An Autumn Peek at Eastern Neck NWR
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Here’s a few more recent autumn photos at Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge.
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Tubby Cove Boardwalk with sun rising behind me and a full moon setting
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Tubby Cove platform at sunrise
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Another angle of the platform and duck blind at sunrise
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From the above platform on a cloudy November 12th, both myself and others were lucky to see the first-of-the-season Tundra Swans.
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Tundra Swans at a distance
(my shot 500mm above, see cropped shot below)
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There they are, welcome back, Tundra Swans!
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Butterfly Trail
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Overlooking marshes
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Headquarters Pond – heavily laden with duck weed
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Tubby Cove Trail
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Overlooking the mouth of the Chester River and out to the Chesapeake Bay
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Dramatic skies on a chilly, breezy day at the refuge
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Boxes Point Trail
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This next photo is not mine but gives you a full aerial view of the 2,285 acres of Eastern Neck NWR.
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Aerial view of Eastern Neck NWR
Entrance is over the bridge at bottom left onto the island that boasts 9 miles of roads & trails
Photo credit – Will Parson
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And finally, always a welcomed sight when arriving at the refuge, the raptor who lives year-round there and helps manage it, the Bald Eagle.
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Bald Eagle
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I hope you enjoyed a few more autumn scenes from one of my favorite places to explore!
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Foggy Autumn Morning
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All was quiet a recent foggy autumn morning at Shipyard Creek Landing.
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Eagle Goes Fishing
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Out on the Chester River, we stopped to watch a Bald Eagle overhead. It was circling, searching the waters for fish.
It didn’t take long, the Eagle quickly went into a dive.
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Bald Eagle takes a sharp turn when spotting fish
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Shooting down in high-speed
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Slowing down….where’d they go?
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I see them again!
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I then lost the focus but got one more lucky shot as the eagle departed the water.
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Success with a mere appetizer
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I am sure this Eagle was soon back to fishing as that tiny fish couldn’t have satisfied for long!
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1-2-3 Cute As Can Be – #24
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Hang onto your seat ‘cuz you’ve got lots of adorable autumn cuties to cruise through!
Hopefully I am sharing one of your favorites. (Mine is the last photograph…..😉)
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Eastern Phoebe
Eastern Neck NWR
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Carolina Chickadee
My backyard
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Tufted Titmouse
My backyard
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Carolina Wren
My backyard
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White-breasted Nuthatch
My backyard
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Red-breasted Nuthatch
My backyard
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House Finch (male)
My backyard
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White-crowned Sparrow (dark-lored)
Eastern Neck NWR
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White-throated Sparrow
My backyard
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Swamp Sparrow
My backyard
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Song Sparrow
Eastern Neck NWR
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Dark-eyed Junco (also a sparrow)
Eastern Neck NWR
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Magnolia Warbler
My backyard
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Black-throated Green Warbler
My backyard
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Palm Warbler
Eastern Neck NWR
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Common Yellowthroat (also a warbler)
Eastern Neck NWR
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Yellow-rumped Warbler
Eastern Neck NWR
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This past Wednesday, I captured this next warbler who’s late passing through our area heading south to the Caribbean for the winter. Even eBird flagged it rare now. I had such a wonderful encounter with this cutie beauty that it gets a two-shot slot! 🙂
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Cape May Warbler
Eastern Neck NWR
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Cape May Warbler
Eastern Neck NWR
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And finally, my last photo to share, one more cute little peep! The most adorable of them all!! 🥰
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Me and my new Grandson #4!
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Peregrine Falcon (updated)
In my last post, I shared an autumn photo taken from the dock at Bogles Wharf at Eastern Neck NWR. It is one of many locations I visit 3-4 times a week at the refuge to look for my birds.
Just two days ago, I slowly pulled into an empty Bogles Wharf parking lot around 7:45 a.m. It was cloudy, windy, and 46°F (7°C).
To my startling surprise, I spotted a gorgeous Peregrine Falcon perched at the far end of the dock.
I slowly pulled up alongside the dock and photographed from my car while I can still hear myself saying, “please don’t fly, please don’t fly”.
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Peregrine Falcon
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Preening, fluffing, and just looking around, not worried about me. I shot off quite a few shots, then waited for any action.
A second surprise! The falcon showed me he was banded.
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“See? I have bands on both legs!”
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The right leg’s silver band should have a 9-digit federal number on it, but I could not obtain but two numbers with heavy processing. I have a clean shot of the left leg’s black/green band that shows 61CD. I’ve reported the sighting and supplied photos. Hopefully, I will hear back with info on who and where this falcon is from. (see update at end of post!)
After ten minutes, I was ready to give up on action, when a truck came barreling into the parking lot and pulled up right behind me. Ignoring the truck, I was ready for the falcon’s anticipated take-off.
The falcon went from fluffed up and adorable to sleek and powerful.
Wings were flapping!
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But no take-off. Wow, I was very surprised. The truck turned around and left.
The falcon went back to it’s original fluffy pose. ‘Cuz it was chilly, you know!
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I could see the raptor was back to comfortable, wanting some peace and rest.
As I slowly pulled away, I watched the falcon watch me leave. Sweet! From start to finish, my best encounter ever of this raptor!
UPDATE! On January 10, 2023, I received an email response to my reporting. This beautiful Peregrine Falcon is a female. She was banded before fledging in May 2022 by the State of Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife in Westborough. I received the following certificate. How cool is that!!
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Autumn at Eastern Neck NWR
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Autumn has finally arrived on Maryland’s eastern shore….
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Bogles Wharf dock, overlooking Durdin Creek
Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge
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Bogles Wharf parking lot
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Vote
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To my U.S. friends, make sure you cast your votes in Tuesday’s elections!
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Bald Eagle
Eastern Neck NWR
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1-2-3 Medium Bird Jubilee – #12
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A change on my 1-2-3 medium birds series, I’ll now just continue numbering the next post of this series, and share more than the original ‘three bird species’ per post.
I’ve heard it said, “The more, the merrier”! 😊
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American Robin
Length 7.9-11.0 inches (20-28 cm)
Weight 2.7-3.0 oz (77-85 g)
Wingspan 12.2-15.8 inches (31-40 cm)
My Backyard
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Blue Jay
Length 9.8-11.8 inches (25-30 cm)
Weight 2.5-3.5 oz (70-100 g)
Wingspan 13.4-16.9 inches (34-43 cm)
My Backyard
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Eastern Meadowlark
Length 7.5-10.2 inches (19-26 cm)
Weight 3.2-5.3 oz (90-150 g)
Wingspan 13.8-15.8 inches (35-40 cm)
Eastern Neck NWR
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Blue Grosbeak (female)
Length 5.9-6.3 inches (15-16 cm)
Weight 0.9-1.1 oz (26-31 g)
Wingspan 11.0 inches (28 cm)
Chesapeake Farms
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Gray Catbird
Length 8.3-9.4 inches (21-24 cm)
Weight 0.8-2.0 oz (23.2-56.5 g)
Wingspan 8.7-11.8 inches (22-30 cm)
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Northern Mockingbird
Length 8.3-10.2 inches (21-26 cm)
Weight 1.6-2.0 oz (45-58 g)
Wingspan 12.2-13.8 inches (31-35 cm)
Eastern Neck NWR
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Northern Cardinal (female)
Length 8.3-9.1 inches (21-23 cm)
Weight 1.5-1.7 oz (42-48 g)
Wingspan 9.8-12.2 inches (25-31 cm)
Eastern Neck NWR
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Sunset at Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge
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“The sky broke like an egg into full sunset and the water caught fire.”
— Pamela Hansford Johnson
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Sunset from Eastern Neck NWR, overlooking the Chester River out to the Chesapeake Bay
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A Few Maryland Dragonflies
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Except for a few here and there, our dragonflies have disappeared as we enter the autumn season. Here are some of our beauties from the past few months.
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Eastern Amberwing
Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge
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Needam’s Skimmer
Eastern Neck NWR
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Widow Skimmer
Chesapeake Farms
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Needam’s Skimmer
Eastern Neck NWR
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Needam’s Skimmer
Eastern Neck NWR
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Slaty Blue Skimmer
Chesapeake Farms
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Needam’s Skimmer or Orange Meadowhawk?
Eastern Neck NWR
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Bay Photos by Donna 