Splish Splash, Taking A Bath!
The snow has melted substantially, especially with yesterday’s temps in the mid-50’s. It looks like we might be lucky for the next couple weeks with continued temps above freezing. It’s feeling like Spring is around the corner!
The birds are definitely loving the melt-down too. It’s much easier now to find food and water.
Who knew an American Robin could look adorable taking a bath in a puddle!
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“Excuse me, do you have towel service?”
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Critter Time
Going back to last summer and fall, here’s another post sharing more of my other wildlife hanging around our property, keeping residency with my birdies.
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Eastern Gray Squirrel
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Red Fox
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American Bullfrog
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Broad-headed Skink
(they make me jump every time they pop out around our back porch)
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Eastern Gray Squirrel
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and finally, back in July, coming out of the marsh and up in our yard, into my flower gardens, to dig several holes, was this turtle.
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Female Diamondback Terrapin
(digging a hole to lay eggs)
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I left the holes’ areas undisturbed and read that if any eggs were actually laid, they would hatch in September. The holes never showed any signs of any turtles hatching. Darn.
But I still have a fond memory of her with this sweet shot!
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Female Diamondback Terrapin
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Five On The Wing – #39
Five bird species wingin’ it!
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Tundra Swans
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Snow Geese
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Double-crested Cormorants
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Blue Jay
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Great Blue Heron
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“Goldilocks”
Going back into the fall, I had been standing still for a while, watching the little birds forage out in front of me, when a little Golden-crowned Kinglet popped out of the brush.
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It kept coming closer and closer, without seeing me. Such a special treat! And what beautiful, flowing golden-crown feathers. In some shots, there’s a hint of orange-red that usually only shines when they get excited.
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I had to give this cutie a special post to shine those lovely goldilocks!
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Shorebirds Terns Gulls – #2
Continuing with this new series, this time a collection of many of my local terns and gulls taken in the past year. See if you can see the identifying differences!
Many of these were photographed out on the Chesapeake Bay along rip-rap or on bulkhead pilings/docks, and not be seen commonly at my local wetlands, marshes, or inland marinas.
Let’s tern first!
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Forster’s Tern
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Common Terns
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Least Tern
(smallest tern in the world)
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Caspian Terns
(largest tern in the world)
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Royal Tern
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Gulls up!
Bonaparte’s Gull
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Laughing Gull
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Ring-billed Gull
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American Herring Gull
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Greater Black-backed Gull
(largest gull in the world)
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Lesser Black-backed Gull
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1-2-3 Medium Bird Jubilee – #22
Here’s another collection for my series showcasing medium-sized birds. These are my common winter birds that are right now in shelter, trying to endure the winter vortex that descended on Canada and the United States. Brrrrrrrr!
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Hermit Thrush
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Belted Kingfisher (female, ID’d by red band on chest)
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Cedar Waxwings
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Northern Cardinal (male)
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Northern Mockingbird
And a little fun…..
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Wading Birds – #1
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Here we go again! I’m beginning yet another bird series, this one on the taller, long-legged wading birds. Think herons, egrets, ibis.
In Maryland, most waders are here from spring to fall, then depart for migration, leaving us primarily the Great Blue Heron here over winter. So to begin, most will be favorites from this past spring/summer/fall, until I get into this year’s upcoming season. 😊
Let’s get this long-legged series started!
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Great Egret
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Snowy Egret
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Western Cattle Egret
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Black-necked Stilts
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Great Blue Heron
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Little Blue Heron
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Green Heron
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Tricolored Heron
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Glossy Ibis
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Snowy Egret, immature White Ibis, and two Black-necked Stilts
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All I need is my wading boots, and I’m out there with them! 😉
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Shorebirds Terns Gulls – #1
I’m beginning another bird series, this one on shorebirds, terns, and gulls. 🙂
Let’s begin this first post by flying back to some of my favorite fall photos of a variety of shorebirds that had briefly stopped by on their migration south.
Ruddy Turnstone
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White-rumped Sandpiper
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Semipalmated Sandpiper
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Least Sandpiper
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Pectoral Sandpiper
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Semipalmated Plover
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Hudsonian Godwit
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Wilson’s Phalarope
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Lesser Yellowlegs
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Greater Yellowlegs
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Sanderling
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My migrating shorebird life is good!
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Colored Snow Sparkles
Scanning the back yard shortly after sunrise, my eye caught some of snow glistening with colored sparkles.
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I learned snow sparkles are an optical phenomenon that occur when sunlight reflects and refracts through hexagonal ice crystals at the right angle of light, more profound in fresh dry snow. With the perfect angle, the sparkles will reflect different colors of the rainbow. This is the same effect that gives us sky rainbows and sun dogs.
Have you ever noticed colored snow sparkles before? I know it bedazzled me!
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Snow Birds
We recently received about 10 inches of snow. It was quite enchanting!
It was several days before I could walk my backyard and trails in hopes of capturing some birds with snow in their composition.
The afternoon was beautiful and so serene. All that was heard was the distant cackling sounds of Canada Geese and Tundra Swan out on Harris Creek.
What was that?
I can hear an occasional chirp here and there.
Where are you, birdies?
I flushed a Great Blue Heron from the above frozen pond’s edge. Sorry ’bout that.
Anyone else out here? I think so….
Northern Cardinal (male)
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Mockingbird
Song Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Northern Mockingbird
A few gave me a chance!
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Bay Photos by Donna 