Saturday, March 3, 2012

Taking the Back Roads

YEA!  Another weekend is here and I am linking up with Camera Critters   and  Sunday Bridges  and Scenic Sunday  .  I hope everyone is safe from the horrible storms that happened overnight and yesterday, my thoughts and prayers go out to the storm victims.

These are some shots of a large flock of Blackbirds seen while driving on the back roads here in Maryland. It was the weekend hubby and I were on the way to see the eagles at Conowingo and to see if any ducks were at HavredeGrace.  And while we are in the area we always enjoy a crab cake dinner at McGregors in Havrede Grace.

I like this photo with the tree, the large flock of blackbirds and the rolls of hay


You can see the Red-winged Blackbirds mixed in with this large group. Maybe some Grackles too?

I saw this hawk in a bush low to the ground, so I was able to snap a few photos right from my car.



Male Mallard duck with a female laying right behind him, seen from the boardwalk at HavredeGrace.

This dude is doing his stretching exercises.


Headless gulls and their wacky reflections.


A few Coots were also seen near the boardwalk.


A scenic view of HavredeGrace's waterfront and boardwalk.


A bridge for my Sunday bridges. This is a bridge going over the Susquehanna river and is used by the Amtrak train that travels from Baltimore-Washington to Philadelphia and New York.


We can watch the Amtrak trains going over the bridge from the restaurant, they do have a lovely view of the river. I hope you enjoyed my post and birds. Thanks for stopping by and I hope everyone has a Happy weekend.


To see more cute and beautiful critters please visit Camera Critters. Thanks to Misty Dawn for hosting.

And to see more bridge shots please visit Sunday Bridges and for more beautiful scenery please visit  Scenic Sunday

46 comments:

  1. I loved these shots, Eileen! What a gorgeous shot of the hawk...he was really eyeing you! As a retired railroading family, I always love anything to do with a train! Have a wonderful weekend - hope the weather is not too crummy...its raining here today!

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  2. Great shots, love them!
    Have a great weekend.
    Mette

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  3. Ahh, I see you also have headless gull where you live! We get those around here, mostly in the Walmart parking lots, I thought it was a rare mutation from eating all the jusnk food people throw at them! ;)

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  4. Opps, hit the pulish button too soon.

    We survived all the storms here, but I got caught in a "code black" at Walmart and couldn't leave until the tornado watch/warning was cleard by the manager! Of couse there wasn't any tornado, just a lot of high wind and heavy rain.

    Hope the weather there is pleasant there so you can have a nice weekend.

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  5. Beautiful shots :) The "headless" gulls made me smile :) Heard the news about the storms. Hope all is well now. Thanks for the visit :)

    http://www.stepsonair.info/happiness-is-the-sea-and-sky/

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  6. Lovely captures Eileen, particularly the black birds taking off. I was trying to imagine the sound.

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  7. Oh my goodness....just LOOK at all those black birds!! Actually, this looks quite familiar in our area...the grackles congregate like this all the time. And, that hawk!! ---do you know what species? I love the 2nd one down of the hawk. And not to leave out the disco duck!!! Cute capture.

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  8. gorgeous pictures!!

    the first one reminds me of "THE BIRDS"...

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  9. Love all the bird shots. The hawk is amazing, but really like the Mallard doing his stretching exercises. I'm behind on checking out blogs, working long hours, so played catch up today. Gettysburg sure is an amazing place. I haven't been, but would love to go sometimes.

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  10. I have never seen so many birds at one time...that is amazing!

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  11. When I see blackbirds I know spring is nearly here. I haven't seen any large flocks yet, but I keep looking!

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  12. love those hordes of blackbirds - in photos, anyway. they surely clean out the bird feeders in record time.

    your mallards are very pretty, too.

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  13. What a beautiful series of photos. I had a hawk try to take my dog once, I had to step in front of him (my dog is only 7 pounds)!

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  14. Beautiful...just beautiful! I am still trying to get a good shot of a hawk.

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  15. Great shots! The second shot of the hawk is particularly lovely.

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  16. Love that flock of blackbirds!

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  17. Beautiful shots.

    Regards and best wishes

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

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  19. Great shots and enjoyable post. That is a huge flock of birds. I love to hear the Red-winged Blackbirds.

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  20. We've had similar huge flocks of blackbirds in our area this year. I thought I had noticed some red wings within the flock. I'm glad I really wasn't seeing things! They can really put up a chatter as they're flying by or roosting in the trees around our meadow.

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  21. Wonderful shots. I too liked the first shot.

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  22. Hi Eileen ...What a nice flock of Backbirds and I can see the Red wing to ...can't wait to see theat here!!
    The Hawk is very nice what an opportunity..yah!
    The work out Mallard is cute...
    All nice to see ...thanks !!
    Grace..have a nice Sunday!

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  23. Fantastic shots, Eileen! The blackbird photo is awesome! Makes a great blog header! Love the hawk photos, too.

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  24. Great shots Eileen - especially the duck stretching his leg! Thanks for sharing and visiting my blog. Happy weekend.

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  25. that trip was beautiful from the minute you started out! Great pictures, great birds. (And the crabcakes sound scrumptious too!)

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  26. oh wow didn't you just have a wonderful journey along the way to your crab cakes! Just love all these shots Eileen.

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  27. Hi Eileen, Ok, now I am mildly concerned. I have had a few Red-winged Blackbirds move in at my little farm. I had a lot of European Starlings before but I sure do hope not to have as many blackbirds as you have shown in the pictures posted here today! Ha! What a sight. Also love those Coots! Cool post today! Have a wonderful Sunday. So glad you enjoy those back roads.

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  28. Wow, they are really beautiful birds. Great captures.

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  29. Great shots, what a lot of blackbirds, but I really like that Mallard doing his stretches.

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  30. quick, catch them for the King's baker to bake in a pie.

    This is incredible, so many black birds. what do they eat?

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  31. a lovely series of photos! I love that in the second photo of the flocked birds, you can see the red flashes in the red winged blackbirds wings!

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  32. Lovely photos Eileen! The bridge is really impressive!
    Have a nice Sunday:)

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  33. Great post. Love bridges but trains more..

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  34. What a great road trip. I love the field full of black birds. We are having some in our feeder. I haven't taken the time to id them yet.d

    I love the hawk in bush also. I love finding hawks perched. They are so watchful.

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  35. What a lovely, interesting mix of birds you found. I especially love the blackbirds in the trees! A great photo capture! I am waiting for better weather and more returning bird migrants to find my feeders before trying out my new bird cam. it is very exciting thinking out using it! I find I am thinkingg of different locations to place it. I know I will aim it at the opening of our burdhouse that gets used by some species?each spring /summer.
    Ann

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  36. Wonderful images Eileen..
    It must have been lovely watching the mass of blackbirds feeding..

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  37. Lovely photos, Eileen. What a lot of Blackbirds! Great captures of the hawk too. The 'headless' gulls made me laugh :-)

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  38. A lovely series of shots, Eileen! The ducks have to be my favourite!
    Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

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  39. I agree, the shot with the hay is a really good one. Great choice for a header. :)

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  40. Thank you for taking us on your outing with you! The second pic is especially a winner!

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  41. Eileen, you've become quite a regular with contributions to Sunday Bridges, and «Louis» very much appreciates this!

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  42. I love the different kind of critters in this post. The hawk is fascinating to see.

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