Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Bobolink

Linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

A short break from my vacation photos..

For this week's wild bird I am sharing a lifer from last year..The Bobolink a small songbird related to the blackbirds and orioles. I've never shared these images because of the lighting was so bad.. I hope to see the Bobolinks again this spring and summer to try for better photos..



The Bobolink has a white back with black underparts..no not underpants..and a straw-colored patch on it's head..





The Bobolink breeds in open grassy fields..the eggs are hidden on the ground and well hidden in dense vegetation..



Some of the bird clubs are asking the owners of the fields to delay mowing ( till mid July) to protect the eggs and nestlings. Also, farmland preservation is critical to provide nesting habitat for the Bobolinks.


The male sings a metallic and bubbly song. Once you hear this bird's song it will be one you do not forget.. This is a link to Cornell's Allaboutbirds.Bobolink
I am looking forward to the spring migration...and seeing some spring songbirds and the shorebirds..

I hope you enjoyed my wild bird post.. Till next week's wild bird post.. I wish you happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird and nature photos please visit:

 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes

Thanks to all of our hosts... Michelle for Nature Notes and Stewart of Wild Bird Wednesday.


  Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Florida trip, Part I


I am linking up with   Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday   They are both fun memes to participate in...I hope you can join in with the fun  and check out some of the participating posts.

On March 13th, hubby and I went on a two week road trip to Florida. I did the driving and I drove straight to our first night at Jacksonville Florida without stopping except for short breaks. Surprisingly the drive went fast, maybe because I was happy to leave the cold and snow behind me..LOL!

Our second night we moved down the Atlantic coast to our hotel near Saint Augustine Florida.  We spent the next day and half checking out various beaches and parks.. Besides the cool little coquina rock tidal pools, a pretty beach we saw a few shore birds like the cute Sanderlings..



Scenes from our walk along the beach at the Washington Oaks State Park. This park has two parts, one is the beach and across the street are the formal gardens.


Some of the Coquina Colums seen on the beach at Washington Oaks State Park. This is the largest cropping of the Coquina rock on the Atlantic Coast.


The pond, moss covered trees and plants are all looking lovely in Florida..  In the formal gardens are some beautiful oaks, hickory and magnolia trees. And beyond the hammock are the marshes of the Matanzas River.


Some scenes from walking the trail at the park.


Above are a few of the birds we saw at the Washington Oaks State Park. I hope you enjoyed my post. Thank you so much for stopping by for a visit. I appreciate the nice comments..

I use Pic Monkey to create my mosaics, you can use Pic Monkey free or pay for an upgraded version.
I hope you can join in on our fun at  Mosaic Monday and   Our World Tuesday

 Thanks to Judith our  host of Mosaic Monday and to the hosting group of Our World Tuesday: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia, Sandy and Jennifer.  I wish everyone a happy week ahead!

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Saturday's Critters #67

Saturday's Critters #67

Happy weekend, everyone!  It's Saturday and it's time to share your critters.. Any kind of critter will do, even a new or old post.. I appreciate everyone who has linked up in the past and for those who are linking in on this week's critter party. And of course I always appreciate my blogging friends stopping by just for a visit.

I had this post scheduled, just in case I did not make it home in time. So, I am still going with it.. But, we are home from our road trip to  Florida..sorry I was not able to visit most of your blog  post..I tried leaving comments from the hotel's wifi and my ipad... but that was super slow..


I am looking forward to seeing all the waders nesting in our area soon.. The photo above is from last year.


Before we left for our Florida trip I noticed our neighborhood Great Blue Herons have returned to their nest..I took this shot yesterday ..not the best shot thru the trees. As always thanks for visiting and thanks for the nice comments..Happy weekend!!





Thanks to Tex Theresa aka Tex, I was able to add this link up button and thanks to  Jennifer for creating my photo badge.



To see more beautiful birds and cute critters, check out these two memes below.

Also visit:  I'd-Rather-B-BirdinThanks to the gracious host: Anni.  Also check out Camera Critters. Thanks to Misty for hosting this fun meme.



Friday, March 27, 2015

Back Home

Hello everyone

Just a short post I am home now from our road trip to Florida.. Almost two weeks away.. Sorry I missed all your blog posts while I was away I have some catching up to do..Happy Friday!



The beach at Washington Oaks State Park in Florida..20 miles south of Saint Augustine.


The Coquina Columns made of sculptured sand..sedimentary circular rocks or bowls that create tidal pools.


Also seen at the Washington Oaks State Park..a Great Blue Heron waiting for some leftovers from the fisherman..


Washington Oaks State Park also had these great big beautiful trees with the spanish moss.

This is just a tease with some of my Florida photos.. I took over 1700 shots..

Have a happy day and weekend ahead..

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Saturday's Critters #66

Saturday's Critters #66

Happy weekend, everyone!  It's Saturday and it's time to share your critters.. Any kind of critter will do, even a new or old post.. I appreciate everyone who has linked up in the past and for those who are linking in on this week's critter party. And of course I always appreciate my blogging friends stopping by just for a visit.


I could be out birding.. so I will be playing catch up with everyone as soon as possible..



Thanks to Tex Theresa aka Tex, I was able to add this link up button and thanks to  Jennifer for creating my photo badge.



To see more beautiful birds and cute critters, check out these two memes below.

Also visit:  I'd-Rather-B-BirdinThanks to the gracious host: Anni.  Also check out Camera Critters. Thanks to Misty for hosting this fun meme.



Saturday, March 14, 2015

Saturday's Critters #65

Saturday's Critters #65

Happy weekend, everyone!  It's Saturday and it's time to share your critters.. Any kind of critter will do, even a new or old post.. I appreciate everyone who has linked up in the past and for those who are linking in on this week's critter party. And of course I always appreciate my blogging friends stopping by just for a visit.

I am sharing a couple of my yard birds for my critter post, I hope you enjoy.

I maybe away from the computer so I will be catching up with my comments and visits as soon as possible. Have a great weekend!



One of my pretty male Cardinals in the snow.


A puffy Blue Jay.

Coming up this week is St. Patrick's Day, I am sharing an Irish blessing..

May the Irish hills caress you.
May her lakes and rivers bless you.
May the luck of the Irish enfold you.
May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you.




Like the warmth of the sun
and the light of the day
May the luck of the Irish
shine bright on your way......Happy St. Patrick's Day!


Now I am looking forward to seeing your critters.. Thanks for stopping by and as always I appreciate your nice comments..






Thanks to Tex Theresa aka Tex, I was able to add this link up button and thanks to  Jennifer for creating my photo badge.



To see more beautiful birds and cute critters, check out these two memes below.

Also visit:  I'd-Rather-B-BirdinThanks to the gracious host: Anni.  Also check out Camera Critters. Thanks to Misty for hosting this fun meme.



Thursday, March 12, 2015

More from the Last Snow

Linking up with Skywatch Friday  and Good Fences  

Hello,  time for sharing some Skywatch photos for Skywatch Friday and some fence scenes for Tex's Good Fences memes. Some are recent photos and  I am sharing some more snowy scenes from our yard. I hope you enjoy.



Sunrise through the trees on March 8th.



Our snowy yard on March 6th...I am hoping this was our last snow storm..I am wishing for sunny warm days ahead...For Tex's Good Fence you can see our chain link fence covered with snow on the left.


One of my cute Pine Siskins...



Our snow covered trees, looking towards our neighbors fence.


The full moon on March 6th.


Hubby's sunset capture.


Another one of hubby's shots sunset near the lake.

Thanks for stopping by and for the nice comments..

To see more pretty skies from around the world please visit  Skywatch Friday
and check for more fence shots at Tex's Good Fences

Thanks to Theresa @ The Run*A*Round Ranch for hosting Good Fences and thanks to Sylvia, Yogi  and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday.    I wish everyone a happy day and weekend ahead..

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Osprey

Linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

For this week's wild bird I am featuring the Osprey..I am looking forward to seeing the Osprey's return to Maryland, which should be soon.


The Osprey is one bird that I have to stop and watch when I see them.. These are some various archived shots of the Ospreys taken in various places.


The Osprey is sometimes known as the Fish Eagle or Sea Hawk, River Hawk or Fish Hawk.


According to Wikipedia the Osprey tolerates a variety of habitats near a large body of water that provides a food supply.



Adult Osprey with young.


The Osprey's diet is mostly fish.


They are awesome birds to view, whether perched or in flight.. I hope you enjoyed my Osprey images and my wild bird post.. Till next week's wild bird post..

Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird and nature photos please visit:

 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes

Thanks to all of our hosts... Michelle for Nature Notes and Stewart of Wild Bird Wednesday.
 Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

Sunday, March 8, 2015

My World



I am linking up with   Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday   They are both fun memes to participate in...I hope you can join in with the fun  and check out some of the participating posts.

March 8th.....Happy International Women's Day!!

These are some scenes and images from my world during the past week.  It has been a cold snowy week. The last snow storm gave us about 6 more inches of snow..Luckily one of our neighbors help hubby plow our driveway.. We have great neighbors. I do have to say thanks to all the snow plow drivers in Maryland. They have done such a great job clearing our roads this winter..


Looking up our street, snow covered trees are pretty.  


I am preparing this post on Saturday March 7, Daylight savings time has started this weekend and it will help to enjoy the longer daylight hours. During the past week, I stayed warm and cozy in my house, watching my yard birds putting up with this cold winter and the snow storm. This week I've been walking on my treadmill, enjoying my yard birds and I tried a new cookie recipe..courtesy of   Lifeisgood   Hubby and I both loved the cookies..thanks Happyone!


After the latest snow storm, it was still cold but we had pretty blue skies and the full moon..The pine trees always look gorgeous with the snow..And the plow trucks cleared our street down to the blacktop..







The woodies are some of my favorite yard birds to watch..I am lucky to see the Downy Woodpeckers and the Redbellied Woodpeckers visit my feeders.. I hope to get out soon and take more photos other than from my yard.


A backyard scene, my birdhouse, my moose on the loose is covered with snow up to his antlers, behind the birdhouse are two overgrown blueberry bushes.. I am looking forward to some blueberries this summer.


I think this female Cardinal is as tired of winter as I am. We are both looking forward to Spring.. I hope you enjoyed my post. Thank you so much for stopping by for a visit. I appreciate the nice comments.. 

I use Pic Monkey to create my mosaics, you can use Pic Monkey free or pay for an upgraded version.
I hope you can join in on our fun at  Mosaic Monday and   Our World Tuesday

 Thanks to Judith our  host of Mosaic Monday and to the hosting group of Our World Tuesday: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia, Sandy and Jennifer.  I wish everyone a happy week ahead!

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Saturday's Critters #64

Saturday's Critters #64

Happy weekend, everyone! Looking forward to an extra hour of daylight, YEA!!! Daylight Savings time begins 3/8/15 tonight..spring forward an hour...

It's Saturday and it's time to share your critters.. Any kind of critter will do, even a new or old post.. I appreciate everyone who has linked up in the past and for those who are linking in on this week's critter party. And of course I always appreciate my blogging friends stopping by just for a visit.


For this week's critter I am sharing some of my hubby's photos from his walk to the lake.  I think I have mentioned that we have a reservoir nearby that we can walk to from our house.. On these cold days hubby does his walking outside, it is way too cold for me. Yes, call me a wimp. I just like warmer weather.. The lake is mostly frozen and on this day hubby came across a juvenile Bald Eagle on a fox..


Eagle on fox in the middle of the frozen lake..


I am not sure if the eagle came across the fox carcass or if the eagle took the fox down, these shots are how hubby found the scene..


It is a little long, you may not want to watch the whole video..My Youtube video of the birds I saw during the snowstorm on March 5..


While hubby is out walking in the cold and I am nice and warm walking inside and still able to watch my birds..Sorry about the music, I play various music CD's while I am walking..




Thanks to Tex Theresa aka Tex, I was able to add this link up button and thanks to  Jennifer for creating my photo badge.



To see more beautiful birds and cute critters, check out these two memes below.

Also visit:  I'd-Rather-B-BirdinThanks to the gracious host: Anni.  Also check out Camera Critters. Thanks to Misty for hosting this fun meme.

Happy Monday!

Wishing everyone a great day and a ha ppy new week! "One small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day." "T...