Five On The Wing – #34
Continuing my series of five bird species captured in flight!
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Ring-billed Gull
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Buffleheads (females)
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Wood Duck (male)
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Snow Geese
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Canada Geese
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Canada Geese taking flight
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1-2-3 Birds and Berries – #5
It’s about time to share more bird captures with berries as an added bonus in the composition!
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American Robin
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Yellow-rumped Warbler
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White-throated Sparrow
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Chipping Sparrow
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Northern Mockingbird
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European Starling
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Farewell Tundra Swan
Sharing a final post this season on the elegant Tundra Swans, I’m thinking no one will mind that.
These gorgeous swans are presently departing our region and beginning their long trek home to the Arctic tundra where they will breed and live directly on the ice.
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What a joy to see and listen to these huge birds as they live on the Chesapeake Bay and it’s tributaries for the winter.
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Tundra Swan at sunrise
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A tiny male Bufflehead leads the flock!
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At 16-23 pounds and a wingspan of 66 inches (168 cm), to see them fly by in close range is astounding.
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Parents and their youngster
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When they are 2-3 years old, Tundra Swans will pair up for life. When they migrate south for the winter, they travel with their season’s young in large flocks. The family will stay together and return back to the arctic together, where the young will venture to flocks of other non-breeding swans until they reach breeding age, while their parents prepare to breed again.
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Family of Three
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Family of Six
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It just so happened the two sets of families above were headed for a head-on collision, with no one wanting to change course.
Then the ruckus began….
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Lots of bickering
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Ouch! A youngster from the 3-family attacked a youngster from the 5-family
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A quick get-away from an angered parent
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The Classic “Goosing”
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All settled quickly as the 3-Family decided to change course and go behind the 5-family to pass on by.
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One of the parents of the 3-Family still had to flex it’s wings for the win
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while the 5-Family could care less, lol
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One of the youngsters had to follow with its own wing stretch
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A few more of my favorite photos….
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Tundra Swan, Snow Geese, Canada Goose
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Farewell Tundra Swans
Until we meet again, November 2023!
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(All photos taken at Eastern Neck NWR, Rock Hall, Maryland)
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Tundra Swan Stretch
Even a swan has got to stay fit!
Tundra Swans
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“Here we go! And lift….”
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“Come on, keep lifting….”
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“Stretch that leg!”
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“And hold….2….3….4”
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What form! And they make it look so easy. 😊
(Photos taken at Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge, Rock Hall, Maryland)
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Duck Duck Goose – #1
Ready to play? 😉
Northern Pintail (male)
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American Wigeons (female, two males)
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Ring-necked Ducks (female, two males)
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Canada Geese
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Buffleheads
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Northern Shovelers
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American Black Duck
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Mallards
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Snow Goose
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Northern Shovelers
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Greater Scaup
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Lesser Scaup
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Common Goldeneye (female)
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Greater White-fronted Goose
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Red-breasted Mergansers
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Long-tailed Duck
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Green-winged Teal
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Ruddy Ducks
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Snow Geese – White and Blue Morph
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Wood Duck (male)
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Canvasback (male)
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Wood Ducks
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Canada Goose (leucistic)
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Mallards
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Most of the above ducks and geese are now into migration pattern heading north. It was a joy to host them here this winter around the Chesapeake Bay and Eastern Neck NWR!
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Eastern Neck NWR Sunrise
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Another beautiful sunrise taken at Eastern Neck NWR.
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Eastern Neck NWR bridge
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Thirty minutes later….
Bogles Wharf beach, overlooking Chester River
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Bogles Wharf Road
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“Nature unfolds her treasure at the first ray of sunrise. ”
– Kishore Bansal
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1-2-3 Cute As Can Be – #26
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Little bird, little bird, thank you for sharing the winter with me!
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Song Sparrow
Length: 4.7-6.7 in (12-17 cm)
Weight: 0.4-1.9 oz (12-53 g)
Wingspan: 7.1-9.4 in (18-24 cm)
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Swamp Sparrow
Length: 4.7-5.9 in (12-15 cm)
Weight: 0.5-0.8 oz (15-23 g)
Wingspan: 7.1-7.5 in (18-19 cm)
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White-throated Sparrow
Length: 6.3-7.1 in (16-18 cm)
Weight: 0.8-1.1 oz (22-32 g)
Wingspan: 7.9-9.1 in (20-23 cm)
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Dark-eyed Junco
Length: 5.5-6.3 in (14-16 cm)
Weight: 0.6-1.1 oz (18-30 g)
Wingspan: 7.1-9.8 in (18-25 cm)
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Tufted Titmouse
Length: 5.5-6.3 in (14-16 cm)
Weight: 0.6-0.9 oz (18-26 g)
Wingspan: 7.9-10.2 in (20-26 cm)
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Downy Woodpecker
Length: 5.5-6.7 in (14-17 cm)
Weight: 0.7-1.0 oz (21-28 g)
Wingspan: 9.8-11.8 in (25-30 cm)
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American Goldfinch
Length: 4.3-5.1 in (11-13 cm)
Weight: 0.4-0.7 oz (11-20 g)
Wingspan: 7.5-8.7 in (19-22 cm)
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Red-breasted Nuthatch
Length: 4.3 in (11 cm)
Weight: 0.3-0.5 oz (8-13 g)
Wingspan: 7.1-7.9 in (18-20 cm)
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White-breasted Nuthatch
Length: 5.1-5.5 in (13-14 cm)
Weight: 0.6-1.1 oz (18-30 g)
Wingspan: 7.9-10.6 in (20-27 cm)
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Golden-crowned Kinglet
Length: 3.1-4.3 in (8-11 cm)
Weight: 0.1-0.3 oz (4-8 g)
Wingspan: 5.5-7.1 in (14-18 cm)
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Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Length: 3.5-4.3 in (9-11 cm)
Weight: 0.2-0.3 oz (5-10 g)
Wingspan: 6.3-7.1 in (16-18 cm)
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Yellow-rumped Warbler
Length: 4.7-5.5 in (12-14 cm)
Weight: 0.4-0.5 oz (12-13 g)
Wingspan: 7.5-9.1 in (19-23 cm)
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Pine Warbler
Length: 5.1-5.5 in (13-14 cm)
Weight: 0.3-0.5 oz (9-15 g)
Wingspan: 7.5-9.1 in (19-23 cm)
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Once I saw a little bird
Come hop, hop, hop;
So I cried, “Little bird,
will you stop, stop, stop?”
I was going to the window
To say, “How do you do?”
But he shook his little tail,
And far away he flew.
by Walter Crane
(first published in “An Alphabet Of Old Friends” in 1874)
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Peregrine Falcon
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I recently shared a beautiful few minutes with an adult Peregrine Falcon I found perched along the dirt road to the Visitor’s Center at Eastern Neck NWR.
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Peregrine Falcon (adult)
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The Peregrine Falcon is found on all continents except Antarctica.
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Peregrine Falcon
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It was a partly cloudy morning and I saw blue sky was setting up to appear in the background. I moved my car up a little closer, very slowly.
Oh no, I thought, it’s going to fly; and I really didn’t want it to.
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Peregrine Falcon
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It must have heard me 😉 and settled back down.
The Peregrine Falcon is fast, averaging 25-34 mph (40-55 km/h) in traveling flight, and reaching speeds up to 69 mph (112 km/h) in direct pursuit of prey. Incredibly, it can hunt from heights over 0.62 miles (1 km), then speed-drop to its prey, reaching up to 200 mph (320 km/h).
A couple more shots and I slowly pulled away. Yes, with a smile a mile wide!
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Peregrine Falcon
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Five On The Wire – #11
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Let’s see who’s been enjoying those 360 degree views recently!
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House Sparrow (male)
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European Starling
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Brown-headed Nuthatch
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Belted Kingfisher (female)
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Eastern Bluebird (male)
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Happy Valentine’s Day 2023
Bay Photos by Donna 