Around the yard_ June 20

I am linking up with NF Winged   and  Skywatch Friday

June 20, 2013

Wow, another week has rolled on by and the days seem to go by faster and faster. I am sharing some scenes from around the yard and one sunset view from our lake. I have both sky shots for Skywatch Friday and some photos of my yardbirds for NF Winged.

This was one of my early morning sunrises on the way to work. The fog was turning colors from the sunrise.

The Gray Catbird is one of my frequent visitors. It likes the meal worms, sunflowers seeds and I think it likes the grape jelly.

One of my favorite visitors is the Downy Woodpeckers. I have a couple that visit my suet feeders.

The Carolina Chickadees are always fun to watch, I believe their babies have fledged. And they are bouncing all around the yard.

I think this Goldfinch has misplaced its comb.

This moon shot was taken on June 14 at 7:14PM , it is called the Waxing Crescent.

The shot above was courtesy of my hubby, a view of our lake at sunset.  Have you enjoyed my walk around the yard, the birds and sky? I hope to see you sharing your skies too.

Thanks for visiting my post and  blog and I always appreciate your comments.

Happy Skywatching  to everyone!
To see more pretty skies from around the world please visit  Skywatch Friday
and to see more of the winged critters check out NF Winged

Thanks to Sylvia, Yogi  and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday! Thanks to Monica the host of NF Winged.   I wish everyone a safe and happy weekend.

Little Blue Heron

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

Wednesday, June 18, 2013

 For this week's Wild Bird I am featuring the Little Blue Heron. It is one of my favorite herons that we see here in the USA. I am showing both the adults and the juvenile.

 It always surprised me that the juvenile Little Blue Heron is white and looks more like an Egret.  The juvenile is all white, except for dark wings tips and have dull greenish legs. The juveniles also have a olive-gray bill.

 The photo above has one juvenile Little Blue Heron mixed in the the adult Little Blue Herons.



The adult Little Blue Heron has a bi-colored bill, a deep blue body with a reddish head and neck. The Little Blue Heron and the Snowy Egret are both about 24 inches tall compared to the taller Great Egret which is 38 inches tall.

Reflection of a  Little Blue Heron.

This shot shows just how tall the Great Egret is compared to the smaller Little Blue Herons. I hope you enjoyed my Wild Bird post and the lovely Herons.

Thanks for stopping by and for leaving your nice comments. I always appreciate your visits.

Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.

Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday and thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes.
I wish everyone a happy week ahead and Happy Birding!

Irvine Nature center

  I am linking up with Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Happy Father's Day!

These photos were taken during last weekend's walk at the Irvine Nature Center. I have been there a few times with my bird club on walks and with my hubby. It has woodlands, fields and a marshy area.

A couple of my other posts on our visit to the Irvine Nature Center Le Contes-Sparrow and Birding Irvine Nature Center

Our walk at the nature center took us past the wigwam and the firepit. We also saw a lot of the Cabbage White Butterflies.

I loved walking along the trail next to the wildflowers. They were a bright cheery spot on the field. Do flowers make you happy and smile?

I am pretty sure this is an Eastern Wood-Pewee.

Seeing the Eastern Bluebirds is always a treat for me, they are one of my favorites. We also saw a lot of tree swallows and the Eastern Wood Pewee. I hope you enjoyed going on my walk and seeing the birds and wildflowers.


I hope you enjoyed my post and photos. Thanks for visiting my blog and post. I always appreciate your comments.
Join in on the fun and for more wonderful photos please visit  Mosaic Monday and more from  Our World Tuesday
 Thanks to our host: Mary 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!

Florida Raptors

I am linking up Camera Critters and I'd-Rather-B-Birdin.

Happy Father's Day!!

 These are some shots of the various raptors we saw while vacationing in Florida.

I am pretty sure this is the Red-tailed Hawk, it has the dark belly band.

 I believe this is the Red Shouldered Hawk

 A different Red Shouldered hawk sighting. My field guide says the Florida Red-Shouldered Hawk has a grayish head. What do you think, do you see a grayish head above?

 We saw the Swallow-tailed Kite often while we were on vacation. It was a cool bird for me to see and a lifer.

I hope you enjoyed my critter post. I hope everyone has a happy weekend. Thanks for stopping by and I always appreciate your comments. To see more beautiful photos and cute critters

 please visit:  Camera Critters and I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the gracious hosts Misty Dawn of Camera Critters and to Anni of I'd Rather-B-birdin.

Siesta Key, Florida

Linking up with NF Winged   and  Skywatch Friday

With this post I am taking you back to Florida, a lovely sunset at Siesta Key Beach and some birds from the area.

Above are a Ruddy Turnstone and a Sanderling seen on the Vienna Beach, Florida.

We saw lots of Pelicans flying by at the Vienna Beach.

I like this shot of the pier with the flag and pretty sky.  We also saw a group of dolphins swimming near the pier. They are always a happy sight for me to see.

This pelican was enjoying the Gulf of Mexico beautiful clear water.

Our sunset on the same day was seen at the Siesta Key Beach. A very pretty beach with beautiful sand.

Siesta Key beach is very popular and there were many people out enjoying the beach and sunset.

I really loved the clouds and the reflection in this photo above.

When I looked at the photo above it looks as though there is a hand holding the sun. I see a thumb and fingers? What do you see?

 After the sunset and heading back to our car I saw the last bird seen during our visit to Siesta Key. I believe this is a Semipalmated Plover.

I hope you enjoyed my birds and sunset. Thanks for visiting my post and  blog and I always appreciate your comments.

Happy Skywatching  to everyone!

To see more pretty skies from around the world please visit  Skywatch Friday
and to see more of the winged critters check out NF Winged

Thanks to Sylvia, Yogi  and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday! Thanks to Monica the host of NF Winged.  Also, thank you for stopping by to see my post. I wish everyone a safe and happy weekend.

Neighborhood breeding birds

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

I thought would show some of the breeding birds seen in my neighborhood. Most of these shots were taken in my backyard and they breed in the woods located on the side of my house and across the street in front of my house.

The Northern Parula seen in my yard and during a previous year one has been seen  tapping at my front windows. I guess trying to fight off a competitor. The Northern Parula builds a pendulum nest and lays 3-7 eggs.

This is a male Northern Parula, they have a pretty sound commonly heard thru-out the woods next to my house.

This is a shot of the back of a Scarlet Tanager, surprisingly seen at my feeder. I did not know they would eat seeds. They eat insects and fruit. The Scarlet Tanager breeds in a large forested area, their nest is built on a horizontal tree branch.

Above is the Scarlet Tanager seen perched in my weeping cherry tree. They are nesting in the woods next to my house, high up in the tree tops. The habitat is threatened due to more forest defragmentation. A solid tree canopy is preferred by the breeding Scarlet Tanager.

This is the Great-crested Flycatcher also seen in my weeping cherry tree. This flycatcher has a bright yellow belly.

The Great Crested Flycatcher breeds in a mixed forest and nest in a cavity of a tree. They will fill their nest with leaves, hair, trash and paper. I have seen them collecting Goldie Girl's hair my backyard.

This is the Indigo Bunting, a beautiful color blue and also a breeder bird for the neighborhood. The male displays this pretty bright blue to attract the females during the breeding season. They nest in dense shrubs or low trees. The female cares for the 1-4  eggs alone.

Above is the male Indigo Bunting perched on my weeping cherry tree. I am lucky to live in an area that attracts so many birds. The watershed and reservoir is is like my very own birdie hotspot. I just hope they do not come along and cut down more trees in the watershed property. The forest here is a great habitat for the birds.



Thanks for stopping by and for leaving your nice comments. I always appreciate your visits.
Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.
Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday and thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes.
I wish everyone a happy week ahead and Happy Birding!

Birding the Gunpowder River

  I am linking up with   Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday

These photos are from last weekend's walk at the Gunpowder River. The trail is around the other side of our lake and below the dam. It is a favorite spot for trout fishing, tubing and kayaking. And of course the trail along the river is great for my favorite hobby... birding. That should not be a surprise, right?

We tried to pick a spot to sit, away from the fishermen, so our Goldie Girl could do some swimming in the river.

We chose last weekend to go to this spot at the river because we knew the mountain laurels were in full bloom. They look so pretty, pink and white mountain laurels all along the river, made for a beautiful scene.

The white mountain laurels are pretty but my favorite are the pink blooms.

It was a pretty day to sit on one of the large rocks, listen to the water and watch for the birds. I saw the Louisiana Waterthrush and the Carolina Chickadees. I could here some Vireo's and the Scarlet Tanagers in the treetops.

Goldie Girl enjoyed cooling off in the river.

More river scenes on our hike back up the trail, a Wood Pewee was calling in the woods. A tiny pretty moth no bigger than one of my fingernails.

I hope you enjoyed my post and photos. Thanks for visiting my blog and post. I always appreciate your comments.
Join in on the fun and for more wonderful photos please visit  Mosaic Monday and more from  Our World Tuesday
 Thanks to our host: Mary 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!