1-2-3 Medium Bird Jubilee – #2
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Continuing with my new series of three photos of three handsomely beautiful medium-sized birds posing so nicely for me!
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American Kestrel
Length: 8.7-12.2 inches (22-31 cm)
Weight: 2.8-5.8 oz (80-165 g)
Wingspan: 20.1-24.0 inches (51-61 cm)
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Cedar Waxwing
Length: 5.5-6.7 inches (14-17 cm)
Weight: 1.1 oz (32 g)
Wingspan: 8.7-11.8 inches (22-30 cm)
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Blue Jay
Length: 9.8 inches (25-30 cm)
Weight: 2.5-3.5 oz (70-100 g)
Wingspan: 13.4-16.9 inches 34-43 cm)
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1-2-3 Cute As Can Be – #8
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Here’s my continuing series of three photos of three small bird species, being so adorably cute!
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House Wren
Length: 4.3-5.1 inches (11-13 cm)
Weight: 0.3-0.4 oz (10-12 g)
Wingspan: 5.9 inches (15 cm)
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Carolina Wren
Length: 4.7-5.5 inches (12-14 cm)
Weight: 0.6-0.8 oz (18-22 g)
Wingspan: 11.4 inches (29 cm)
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Yellow-rumped Warbler (female or immature)
Length: 4.7-5.5 inches (12-14 cm)
Weight: 0.4-0.5 oz (12-13 g)
Wingspan: 7.5-9.1 inches (19-23 cm)
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1-2-3 Medium Bird Jubilee – #1
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I take too many bird photos. There, I said. 😏 In case, you didn’t know. 😁
I’m enjoying doing my three-photo series that helps me share all my recent single favorites. So here’s starting another post series of sharing three bird species. This one is for those medium-sized birds that aren’t quite in the cute little birdie category. They fall into the more beautiful grouping with their striking markings and colors.
Starting off with the American Robin. I was trying for photos of them again this morning. They come in a flock, landing in my trees to take a break, calling out, making sure everyone’s accounted for. 😉 I must be a rest area. After a noisy bit, they’ll move on together, coming back another time and repeating above.
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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)
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Every single morning a flock of European Starlings arrive to my junipers and feast for a while before flocking off to their day’s next stop.
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European Starling
Length: 7.9-9.1 inches (20-23 cm)
Weight: 2.1-3.4 oz (60-96 g)
Wingspan: 12.2-15.8 inches (31-40 cm)
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It’s been a delight to still see the female Belted Kingfisher flying along or perched across our cove on a neighbor’s dock. She’s a cutie; but when you see her size, she’s not so little compared to the two above.
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Belted Kingfisher (female, ID’d by the rusty belt)
Length: 11.0-13.8 inches (28-35 cm)
Weight: 4.9-6.0 oz (140-170 g)
Wingspan: 18.9-22.8 inches (48-58 cm)
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Five On The Wing – #21
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Five birds in flight showing off their beautiful wingspans.
Let’s fly with these big birds!
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Double-breasted Cormorant
Wingspan 44.9-48.4 inches (114-123 cm)
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Great Egret
Wingspan 51.6-57.1 inches (131-145 cm)
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Great Blue Heron
Wingspan 65.8-79.1 inches (167-201 cm)
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Bald Eagle (immature)
Wingspan 72-90 inches (182cm-229cm)
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Bald Eagle (adult)
Wingspan 72-90 inches (182cm-229cm)
Airplane species and wingspan unknown
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So sorry, quick note on me missing again, it has been a roller coaster past couple weeks; too difficult to think about blogging. Thankfully, Dad pulled through the sepsis but still has several hurdles. He’s been transferred to an acute rehab facility where he has a long road still ahead of him. I am thankful I’ve been able to visit him a few times. Your prayers for my Dad have been greatly appreciated, I told him I had friends around the world praying and thinking of him. He said to tell you, “thank you”; and I know he truly meant it. And I do too; thank you, my friends. 🙏
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1-2-3 Cute As Can Be – #7
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Ready for three more adorably cute birds? 😃 These have the added theme “sparrows” to show some comparisons.
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House Sparrow (male)
5.9-6.7 inches (15-17 cm)
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Song Sparrow
4.7-6.7 inches (12-17 cm)
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How about a pair of playful sparrows!
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Field Sparrows
4.7-5.9 inches (12-15 cm)
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Eagles & Sticks – It’s Nest Building Time!
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The beginning of Bald Eagle mating season also means it’s construction time on building or renovating their nest from last year.
These photos are from the past month of the Eagles that live across the cove from our property. I cannot see the nest, but I know what ‘clump’ of loblolly pine trees it is in.
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Bald Eagle carrying nesting material
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Bald Eagle doing a fly-by to give me a closer shot, thanks!
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Another day, this time with a long stick. If this is the same male as the last photos, he was probably told to up his game on stick size, eh? 😉
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Bald Eagle carrying a long stick
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And then there was the time, when one of them came up from behind, flying over and out in front of me, not only startling me but giving me a chance at these cool shots.
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Bald Eagle passing over and out in front of me
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Bald Eagle making the turn to head to the nest
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Bald Eagle climbing high over the trees to the tall loblolly pines where the nest is hidden
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Bald Eagles mate for life and build some of the largest nests in the world in tall trees near rivers, bays, and wetland areas. About 60% of Eagle nests in the Chesapeake Bay region are located in mature loblolly pine trees at 80-110 feet above the ground. Nests are made of sticks but also contain grass, pine needles, and sometimes pieces of cornstalks. Eagles add to their nests each year, and after many years of successful nest building, their homes may grow to around 10 feet in diameter, 12 feet deep, with a weight of up to 2 tons.
Shot from a distance and heavily cropped, here’s one of the largest Eagle’s nests I’ve photographed, about 11 years ago on the Wye River on the Eastern Shore Maryland. Yes, they do get big!
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Bald Eagles – Love Is In The Air
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Our resident Bald Eagles remain together year-round, and it gets exciting to watch when they start spicing up their bond in flight during the fall season.
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Bald Eagles
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Bald Eagles
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This next pair was full of fun, chasing and teasing. I love their expressions!
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Bald Eagles playing together
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Bald Eagles
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Bald Eagle ‘chase’
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“Hey there, Sweetie!”
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Bald Eagle “love”
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I’m on a mission for the next couple months of capturing them during their flight mating ritual where they locks talons and cartwheel down to the earth. To see this is in person is truly a thrill!
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Canada Geese in Landing Form
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We have year-round Canada Geese, but their population increases substantially as the winter migrants arrive, which has been going on for several weeks now.
And there’s still more of them to come!
Have you ever watched Canada Geese when they’ve begun their descent to the ground or water? Sometimes they look a bit comical!
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Canada Geese landing #1
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Canada Geese landing #2
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Each goose thinking, “Oh boy, that space sure looks a little tight for all of us….”
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“Here We Come”
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“Flight, Stage Right”
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Canada Geese in the sky at sunset, in chaotic form and noise, trying to figure out where to safely drop down and land
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A side note–
So sorry for the sudden blog break without notice, my late comment replies, and my missed visits to your blogs. Both of our fathers have been in the hospital over the holidays. My father-in-law is back home and doing fine, thankfully.
My Dad, though, is not doing well. He was towards the end of an intense five-week chemo and radiation regimen for esophagus cancer diagnosed just weeks prior. He was admitted a couple days before Thanksgiving for being malnourished and dehydrated, and was going into sepsis, which he is still fighting. I am so worried, and am now not permitted back into the hospital to see him.
If you believe in the power of prayer, would you please say an extra one to include my Dad next time? He needs comfort and strength so much right now and the days ahead. Thank you kindly, my friends, I truly appreciate it. 🙏
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Five On The Wing – #20
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Another post of five bird species in flight, sharing their beautiful wingspans!
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Northern Cardinal (male)
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Rock Pigeon
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Golden-crowned Kinglet
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Northern Flicker, Yellow-shafted (male)
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Eastern Bluebird
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“A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because its trust is not on the branch but on its own wings.” ~ Charlie Wardle
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1-2-3 Cute As Can Be – #6
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Here’s my continuing series of three photos of three of the smaller bird species, being adorably cute!
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Tufted Titmouse
5.5-6.3 inches (14-16 cm)
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Dark-eyed Junco
5.5-6.3 inches (14-16 cm)
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Bay Photos by Donna 