Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Herons & Hummers


On Saturday, a friend from my bird club and I birded Violettes Lock at the C&O Canal and Hughes Hollow. One of the birds I really wanted to see was the Green Heron. I was lucky to spot this one below almost as soon as we arrived at Hughes Hollow.  A list of the birds seen at Hughes Hollow included two Green Herons, Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, two Red Shouldered Hawks, RT Hummingbird, a wren, Mallards, Yellow Billed Cuckoo and a few swallows.


Green Heron at Hughes Hollow


Hummingbird Clearwing moth 

Ruby Throated Hummingbird at Thistle. I see a tiny dot on its throat this might be a juvenile male RT Hummingbird.


Great Blue Herons and DC Cormorant at Violettes Lock and on the Potomac River.  I really was looking for a Black Tern  that had been spotted previously in the area. No luck on finding the Black Tern so my search for a Black Tern goes on.


I was amazed at all the dragonflies, skimmers and moths we saw. They might deserve a post of their own.


For more great birds and photos check out Springman's World Bird Wednesday and
Michelle's  Nature Notes .

Thanks to Springman and to Michelle for hosting and thank you for visiting my blog and post. I hope everyone has a great week and happy birding!

38 comments:

  1. Dragonflies, butterflies or moths are good replacement for birds.

    if there are no birds around.

    this applies to me.

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  2. Hi Eileen. What beautiful photo's and lucky you saw the green heron . Good you could make a photo. Yje macro photo's are so clear, wonderful. Have a nice week.

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  3. Marvellous photos Eileen. I loved the one of the little bird peeking from behind the thistles, and your header photo is gorgeous.

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  4. love that last heron photo. so peaceful!

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  5. What a fun hunt! You captured some good ones and I'm sure you have so much more to share.
    The hunt for the black tern continues!

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  6. the Green Heron looks as if he's working pretty hard to push his way through the algae!!
    love the hummer MOTH and BIRD!!
    the picture of the Heron on the dead tree is beautiful!

    i haven't seen too many dragonflies around here lately...which is kind of unusual considering how much rain we've had lately! hopefully they'll show their beautiful selves soon! :)

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  7. All of thosen animal shots are great. Thans for sharing with us.

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  8. Oh I envy you the Green Heron! Great photos Eileen and I know the focus of this post is the birds, but that photo of the moth is GorGeous!
    Here is an "aye" vote for a post on the dragonflies, skimmers and moths!

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  9. Great post Eileen. Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  10. Hi Eileen, I admire your photographs so much! I love the top shot of that Heron in the green shallows. Have a great evening and a good day tomorrow!

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  11. Great photos of those birds and insects!

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  12. Great photos and how good to get Tern as well.

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  13. Great new header Eileen! Hughes Hallow looks like a great place to get pictures. I hope you get your black tern before all is said and done!

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  14. Hi Eileen, Great post. Love seeing the little hummers... So cute!!!!! We've got quite a few here this summer...

    Great pictures of the heron also.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  15. You had another lovely day! I am amazed at all the many different places you find to go birding.

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  16. Hi there - nice set of pictures - the hawk moth is great. A very similar moth used to get reported as a "humming bird" in the UK - now that would start a twitch these days!

    Cheers - Stewart M - Australia

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  17. Wow Eileen, that Hummingbird Clearwing Moth is a great capture.
    Well done with the Green Heron too.

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  18. You just gotta love that green heron in the green murk.

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  19. I'll trade you a tern for a heron any day! We have a heron that goes by, but up high, and I'm always doing something else at the time. :-) Love your photos.

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  20. Great captures! I love the picture of the Heron fishing in that green soup!

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  21. Lovely header..we have thistle and dragonflies but not those enchanting hummingbirds (stunning) or Eagles..
    (I actually posted for this weeks meme). Wishing you a terrific afternoon Eileen-

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  22. Lovely heron - fitting that the water is green!

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  23. Another wonderful birding spot. You live in a great area. Great pictures of each of the birds. And on the black tern -- they say you have to have something to hope for to be happy. (I hope you find it soon because I'm sure you can find another bird to hope for!)

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  24. Eileen, I love the mood in the first and last image - beautiful capture! And of course the Ruby-throated hummingbird - such a treat!

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  25. cool shot of eh green heron. .)
    And hummers are always welcome. Are they not?

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  26. The heron always looks so regal,I wish I lived close to where I could see them,wonderful pictures,Phyllis

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  27. Thanks for dropping by to see my backyard birds. I'd have stopped by sooner to visit but I swear I'm so far behind everywhere that I have no business being on-line! Meanwhile, I've never been to Violettes Lock and now your post has made me want to visit right away! It's only a 32-35 minute drive (according to Google maps) from my house but it will just have to wait... lovely images and a marvelous post. I especially like the hummingbird moth image!

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  28. HI Eileen...so Glad you got to see the Green Heron you wanted to see and all those Bonus Birds TOO..Lovely Photos!!!

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  29. Wonderful shots from such a great spot for nature. I enjoyed all the shots very much.

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  30. OMG this Heron is so gorgeous! And the hummingbird my first time to see it. I see the dot in the throat. Awesome!
    SWF

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  31. I haven't seen one of those moths this year and I love them...love the heron too..

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  32. Great pictures and a great place to visit. I, for one, would love to see a dragonfly post :)

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  33. You took some beautiful photos there Eileen! Nice to get a look at a Green Heron out in the open like that. Nice! The hummer at the thistle is very nice and I really like the shot of the two Great Blue Herons with the juvenile Double-crested Cormorant in the background.

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  34. Lovely shots. I especially like the one on top, the surface of the water looks amazing.
    Regarding Irene, I hope everything is OK with you. I guess there's a lot of work to be done now in the aftermath.

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  35. Now I have looked through your beautiful birds. That last one is so great!
    Hope you have a nice weekend:-)

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