Five On The Wing – #10
.
Five beautiful birds in flight! Here’s another post of my ‘five on the wing’ series I captured from my backyard.
.
Red-tailed Hawk
.
Belted Kingfisher
.
Common Grackle
.
House Sparrow
.
Bald Eagle
.
.
Osprey Wings
.
I watched and photographed one of our Ospreys hovering with steady wingbeats over the cove, searching for a meal.
Although she didn’t take a dive this time, it’s fascinating to see her intent focus and beautiful wingspans. Any fisherman will tell you, fishing is serious stuff!
.
Osprey searching for a fish
.
Osprey hovering, sees something?
.
Same hover, steady wingbeats, “Wait, is that a fish?”
.
Another hover angle, eyes to the water
.
Ospreys are excellent fishermen. Combining several indepth studies, Ospreys caught fish at least 1 in every 4 dives, with success rates sometimes as high as 70 percent. The average time Osprey spent hunting before making a catch was about 12 minutes.
This gal was just getting started!
.
.
More Backyard Feathered Friends
With Spring abounding more and more each visit to our lot, some birds I’ve photographed have now migrated north after having wintered here, some have newly arrived to spend the summer, and others are year-round residents.
Here are a couple species taken several weeks ago that have now left for their migration north.
Greater Scaup
(I believe “Greater” because the males’ heads shine iridescence green, a “Lesser” shines purple.)
.
Ruddy Duck (female)
.
And here are three bird species that have arrived this Spring.
Eastern Bluebird taking over our neighbor’s Purple Martin house
.
Osprey
.
Canada Goose Goslings
(these may be year-round residents too 🙂 )
.
And finally, here are three photos of birds that live here year-round.
Bald Eagle mated pair across the creek
.
Song Sparrow
.
Belted Kingfisher
.
One more photo, a quick shot taken enroute one of the days of a pair of domestic Pekin ducks, too cute not to include…..well, they were quite obliging with that fence! 😏
Pekin Ducks
.
.
Pelican Portraits
.
I love to see Brown Pelicans! It’s exciting that they are now starting to colonize and breed on the lower to mid Chesapeake Bay remote islands. There are so many words to describe them; I chose handsome, beautiful, unique….
Florida surely has their share, lucky them! Here are two Brown Pelican portraits I took this past January in Florida.
.
Brown Pelican (juvenile)
.
Brown Pelican (adult, nonbreeding)
.
.
Five On A Wire – #4
.
Sharing another series of five birds perched on a wire. They do love their 360° views on them!
The first two are both American Kestrels; one is a male, the other a female, for the bonus of comparison.
.
American Kestrel (male)
.
Males have slate blue on their wings, females do not.
.
American Kestrel (female)
.
Loggerhead Shrike
.
Palm Warbler
.
Red-shouldered Hawk
.
(All photos taken in Everglades City, Florida, January/February 2021)
.
.
A Dragonfly and Two Butterflies
.
Not birds, but they still have wings! 😏 Here’s three photos for those of you who love dragonflies and butterflies.
Generally, you would find a Halloween Pennant in wet habitats such as ponds, marshes and lakes, perched on vegetation. Well, this is certainly a different take….
.
Halloween Pennant
.
Of these next two butterflies, the common Gulf Fritillary was a favorite to follow (and distract me) while searching for birds.
.
Gulf Fritillary
.
It certainly was a challenge when I came across this next new-to-me little butterfly, a Cassius Blue. Tiny, with a wingspan of only 1/2 – 1 inch (15-25 mm), I photographed it for several minutes before it fluttered on and out of my reach. I got one lucky shot! 😃
.
Cassius Blue
.
(Photos taken in Florida, February & March 2021)
.
.
Five On The Wing – #9
.
Coming or going, birds are amazing in flight. Even if ‘from behind’. 😉
So without further adieu, here are five ‘butt’ shots that I thought turned out pretty and created interesting compositions.
.
Glossy Ibis “My Shadow”
.
Tricolored Heron “Twinkle Toes”
.
Bald Eagle “Low & Swift”
.
Crested Caracara “Takin’ A Hard Turn”
.
American White Pelican “Feet Illumination”
.
(All photos taken in Florida; exception Bald Eagle, taken in Maryland)
.
.
Snowy Egrets
.
Here are a few photos of the elegant Snowy Egret from this past winter in Florida I had missed and wanted to share.
.
Snowy Egret “Sleek and Suave”
.
“Snowy Egrets 1, 2, 3”
.
Snowy Egret “Focused”
.
Snowy Egret “Close-Up”
.
Snowy Egret “Twinkle Toes”
.
The Snowy Egrets who breed in the mid-Atlantic have been arriving. Here’s a photo not previously shared captured this time last year in Maryland of a Snowy Egret with its breeding colors around the beak beginning to appear along with those growing elegant plumes.
.
Snowy Egret “The Wind In My Hair”
.
.
Great Blue Heron
.
I am looking forward to exploring Eastern Neck NWR next year when we build nearby. It is a small, out of the way refuge that I’ve only visited a few times in prior years. It is especially known for the approximate 2,000 Tundra Swan that arrive late November and winter there until March.
Of course, I’ve already been down to Eastern Neck NWR a few times the past month, and I easily found this beautiful Great Blue Heron hanging out, waiting for Spring to arrive.
.
Great Blue Heron
.
.
Cattle Egret
.
A few weeks ago, a small flock of Cattle Egrets sporting their breeding colors were flying in to our community late afternoons to hunt everyone’s freshly manicured lawns for insects.
For over a week, I tried so many times to get out the door when I saw them come our way, but they were startled easily and would take flight before I could get lined up for a shot.
Finally, I got lucky with one worthy shot. 😏
.
Bay Photos by Donna 