Sunday, April 1, 2012

Sunday morning hike

I am linking up with Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday

This morning hubby and I went on a hike around the Patuxent wildlife refuge. Visiting the National Wildlife Refuges must be one of my favorite things to do. If you scroll down on my blog you can click on the letters NWR and it will show some of the posts I have made about my NWR visits.

I saw my first of the year Osprey on the nest, lots of Tree Swallows, Bluebirds, Ruby Crowned Kinglets, Chipping Sparrows, heard and saw a few Northern Flickers, Juncos, Robins, Canada Geese, Mallards, Ring-necked ducks and the pretty Wood ducks.

My mosaic is made of some of the sights and birds we saw at the refuge.



In my mosiac, the refuge had a cool sculpture of a wolf family, wood ducks were making their way along the edge of the lake and tree swallows were flying all around us. The tree tops looked pretty with their colorful buds, the flowering redbud looked gorgeous and I tried hard to get a decent reflection of the Canada Goose and a reflection of the bridge.


The wolf family sculpture outside the visitor center was cute.

The redbud tree looks gorgeous and is one of my favorite blooming trees in the spring

One of the many Tree Swallow we saw, most were flying around, I guess catching bugs.

An Osprey was on the nest and I liked the pretty trees on the other side of the lake. The buds on some of the trees looked orange and reddish.

 My fuzzy zoomed in shot of the Osprey on the nest.




I hope you enjoyed our walk around the wildlife refuge. I hope everyone has a happy week ahead. Thanks to Mary for hosting Mosaic Monday and thanks to the hosting group at Our World Tuesday: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sandy and Sylvia.

To see more wonderful mosaics and photos, please visit Mosaic Monday  and Our World Tuesday

50 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can see why you like going here. I would like going there too. It reminds me of the Audubon center near us.

TexWisGirl said...

the tree swallows are so handsome. i only see the barn swallows here.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

What a great photo of the osprey on the nest...that's always exciting to see! Love the redbud in full bloom, too! It's a great time to hike! ♥

Linda said...

The bird photos were great! You even managed to catch the osprey...you were pretty far away too! That wolf sculpture looks a lot like the one at Brookgreen Gardens in Myrtle Beach, SC. I have a photo of that one...very nice sculpture!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

What an awesome place, Eileen. So glad you live close enough to these wildlife refuges to visit them on occasion. I would love it...

Great mosaics --and I loved seeing the wolf family sculpture.

Our Redbuds are about gone --and so are our Daffodils and most of our Tulips.. We now are waiting on the Irises and DayLilies and Lilies....

Hope you have a great week.
Hugs,
Betsy

Melbourne Australia Photos said...

Lovely shots, Eileen. It's great to see signs of Spring appearing where you are. That tree in blossom is especially gorgeous!

podso said...

Thanks for taking us along on your walk . Redbuds are my favorite and we just planted a baby redbud in our yard.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

You do have the best weekend hikes! Thank you for sharing. We saw some osprey nests on the way to the beach last week (our first for the year too). Good shot of the tree swallow -- I hardly ever see them sitting still. And I just saw my first (virtual) redbud tree -- I don't think we had those in Oregon -- too cool I guess.

Gardening in a Sandbox said...

Wow it was great to see the birds that won't be here for a while yet. V

Snap said...

It looks like the Patuxent wildlife refuge has something for everyone ... including sculpture! Thanks for taking us along!

A Garden of Threads said...

It was a wonderful tour, great shots. I hope you have a great week:)

rainfield61 said...

It looks like spring is really here.

Anonymous said...

What a great place for a morning walk! How exciting to be able to capture an Osprey while in the nest, thank you for sharing.

Ebie said...

You always find great birds in your preserve. I guess the East have different species than in the west. The bright pink cherry blooms light up the environment!

Kathie Brown said...

Looks like a great place to bird and relax! I love that red bud too! Wow! what an explosion of color!

Vee said...

Oh I can hear the enthusiasm in your voice. How exciting for you to be out and about and enjoying seeing your beloved birds again. The trees in blossom and bud give me hope!

Living In Williamsburg Virginia said...

Fantastic photos and what a great place for a hike.

Darryl and Ruth :)

Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson said...

Hi Eileen, I certainly did enjoy the walk. The redbud is one of my favorite trees also. I have a twisted redbud, but it is just budding. Can't wait to see that color burst forth. The little bird on the branch is a cutie. My sister and a friend were up this weekend for a visit. I showed them the pic of your birdhouse on your pergola from last week. We loved it so much that we made one. Do you care if I post your mosaic on my blog when I do a post showing my birdhouse? I would like to give you credit.
Hugs,
Jann

Debbie said...

you are so lucky to have such a beautiful place to walk, with so much for you to see!!

i really like the redbuds but don't you think they should be called purplebuds??

Ingmarie We said...

Great birdphotos. We have the Canadian Geese here too but I haven't seen so many this year. Have a nice week and Happy Easter.

BernieH said...

Fabulous spot. It was terrific to see the Osprey on its nest and the Canada Goose shot was lovely. I must say the Redbud tree in bloom is certainly spectacular.

Bob Bushell said...

Beautiful images, especially Tree Swallow and the Ospey, marvelous.

Tiago Braga said...

fantastic photos, i like very much the ones with the animals, cool =)

diane b said...

I love the sculpture of the wolf family. I like collecting photos of sculptures. The osprey collects huge sticks for its nest.

Kim, USA said...

Beautiful view! Love the spring flowers. Thanks for the visit.

Spring Flowers

Jill Harrison said...

thank you for the stroll around the refuge. I really hoped we would get out for an autumn walk this last weekend, but I ended up coming down with a cold, and we had a lot of jobs to do around home - so that was that!
Have a wonderful week, and thank you so much for stopping by my blog to say hi.

Anonymous said...

Hi Eileen, I enjoyed your collage a lot. The one photo I really like is of the Osprey. Osprey are such wonderful birds and are hard to get to see. Good job in spite of the fuzz - all of us have those kind of pictures. Wonderful post! Have a great day!

LindyLouMac said...

Well I certainly enjoyed my virtual hike Aileen, thanks for the lovely photos.

Phil Slade said...

Good to see the Ospreys back nesting Eileen and I guess those tree Swallows will be at it soon too.

ellen b. said...

Hi Eileen! Wonderful photos. I really am missing a nice long walk at a bird refuge. Have a wonderful week.

Jen Sanford said...

Gorgeous shots... Can't go wrong with a walk around a wildlife refuge!

Jo said...

What a cool sculpture of the wolves and I loved your reflection of the goose. Just to explain and clear up in case I confused you. My husband and I are South Africans, born and bred. We have a home in South Africa. We work and live for most of the year in other parts of Africa, presently in Tanzania, East Africa. We come home for short breaks every three months. (We are in South Africa at the moment in our own home) We are going on a holiday to the UK in June. Hope that clears up any confusions I may have caused you. Enjoy your Easter. Greetings Jo

Sylvia K said...

Great visit to the wildlife refuge, Eileen! Terrific captures as always! Love the red bud trees and the sculpture of the wolf family! Thanks for the tour! Hope you have a great week!

Sylvia

mick said...

Thanks for sharing your photos of the walk around the refuge. It looks like a great place to visit. The statues of the wolf family are great!

Unknown said...

Beautiful sculpture!! Boom & Gary of thr Vermilon River, Canada.

Glenda/MidSouth said...

Thanks for the tour. I can see why you enjoy your walks there.
Thanks for stopping by and nice comment.

Gillian Olson said...

Handsome birds, looks like a wonderful place for a visit.

Kilauea Poetry said...

Gee, that red bud tree is gorgeous..so is the little fellow below in the tree! I like the sculpture of those wolves too and the bridge in your mosaic with the tree hanging over is cool!

Al said...

That looks like a great refuge, and I certainly enjoyed the photos.

Rohrerbot said...

Love your shots of the Osprey:) What an amazing bird!

Teacup-In-The-Garden said...

Wonderful images!
Markus

Elaine said...

Love that collage!

Anonymous said...

Wonderful shots! I really like the wolf sculpture.

Randi said...

I can picture myself lost in the beauty of this scenery.
You are lucky living so close to this place.

Carol said...

Wonderful place to walk, Eileen, looks like a great day. I love that sculpture and your bird shots are always amazing. Have a great week!

Anonymous said...

A wonderful place to visit! I love the wolf sculpture and the redbud...that's stunning!

Anonymous said...

What calming and beautiful captures of tones and textures, and nature's delight.

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

The Patuxent wildlife refuge looks like a wonderful place to walk and birdwatch, Eileen. You are lucky to have so many areas like this near where you live.

Eden said...

What a lovely place to hike!Beautiful photos as always.

NatureFootstep said...

love that swallow. Can´t wait for them to come back to sweden. We don´t have tree swallows, but they are all so lovely.

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