Sunday, August 22, 2010

Mattawomen Creek

Hubby and I have a fun day yesterday canoeing the Mattawomen Creek in Charles County, Maryland. We had another reason for heading to the Mattawomen Creek and that was to show our support for Audubon's IBA(Important Bird Area) and protest a new cross county connector. I loved the area and it would be a shame to ruin it with another road and more development.







Also, Audubon of Maryland was celebrating the dedication of Mattawomen as an Important Bird Area. An IBA is a site that provides essential habitat to one or more species of birds. It includes nesting areas, migration stop over sites or wintering grounds. All IBA's are not open to the public mainly to protect a vulnerable species and for bird conservation. This IBA area indicted these three are risk species the Prothonotary and Kentucky Warblers and the Wood Thrush.

Here is a shot from my archives of the beautiful Prothonotary Warbler.



Besides the celebration, there were free boat rides, canoe and kayaks to see the Lotus Flowers in bloom. We arrived early so we rented a canoe, it was a nice morning to be out on the water.






 It was cool to be canoeing next to all these Yellow beauties. I usually only seen Lotus flowers at commercial nurseries or gardens.


I am linking up with Bird Photography Weekly
and
Mary's Mosaic Monday
and
Drowsey Monkey's Mellow Yellow Monday

Thanks to the host of these fun sites and thanks for stopping by my post. Have a great week!

49 comments:

http://jackieinsurrey.blogspot.co.uk/ said...

I have never seen or heard of this beautiful bird before and your photographs of the canoeing are marvellous. The water looks so peaceful.Jackie in Surrey UK.

Kerri Farley said...

Excellent post! I hope they do NOT build the connector!!!!

rainfield61 said...

Canoeing and birding. Such a great idea and fun; and hope that this can be carry on and on without any ruin to the nature.

Ruth's Photo Blog said...

This is a beautiful,natural place and I too hope it stays that way.
Blessings,Ruth

EG CameraGirl said...

Fabulous! Wish I had been with you. :)

Mike B. @ slugyard.com said...

That is a beautiful yellow bird...hopefully with some habitat left.

NatureFootstep said...

it sure is a beautiful warbler. :)

jabblog said...

Fabulous! What a wonderful way to spend a day.

Donna M. Simonetti said...

Very beautiful area. You captured why they should leave the area alone. How peaceful.

Cezar and Léia said...

Hello dear friend,
wow this post is amazing, so special place there, glad that you enjoy it and thanks so much for sharing.
Your collages are outstanding!
Léia :)

Anonymous said...

Again, wonderful photo compositions. That green is very peaceful!

mick said...

That's a beautiful area and so nice that you were able to canoe around and get such good photos. I hope the area is able to be protected from any roads and development close by.

SquirrelQueen said...

This area is so beautiful and obviously should be protected. I hope the protest is successful and the connector is not built.

The Lotus flowers are an unusual sight, like you I have only seen them in nurseries or botanical gardens.

A Bit of the Blarney said...

Oh so very lovely! Beautiful pictures of the lotus! Thank you! Cathy

Alan Pulley said...

Hi Eileen,
Looks like it was a great day to be out on the water! Prothonotary Warblers are one of my favorite birds...love the water lilies too!

Vee said...

Beautiful location for taking photos and birdwatching and flowerwatching.

Carol said...

What a beautiful place! and a very pretty little bird! looks like a great time canoeing! Gorgeous scenery!

Snap said...

I know you are always going to take us to an interesting and beautiful place. Well done!

Larry said...

This is such a magical place Eileen, I hope it never changes.

Audubon IBAs are an important part of conservation all over the globe. We have lost too much natural habitat already.

That is a beautiful shot of the Prothonotary Warbler and the mosaic of the lotus with the mountains in the background is fantastic!

Judith @ Lavender Cottage said...

Looks like a great place to be Eileen.
I was given a lotus hardy for here and started from seed by a local couple. It was coming along nicely until the raccoons ate it.
The yellow ones in your photo are beautiful.

Bobbi Ann said...

Hi, very beautiful! Hope you have a wonderful new week!
Hugs...
Bobbi

Chubskulit Rose said...

Beautiful photos Eileen, love the flowers and the bird!

Lovin' It MYM

Lenore said...

What great photos you took of this beautiful area...the placement of the photos in your mosaic is quite lovely!
Glad you had a good time.

Rinkly Rimes said...

That yellow bird is absolutely delightful.

Liz said...

Wonderful photos. First time I've heard of the bird too. It's a beauty.

Happy MYM!

Liz @ MLC

Dimple said...

Beautiful shots Eileen! It looks like it was a wonderful day. The warbler is gorgeously yellow!

Nelj said...

Yeah Great shots! good for the eyes...

Neil said...

Great place hope it can be safe for the birds.

Bob Kaufman said...

Such an adorable place, Eileen! Now that it is an IBA, perhaps the road-building project will be scrapped.

Junneth said...

Wonderful...nature! You are a great photographer!

Elaine said...

Beautiful photos of a lovely spot!

Phil Slade said...

Some lovely claages Eileen. Good luck with your support to protect that beautiful area. I agree that the Prothonatary Warbler is very beautiful as I remember from my experience of seeing them in Ontario.

My name is Riet said...

WOW, beautiful pictures and mosaics Eileen, That must have been a lot of fun.

Kim, USA said...

Wow that place is beautiful!! And I so love the yellow bird. Thanks for the visit!

Yellow Pick-up

A Garden of Threads said...

Such a peaceful way to spend the day. You have some stunning imagines. Enjoy the rest of the week and Take care

Francisca said...

What a lovely, lovely spot Eileen! Your lotus/water lilies look quite different from the ones I see on this side of the big blue... but they are pretty, with the largest pads I've ever seen! Great job on the photo-montage. And pretty yellow warbler, too!

maryelizabethroche said...

Beautiful collage!
I'm so happy you're working on keeping this area safe. We all need to do our part!

M.E.

Small City Scenes said...

A wonder day for canoeing. I cannot believe the size of those Lily Pads.
We have got to stop paving over everything. I hope that area is saved.
Excellent shots. MB

Stephanie V said...

Your warbler is delightful...and so yellow! It would be a shame to lose the land so loved by birds and other creatures.

Vrinda said...

Hi EILEENINMD

Thanks for visiting my Blog. You are such a great photographer, I'm so glad to have a comment from you in my blog.

Keep visiting and commenting about my photos so that I'll have a chance to improve myself.

Coming to your pics, they are awesome.

Vrinda.

BirdingMaine said...

I hope they the connector stays out of there!

Great photo series Eileen!

Gardening in a Sandbox said...

Wonderful photos. If we don't protect our natural areas we won't have those beautiful pictures to look at. Good for you.

Unknown said...

Thanks for coming by our blog.
Love your pictures. they are so refreshing. i was almost...there....
love,
A
wags from Buddy n Ginger

Halcyon said...

What a beautiful yellow man! We don't get birds like that around here. Or if we do, they don't come to my feeder. :)

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

I have been wanting to go canoeing for a long time and these photos are so inspiring! Beautiful captures for lovely mosaics!

The hummingbird shots in your previous post are outstanding! I took a few late this afternoon. If I wasn't making dinner and it wasn't dark and rainy, and I didn't grab the camera and click without much thinking, I might have gotten a decent shot. Never as gorgeous as yours. Some day I will actually take my time because hummingbirds thrill me beyond words.

Indrani said...

Beautiful collages. You take such excellent shots.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

I can't get over the size of the lily pads or they lotus pads? What's the difference?

Mimi said...

What a really beautiful place, Eileen.
I particularly love the Lotus flowers. Going along in a canoe is cool!

Lana Gramlich said...

I love prothonotary warblers. I have yet to get a decent shot of one sitting still. *L* Keep up the good work!

Happy Monday!

Wishing everyone a great day and a ha ppy new week! Thank you to all Veterans who serve, for protecting our country and our freedoms.  "...