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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Cliff Swallow
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Eurasian Collared-Dove
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White Pelican
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Northern Flicker (Red-shafted)
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Black-billed Magpie
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Immature Bald Eagle
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Birds, in general, will look like their adult version by the end of their first year.
However, Bald Eagles take approximately five years to fully acquire their adult plumage. Between birth and adult, they have their ‘dirty-look’ years.
Last week I clicked off several shots of this immature Bald Eagle cruising across the sky. This eagle is either a 1.5 or 2.5 year old. During this year-span, their mottled-look can be quite different from eagle to eagle. Our Chesapeake Bay resident eagles hatch late February through March.
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Immature Bald Eagle
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Immature Bald Eagle
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(Photos taken in Rock Hall, Maryland)
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Three Engine Strong
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There are several salt-based mineral licks used by wildlife in Glacier NP, but none receive as much use by the mountain goats than the aptly named gulch called Goat Lick, found along Hwy. 2 that winds through the south-end of Glacier NP.
Long ago, a river’s current cut deeply into the easily eroded soil in this area, creating steep drop offs and exposing a mass of gray clay containing gypsum, kieserite and other sulfates craved by mountain goats and other wildlife.
Glacier NP’s mountain goats travel as far as four miles to get to Goat Lick, while others from more widely dispersed areas in the Flathead National Forest travel several times that distance. Approximately 115-165 mountain goats use Goat Lick year-round, with primary use April through August.
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Goat Lick with the Middle Fork of the Flathead River running through it’s base
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To the left of the above image is the Goat Lick Trestle Bridge and smoky skies.
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Goat Lick Trestle Bridge crossing Sheep Creek
(You can see better here the exposed gray clay containing those minerals the goats seek)
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Having the overlook pathway almost to ourselves, we hung around for a while, hoping to spot a mountain goat, but didn’t see any. In the distance though, I heard a faint train whistle and an increasing rumbling sound getting closer…..and closer…..I kept my lens on the trestle bridge.
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One Engine….
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Two Engine….
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Three Engine Strong!
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That was a cool ending to our visit here. Right place, right time for sure! 😊
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Somewhere in Kansas
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Actually, I know where we were in Kansas, a small remote town called Russell, for an overnight stop. We had a nice pull-thru away from others, and me with clear view of a few Chipping Sparrows flitting around from the trees to a puddle of water out my window.
Seemed to be a perfect time to stretch my legs! 😉
Alas, no bath-time shots, but I got a cool shot I love of one of the Chipping Sparrows perched on a chain-link fence.
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Chipping Sparrow with a caterpillar for dinner
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Thank goodness those Chipping Sparrows enticed me outside! I heard an unfamiliar bird call and looked up to see the bird crossing the sky.
Welcome to my bird lifer list #241 Mississippi Kite! 🤗 🤗
(I’ve finally hit a snag with me using the classic editor for everything, it’s not allowing me to change my side bar count. Bummer. I’ll work on that. 🧐 )
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Mississippi Kite – Lifer #241
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What was even more awesome, the kite landed in a nearby tree, much to the chattering delight (or scolding!) from another Mississippi Kite already perched there.
I couldn’t get any clear shots of both in one frame nor could I see a nest; but there was some serious discussions going on.
Then just as quickly, the landing kite went into launch mode and was back in flight.
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Mississippi Kite
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Mississippi Kite (my favorite shot!)
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It flew to another tree further away. Maybe where it was more quiet? 😉
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Mississippi Kite relocating to another tree
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I left them be and was headed back to our site to get our dinner going when I heard one of the kites back in the air and watched it land on a wire closer to me. Awesome!
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Mississippi Kite
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