Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Birding the Hemlock Gorge

For this weeks World Bird Wednesday   and  Nature Notes I am showing the pretty White Eyed Vireo I saw on a walk we took this past weekend. Hubby and I will take to hiking the local trails that are close by if we do not have much time. Just like my post on birding the Gunpowder River trail below, these trails are all just minutes away from our house. The Hemlock Gorge trail which is above the dam starts off near the road and runs along the Gunpowder River has mixed forest until you hike further back into the Hemlock forest.




The White Eyed Vireo like deciduous forest such as stand of oaks near the water. This is exactly where we found these birds on the trail near the river. The male has yellow on its head and breast and has a heavybill. The juvies are often compared with the duller Pine Warbler.  I was lucky to see three or four of these White Eyed Vireo hopping around the trees. I believe it was a family and they were in the process of foraging for their food. They did get a little fussy when we stopped to look at them. Maybe the nest was nearby?



The habitat  mixed forest along the Gunpowder River




To see more great birds and photos please visit Springman's World Bird Wednesday  and Michelle's Nature Notes  Thanks to Springman and Michelle for hosting this memes. Thanks also for stopping by to see my post. I hope the rest of your week is wonderful.

37 comments:

936000 said...

Oh what a lovely bird and to see the whole family together is FAB!!!
Thanks for your comment on my dog post. They are wonderful companions. Your Goldie girl is just gorgeous and I love your photos of her!

NatureFootstep said...

lovely bird with food to feed young. It certainly have it´s eyes open. :)


My WBW
NF Fåglar/Birds
Birds in Costa Rica

TexWisGirl said...

wow! that was a great catch! have never seen those birds before!

BirdingMaine said...

Wonderful post and photos Eileen!

Sondra said...

Thats an awesome trail!! Love the White eyed--they have a very loud call that always lets me know when they are about.

holdingmoments said...

Lovely bird Eileen, and a great setting.
I think I could happily roam there for hours.

Amila Kanchana said...

Isn't it just great to have such a good nature escape so close? I like that Viro!

FAB said...

Super species Eileen and a great location to have on your doorstep.

Stewart M said...

Hi there - that woodland down by the river looks like it could soak up hours of my time! What a great looking place.

Stewart M - Australia

Penelope Notes said...

Your header looks like paradise and the little yellow bird is darling. How fortunate to live so near these wonderful forested areas. :)

Carletta said...

What gorgeous scenery to take in while birding!
Super catch of it with food in its mouth.
Have a great week Eileen!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful location and nice shots of the Vireo - hard to get among the foliage!

Malgorzata Ingstad said...

Lovely nature, wonderful shots! And you and me have very nice time, you - shooting, me - watching!

Fotokarusellen said...

Great! A very beautiful set of pictures. Well done.

joo said...

Such a lovely bird in beautiful surrounding:)

Anonymous said...

The photos of the stream and surroundings and the birds are excellent. Makes me want to go out...

Anonymous said...

What a pretty bird! My favorite picture is the second one. The color looks very good, and it is tack sharp!

Unknown said...

Great hike!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Indrani said...

Wonderful, great capture with food in mouth.

Diann said...

I'm teelling you Eileen, you need to think about using some of your gorgeous photos for not cards or stationary. They are just so beautiful!

Debbie Miller @HooootOwl said...

Looks like a great place to walk ... love the bug in beak capture!

EG CameraGirl said...

I wonder if I would recognize a white-eyed vireo if I saw one! I still have so much to learn!

mick said...

Beautiful forest and a perfect place for a walk and to see birds.

joco said...

What a place!
It was lovely to immerse myself in your photos enlarged.
Never mind the birds :-)
I'll just lingr a bit by that water.

Springman said...

Great to see a wild river like the gunpowder. That must be a lovely place to walk. Excellent captures of the vireo too especially with dinner in it's beak!
Wonderful post Eileen!

Mildred said...

Great captures! And the place looks so serene! Would love to wet my feet in this beautiful watercourse;o)
Thanks for sharing;o)
Hope you are having a nice and happy week!

SquirrelQueen said...

Oh Eileen, what a great catch of the White Eyed Vireo. I have never seen one before. I love your shot of the river too.

Hootin Anni said...

Simply breathtaking scenery. And the wonderful bird photos you have here are tops.

[I'm gonna have a bird photo for my Camera Critters entry that'll knock your socks off!!]


Thanks for popping by this week. Hope to see you again real soon. I love having your company.

A River To Cross is my Thursday post.

Victoria Tsavdaridou said...

Very beautiful photos, especially the second one !!!!

Tes said...

Lovely capture of the bird! The water looks so refreshing makes me want to splash around! :) Have a good day, Eileen! :)

Pat Ulrich said...

Very cool captures -- such a lovely bird!

Elaine said...

You visit so many lovely places! It's good to have nice areas for nature walks so close to home. I loved your mosaics in the last post. You always do a beautiful job with mosaics.

Unknown said...

Beautiful river and what great captures of the lovely bird and its lunch! :-)

Dawn Fine said...

Great photos of the White eyed Vireo~looks like a lovely place to bird!

betchai said...

oh, beautiful photos Eileen, it's so gorgeous that you are just minutes away from the hiking trails.

Carver said...

Hemlock gorge looks like a great place to walk. I love the shots of the birds and stream.

Rambling Woods said...

This is a new bird for me Eileen.. I am happy to have you for nature notes whenever you can...Michelle

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