surprise! You can even see the dirt kicked up in the air on Blake’s take-off in the second shot.
I do believe Blake’s become a little possessive of his little Oyster Cove territory he’s occupied now for six weeks! LOL He continued on, turning to the right, and headed over to Kent Island out of sight. Thank you kayakers for coming by, I love someone or something passing by to cause a reaction for a shot that isn’t the norm! 🙂
Again this morning, Blake was on the nest before sunrise. Leaving later than normal, with the sky lighting up & Blake still on the nest, I did a final quick-look to see what Blake was up to. Glad I did, he immediately flew off the nest towards me and down onto our grass by the walking path. I’m beginning to think Blake likes to pose for the camera! LOL
I have never saw him come over the rocks to the grass so I thought that was pretty cool. Blake continued to walk on the grass along the berm, then flew up and over to the point where he landed to do a little fishing. He likes visiting this spot a lot too.
Blake is one entertaining Blue Heron!
He is one of many I’ve photographed. Following this post, I will be posting another Photo Gallery page of my previous favorite heron and egret photos. I hope you enjoy them.
Bay Photos by Donna 