Philadelphia Vireos
Before I get to those Eagle flight shots 😉, I’ve got to share some more excitement captured at Chesapeake Farms.
Welcome to my bird lifer list #243 Philadelphia Vireo! 🤗💃🤗
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Philadelphia Vireo (my lifer #243)
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Maybe a dozen or so Philadelphia Vireos were flitting about in a tree, then dropping to the grass to forage.
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Philadelphia Vireo
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Philadelphia Vireo
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I did not do so well with photos. They were so fast, and I wasn’t haven’t the best of luck with shooting out my car window. But, hey, it’s a lifer I’ve documented with a photo ID, so I’m very proud of that!
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Eagle Family and Their Marsh
The 40-acre marsh on Chesapeake Farms is filled with tree stumps and logs, perfect for wildlife perching to eat, rest or fish.
I’m not sure who outnumbered who at any given moment while viewing the marsh one morning, the Great Blue Herons or the Bald Eagles.
I even scored two shots of both in one frame, which was neat to show size comparison between the two species.
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Great Blue Heron stalking behind a Bald Eagle
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Great Blue Heron stalking behind an immature Bald Eagle
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My e-bird daily email had told me seven Eagles had been seen at once here. That’s what drew me to want to visit to check out. At one time, I was fortunate to see six Bald Eagles either perched or flying. It was very exciting!
As I watched them flying during my two visits, I noticed several times one of the Eagles would fly down to land into the same area of pine trees. I suspect there is a nest in there.
Here are more perching photos.
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Bald Eagles
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Bald Eagle (immature)
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Bald Eagle
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Bald Eagle (immature)
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Bald Eagle
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I was also able to get lots of flight photos. I guess you know what else I will be sharing soon! 😉
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Great Blue Heron
Chesapeake Farms includes a 40-acre marsh that is scattered with tree stumps and logs. Perfect habitat perches for birds.
I came to a slow stop when I spotted this Great Blue Heron as he walked along a log.
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Great Blue Heron
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And then the sun broke through the clouds, yes!
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Great Blue Heron
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The heron departed the log and kept on with its slow pace, stalking the waters.
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Great Blue Heron
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Capturing the classic ‘one-foot up’ stalking pose is always a bonus!
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Great Blue Heron
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Great Blue Heron
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This heron knew exactly where s/he was going, to a fishing hole to the right of the above photo. Breakfast time!
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Gray Catbird
I’ve just discovered a new-to-me wildlife drive that winds through a 3,300-acre private farm called Chesapeake Farms in the Rock Hall area. Since 1997 through the Conservation Fund and American Farmland Trust, this farm has been devoted to the development, evaluation, and demonstration of advanced agricultural practices and wildlife management techniques.
It is only four miles from our home and opened daily from April 10 to October 10, dawn to dusk. You are not allowed to get out of your car for any photos or hiking. The wildlife and property is to be respected.
Few days ago when my birding itch had begun and an e-bird daily email mentioned this place by a birder, I first went a late afternoon to check it out, see if it was for me.
Oh my gosh, I just had to return the next morning! I will be sharing lots of photos from this wildlife habitat farm with its fields, ponds, and marshes.
My first photos taken were soon after I had stopped to take one of their ‘driving tour’ maps made available in a weather-proof box.
As I was looking at the map, a Gray Catbird flew out of its hiding to a branch in the thicket outside my car window to greet me. How delightful!
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Gray Catbird
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Gray Catbird
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And then I was asked to move on….
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Gray Catbird stare-down
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I took the hint and continued slowly on down the wildlife drive for many more surprises! 😉
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Black-throated Green Warblers
We’ve been home a month, and boy oh boy, I’ve had the itch. I finally took some time this past week to get back to birding here on our beloved Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Let’s just get to it and start with some excitement of mine!
A few mornings ago, I was sitting next to my window with my laptop, visiting your blogs 😊, when I caught sight of a flock of small birds, flitting in the tops of our trees.
Welcome to my bird lifer list #242 Black-throated Green Warbler!
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Black-throated Green Warbler – My Lifer #242
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Black-throated Green Warbler
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Warblers do as warblers do…..they don’t stay still for long!
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Black-throated Green Warbler
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Black-throated Green Warbler
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Black-throated Green Warbler
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Black-throated Green Warbler
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Black-throated Green Warbler
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What a challenging and oh-so thrilling 15-minute visitation, I loved it! 💃🤗😊
Oh yeah! Donna is back to birding! More to come!!
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Black-bellied Whistling Ducks
While out west this past summer, I still kept up with some of the rarities showing up back home in Maryland and nearby Delaware. Roseate Spoonbills were the rave at Bombay Hook NWR in Delaware, and are still be reporting. (I’ve had no time to visit. 😕)
Another summer sensation has been (and still is) a small flock of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks that arrived and stayed for the summer, hanging with the resident Mallards in a housing community’s retention pond outside Clayton, Delaware. How lucky for me they were less than a half-mile from our daughter’s home!
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Black-bellied Whistling Ducks
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Black-bellied Whistling Ducks primarily live year-round in eastern South Carolina and Georgia, all of Florida, as well as other portions of Texas, Alabama, New Mexico, and Mexico where they are most abundant.
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Black-bellied Whistling Ducks
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Black-bellied Whistling Duck and his Cormorant buddy, with a Mallard looking on
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With their bright pink beaks, legs, and feet, they are an exotic beauty.
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Black-bellied Whistling Duck
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Black-bellied Whistling Duck
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Black-bellied Whistling Duck
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And just as their name suggests, these ducks do whistle while in flight.
Take a listen…..
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“Reflections” & one with something to say
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Kootenai Falls
Located on the Kootenai River near Libby, Montana, we hiked down established paths to Kootenai Falls, to view a sacred area of the Kootenai Indians.
The Kootenai Indians view the falls as the center of the world, a place where tribal members can commune with the spiritual forces that give direction to the tribe and to individual members.
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Kootenai Falls
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The calmly flowing Kootenai River suddenly picks up speed as elevation begins to drop with running rapids, eventually to Kootenai Falls which drops 300 feet over several hundred yards. The widest point of the falls is 1,000 feet. It is one of the largest free-flowing waterfalls in the northwest United States.
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Kootenai Falls
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Kootenai Falls is also where the majority of the 1994 movie, River Wild, starring Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon, was filmed.
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Kootenai Falls rapids
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It started to get tricky with our footing, so we didn’t venture any further along the trail to get closer to the top.
And there really was no need. From our standpoint, the vibrant colors and relaxing sounds were just gorgeous.
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Curved Train Tracks
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Along one of our hikes to see Kootenai Falls, we crossed a bridge over a pair of railroad tracks rounding a curve. It was heavily fenced so no one could throw anything from the bridge. It also prevented taking any photos.
After departing the bridge, I saw a ‘window’ through the heavy vegetation, and it was literally a stretch on my tippy-toes to try to frame the tracks. Smoky skies cover the distant Montana mountains.
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Train tracks rounding a curve near Libby, MT
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There’s something intriguing about train track rails with their lines and curves!
Did you know it takes clever geometry to keep train wheels on the tracks around a curve? An article in Popular Mechanics, helps explain.
Train wheels aren’t perfect cylinders. They’re beveled to make them wider on the inside. This means that when the train shifts left or right on the track, the diameter of the wheels can change. But because the wheels are connected by an axle, they still spin at the same rate. Effectively, this means that the wheels will travel different distances per revolution.
The wheel bevels are specifically designed so that when the train goes around a corner it stays on the tracks. The wheels that have to travel a greater distance have a greater diameter, and everything stays aligned. The end result is a train that stays on the tracks.
So this proves all that geometry in school was good for something! 😏
We trekked on past the railroad tracks down to Kootenai Falls which were absolutely stunning. You’ll see, next post!
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Heavens Peak, Glacier NP
When traveling east on the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier NP, one of the first mountains that dominates the skyline for miles and miles is Heavens Peak. It is located in the Livingston Range with an elevation of 8,991 feet (2,740 m).
For those capable, Heavens Peak provides several hiking routes that involve a long day of strenuous climbing to get to the summit.
It’s said each of these routes provide their own version of hell that you must conquer to make it, in addition to keeping an eye out for bear and moose, both who roam in large numbers in the area.
But once you get to the summit, the views are heavenly in all directions.
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Heavens Peak
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Heavens Peak has year-round snow. During our end of July visit, the sun’s glare with the smoky skies gave a spectacular sheen to the icy glacier walls. So much prettier than I could capture below. I can only imagine this scene without the smoke and haze.
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Heavens Peak from a closer viewpoint
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Dutch explorer Louie Meyer, a member of Lieutenant Colonel George Ahern’s 1890 U.S. Army expedition, is credited with giving Heavens Peak its name. This same peak is called “Red Bird” by the Kootenai tribe, and “Where God Lives” by the Blackfeet tribe.
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Five On The Wing – #14
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How about some more birds in flight? Here’s another of my series of five birds in flight, all captured this past July in Montana.
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Bay Photos by Donna 