Thursday, February 9, 2012

SWF>>>Backyard & the reservoir

Happy Weekend!!!

For my Skywatch Friday  I have some sunset shots from my backyard and some pic's from our walk to the lake.



I like the sky reflecting in the shot above, you can see the white clouds in the water. When we walked closer to the lakeshore we spooked off a few Common Mergansers. They flew to the far side of the lake and much too far for a photo. When I scanned the lake with my binocs I noticed there were pairs and groups of Common Mergansers all over the lake. I like seeing the usual Canada Geese at the lake but the mergansers were a treat.



The photo above is not from my lake but, I wanted to show the Common Merganser.



I did not catch them in this photo, but the Turkey and Black vultures always make their way back to my woods to roost for the night. Sometimes, there are as many as fifty flying toward my yard. What a sight!


Above are a  few of the sunset photos taken from my backyard on Sunday. I love how the sun turned the edges of the clouds a pinkish color. The clouds reminded me of charcoal burning in a grill during a summer cookout.

I'll end my post with a pretty Mourning Dove shot from my birdcam. Looks like she is enjoying a feast.

I am wishing you all a great weekend and Happy Birding. Thanks to the host of Skywatch Friday  : Sylvia, Sandy and Wren. Also, thank you for stopping by to see my skies and post.

84 comments:

  1. Hi Eileen :)
    mi piacciono molto queste tue foto con gli uccelli che aspettano di mangiare o di ripararsi dal freddo !
    Magniche espressioni gli sguardi degli uccelli :))
    Buona giornata.
    Myriam

    ReplyDelete
  2. The photos of the sky are beautiful! And I love the dove...such a pretty shot of her! Have a wonderful day!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love the crazy hairdo's on those Mergansers!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good morning Eileen, your sunset is beautiful. The Mergansers look pretty cool with their mohawks! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you! You do the same. I am meeting up with people this weekend to go and do some birding. It should be fun. Those ducks are really funny looking:) The weekend is almost here:)

    ReplyDelete
  6. The pretty little dove must have thought it had stumbled on a peanut buffet when it landed on that ledge. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. How beautiful--especially the sunset. I also take photos of the sky from my back deck regularly--the colors can be amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Beautiful reservoir makes brilliant photos.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Such peaceful and lovely skies!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Lovely scenes and colors Eileen, very nice series

    ReplyDelete
  11. The dove is lovely! Your other photos are brilliant too. I love the sunset photos and those of the water birds.
    Have a great weekend Eileen!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wonderful and amazing Eileen.

    Happy SWF.
    xo
    Regina

    ReplyDelete
  13. Such beautiful scenes in your area. Lovely photographs, Eileen! I like your cloud description. I recently spied some Common Mergansers swimming in Lake Michigan. Their silly mohawks make me smile. The final dove photo is quite sweet. Wonderful post!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thank you, Eileen, for visiting my blog. Your skies are wonderful ... what a beautiful area you live in. Love those mergansers, a bird I have only seen out on the Inner Hebrides off Scotland.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Beautiful photos this morning. I love looking at photos from my friends. Love to see the areas they live.

    Kay

    ReplyDelete
  16. a great mix of scenery and birds. love the dove at the end. :) what a buffet!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Beautiful skies you have! The reflections are especially nive.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Beautiful scenes..I Love the webcam photos. I must get one! I have been saying this for a long time now.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Beautiful series!
    Have a great day.
    Mette

    ReplyDelete
  20. That almost looks like fire in the skies. And, is that a bad hair day on some of the Common Merganser's? LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  21. gorgeous sky shots and i LOVE the ducks with the spikey, wind blown hair!!

    and your morning dove, what a poser, too cute for words!!

    ReplyDelete
  22. lovely photos!

    www.explorerminded.com

    ReplyDelete
  23. Wow, it looks like spring!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Lovely, peaceful skies and I, too, love the wind-ruffled ducks! Wonderful captures for the day, Eileen!! Happy SWF! Enjoy your weekend!

    Sylvia

    ReplyDelete
  25. Love the array of colours with those flashes of warmth in the golds and yellow peeking through.

    ReplyDelete
  26. 50 vultures must be a fantastic sight Eileen. Interesting how in the US and UK those sawbills are called different - here we call them Goosander and you call them Common Merganser. We also have a smaller Red-breasted Merganser - confusing isn't it?

    ReplyDelete
  27. The lake looks so nice and peaceful. Happy weekend to you, Eileen.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Beautiful sunset shots...love the clouds outlined in pink...those ducks are fun to see!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Beautiful skies Eileen. LOve your header looks like the sky is burning. Love the little ducks.

    ReplyDelete
  30. what a gorgeous spot for walking and bird watching.

    My sky is here

    ReplyDelete
  31. Lovely skyphotos!
    I wish you a Happy Friday!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Love those mergansers with their wild feathers.

    ReplyDelete
  33. thank you as always for sharing your amazing backyard.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Very pretty shots and intriguing skies.

    ReplyDelete
  35. beautiful shots! mine is up here

    http://myphotomeme.com/2012/02/09/yesterdays-weather/

    ReplyDelete
  36. Birding is addictive.

    Hope you have a nice one this coming weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  37. What a delightful series of photos. I loved the lake shots but the dove was great.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Wonderful sights. I also love the pinkish edged clouds. Love the closeup of the dove from the bird cam.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Pretty sky pictures and that Dove looks very happy to belly up to that buffet.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Beautiful. Love the colors of the sky.

    ReplyDelete
  41. I would not want to see fifty vulture flying toward me! You are a brave woman.

    ReplyDelete
  42. What a lovely place to live, - beautiful photos. Love the Dove.

    ReplyDelete
  43. The mergansers are quite exotic.

    My skywatch, have a nice weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  44. what a beautiful walk you have right next to your home, in your backyard, the lake looks so peaceful and inviting, and the sky gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  45. I love your lake, my sight stretched far out to infinity! I love the reflections of the clouds, muted yet lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  46. Hi Eileen, I can now see the comment button and am glad to say how much I have enjoyed today's photographs. Have a great weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  47. You have some really beautiful skies Eileen. I really like your second shot with the shadow from that little bush and the sky and trees reflecting on the water.

    I love to see mergansers, maybe it's their 'hair styles' that appeal to me so much.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Great sunset and yes they look like burning coals. I love the ducks with the punk hair style.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Birds and skys - lovely..

    ReplyDelete
  50. I like your second photo by the lake, very inviting.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Oh, my...these are great photos...well done! Superb!
    You are an artist!
    Kiss,
    BS

    ReplyDelete
  52. What beautiful skies Eileen! A lovely series of shots and I love those Common Mergansers - great mohawks on their heads :)

    ReplyDelete
  53. People often say, that only the sky is a limit, but I think it can be much further ;)
    Oh, the feast is so rich!!! Yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  54. I love that lake and the reflections in it. And of course, the mergansers.

    The tree on my shot is a birch. We have a lot of them and I love them all.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Eileen,
    nice reflections at the reservoir.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Your sky watch photos are spectacular, and the dove looks very full indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  57. Beautiful different skies ! and I love the little "punk" ducks !

    ReplyDelete
  58. Beautiful Eileen. I've been trying to comment on your blog posts for ages, hope this one uploads. Have a great weekend and thanks for always visiting my blog. Jo

    ReplyDelete
  59. Beautiful Eileen. I've been trying to comment on your blog posts for ages, hope this one uploads. Have a great weekend and thanks for always visiting my blog. Jo

    ReplyDelete
  60. Gorgeous photos, Eileen. I love seeing that beautiful Mourning Dove enjoying some dinner (or is it breakfast)....

    Love your sky pictures also especially the ones with the pink edges.... Wow!!!
    Hugs,
    Betsy

    ReplyDelete
  61. What a beautiful collection of Skywatch photos! It's so strange to me to see a lake that isn't frozen this time of year though lol

    ReplyDelete
  62. Wonderful skies and very peaceful.

    ReplyDelete
  63. Beautiful pictures. Thank you for sharing with us. Have a nice week-en Greetings from Romania.

    ReplyDelete
  64. Lovely sky, water and bird photos. Mergansers are wonderful to see, thank you. New follower!

    ReplyDelete
  65. Wonderful series! Love the gorgeous skies!
    Thanks for sharing;o)

    ***
    Have a fabulous weekend****

    ReplyDelete
  66. Beautiful lake shots and a gorgeous sunset!

    ReplyDelete
  67. Beautiful series of photos. Love the water shots and the mergansers.

    Darryl and Ruth :)

    ReplyDelete
  68. Beautiful clouds shots, Eileen! Love the colors that are mingled in! I like your dove photo, too. It almost looks like a statue.

    ReplyDelete
  69. Hi there - the lake looks a great place to be able to explore.

    Heath issues here are better - but not fixed yet!

    Very nice sunset colour as well.

    Stewart M - Australia

    ReplyDelete
  70. How beautiful. I like all photo. :)

    ReplyDelete
  71. Eileen, these are great and fun to view the scenes that others view in their daily walk. Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  72. Great pics, especially the ones of the beautiful sky !

    ReplyDelete
  73. Beautiful photos, Eileen! Love the sunset and the Mourning dove.

    ReplyDelete
  74. The male ducks have the handsome hairdo, and the girls are plain Janes?

    ReplyDelete
  75. Pretty skies! And I like the birds too!

    ReplyDelete
  76. Beautiful shots. :D The backyard shots where very nice to, feels some gentle drama going on with the sky. The mourning pigeon pix wrapped the post very nice. :D Thanks for visiting my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  77. Your backyard really is in the midst of beauty and nature! Thanks for stopping by and have a fun week.

    ReplyDelete
  78. I want to take a vacation in your backyard!

    ReplyDelete

Hello, thank you for visiting my blog. I always appreciate your comments.

BTW, Anonymous comments unless a name is included will not be published. Also, comments with links will be deleted.

Have a happy day, Eileen

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...