1-2-3 Cute As Can Be – #4
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Little birds seem cuter, even when they are in their younger juvenile years. Here’s three in their first year’s life.
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Indigo Bunting (male juvenile)
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Mourning Dove (juvenile)
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House Sparrow (male juvenile)
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They are all on their way to adult plumage!
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Autumn at Eastern Neck NWR
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I’ve been in search of our autumn colors for the last couple weeks for some pretty shots.
These were all taken at Eastern Neck NWR on October 31st.
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Common Paper Wasp nest
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View of the Chesapeake Bay from Butterfly Garden Trail
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“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it,
and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.”
— George Eliot, The Writings of George Eliot, vol. 23 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1908), 71.
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Five On The Wing – #18
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Another of my five birds in flight series, all taken in recent weeks over our property.
This one has the added bonus theme of all being hawks! 😃
The first two are either a Cooper’s Hawk and/or a Sharp-shinned Hawk. Both of these hawks are so close in looks that I cannot feel 100% sure which either one is, I did give my thoughts on each shot.
If anyone feels confident on identifying either, I’d very much appreciate it!
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Sharp-shinned Hawk
(I’m leaning more to Sharp-shinned Hawk…small head even with wings, square tail, little legs/feet)
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Cooper’s Hawk
(I lean more to Cooper’s Hawk on this one…big legs/feet, big head out forward, white-tipped tail)
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Broad-winged Hawk
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Red-shouldered Hawk
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Red-tailed Hawk
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1-2-3 Cute As Can Be – #3
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Continuing my new series of three photos of three birds, the smaller, cuter ones!
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Eastern Phoebe
5.5-6.7 inches (14-17 cm)
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Field Sparrow
4.7-5.9 inches (12-15 cm)
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Eastern Bluebird (male)
6.3-8.3 inches (16-21 cm)
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Bonus photo! The Field Sparrows and Eastern Bluebirds were both in the Butterfly Garden at Eastern Neck NWR, and I lucked out on a photo of them both in one tree.
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Eastern Bluebird and Field Sparrow sharing a tree
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(All photos taken at Eastern Neck NWR, Rock Hall, MD)
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Camera – Don’t Leave Home Without It
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I ran an errand yesterday; and of course, I grabbed my camera bag on the way out the door.
You know…..just in case.
I knew enroute, there was no time to stop and spend some leisure time with nature.
But there’s ALWAYS time for a quick one-on-one moment along the way.
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White-tailed Deer
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That handsome buck was in the same spot thirty minutes later when I passed back by!
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Tundra Swan (my first sighting of the season)
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Through a clump of trees, I spotted the big whiteness of the Tundra Swan on a farm pond where Canada Geese were also hanging. I turned around to investigate further and was delighted to see my first this season.
And this one’s here a bit early! Our Tundra Swans normally arrive starting mid to end of November; several thousand will spend their winter here.
Do you also carry your camera everywhere you go? For that ‘just in case’ moment?
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Blackwater NWR Gallery
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I shared the Tropical Kingbird, and I shared the Eagle pair and their huge active nest in my last two posts from my two-hour visit to Blackwater NWR.
What else did I see? Here you go, in the order seen.
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Double-crested Cormorants
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Great Blue Heron
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Great Blue Heron (the bigger picture)
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Northern Shoveler (female) leading three Mallards and her partner
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Mallards
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Belted Kingfisher
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Great Blue Heron
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Great Blue Heron
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Bald Eagle
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Bald Eagle
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Northern Shovelers
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AnotherBald Eagle nest at the refuge with their webcam above it (see it?)
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Bald Eagle nest close-up
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Forster’s Terns and Laughing Gulls
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Forster’s Terns and Laughing Gulls – different angle
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Pied-billed Grebe
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Northern Mockingbird
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Great Blue Heron walking along the road ahead of me
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Great Egret
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Mallard (male)
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Bald Eagle
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Having not visited this refuge in a few years, it was great to be back and see the changes in the habitat and finding my old feathered friends. Getting a lifer with the Tropical Kingbird was certainly an added delight!
(all photos taken at Blackwater NWR, Cambridge, MD, on 11/1/21 from my car window)
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Eagles Nest at Blackwater NWR
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In my previous post I admitted driving 1.5 hours to chase a new lifer bird at Blackwater NWR, but I knew if I wasn’t successful in seeing or capturing the Tropical Kingbird, I would still have an awesome time with plenty of other birds to enjoy. There is never a bad day at this refuge and it’s approx. seven-mile paved wildlife drive!
A special delight I was looking forward to seeing is the refuge’s famous Bald Eagle nest and its year-round resident pair you’ll find towards the end of the drive on your left, across the water in plain sight.
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Bald Eagles and their home in a loblolly pine tree
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Although their nest is well-established, this Eagle pair will begin preparations in December for the nesting stage. Their eggs will be laid late January to early February. In 32-36 days, those eggs will hatch.
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Bald Eagles (male left, female right)
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After a little chatter from the female, the male took flight.
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Male Bald Eagle leaving nest
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Male Bald Eagle dropping into flight as female looks away
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Male Bald Eagle on a mission, heading to the river
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Bald Eagle (female) awaits his return, hopefully with a nice fish for her!
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Tropical Kingbird – Rare Maryland Sighting
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Yes, I’ll be the first to admit it. A local rare bird sighting had me twitching! 😁
Seen for three days at Blackwater NWR, I was on the road at dawn to drive the 1.5 hours in hopes to see and most importantly photograph it.
Welcome to my bird lifer list #247 the Tropical Kingbird! 🤗😊🤗
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Tropical Kingbird (lifer #247)
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On October 28th, this bird was first seen at the refuge and identified as a Couch’s Kingbird, which that in itself was rare and exciting for Maryland.
Several bird experts were onsite the morning of October 30th and were able to listen to it in song which verified and changed the identity to the even rarer Tropical Kingbird.
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Tropical Kingbird
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The Tropical Kingbird’s normal range is the middle of Central America down through most of South America and is quite common there, perching on wires, fences, and posts.
In more recent years, they’ve stretched their range to now include nesting just into southernmost Texas and Arizona.
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Tropical Kingbird singing
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My sighting at the refuge was across the pond canal behind the Visitor’s Center, and it was a windy 15+mph morning.
I read today it was easily seen on poles and wires at the Visitor’s Center parking lot, being quite the celebrity!
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Preening
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More Preening
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Fluff-up Shake
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Tropical Kingbird
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Tropical Kingbird in flight
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Tropical Kingbird
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If you made it this far on viewing this sunshiny beauty, sorry for the photo overload! Couldn’t help myself! 😉
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1-2-3 Cute As Can Be – #2
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Here’s post #2 of my new series of three photos of three little birds. Doing what they do best….being cute!
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Black-capped Chickadee
4.7-5.9 inches (12-15 cm)
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Dark-eyed Junco
5.5-6.3 inches (14-16 cm)
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Golden-crowned Kinglet
3.1-4.3 inches (8-11 cm)
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Adorable Downy Woodpecker
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It was a delight to first hear and then finally spot a Downy Woodpecker, tapping away on dried marsh reeds, going from one to another. Trying to get a shot in the reeds was hard, I got one decent to show the behavior.
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Downy Woodpecker (male)
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This adorable fella eventually moved to a tree trunk for easier shots, much to my delight!
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Downy Woodpecker (male identified by red nape that the female lacks)
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The Downy Woodpecker is the smallest woodpecker in North America at 5.5-6.7 inches (14-17 cm).
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Downy Woodpecker (male)
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Bay Photos by Donna 