Assateague birds and critters

I am linking up with  Green Day and Camera Critters and I'd-Rather-B-Birdin.


I have been at work all week so these are more shots from our visit to Ocean City and Assateague Island National Seashore and beyond. The beyond is more from shots from the Delaware Indian River inlet. I did not have any target birds to see at either place I was just happy to be there.

A link to more Ocean City activities 22-reasons-to-visit-ocean-city-md

We saw our first of the year Long-tailed Ducks at the Indian River inlet. 

The Sanderlings were the first bird I saw on the beach at Assateague. The Sanderling on the front left looks cute, like he is marching along. I was happy to see a Gannet way out in the ocean with my binocs. We also saw a flock of Cormorants flying by, at least I think they were Cormorants.

The Assateague wild ponies are always a treat to see and they are the main attraction for most people that visit the park.

Above is one of the many Assateague wild ponies on the Maryland side of the island   It was my favorite horse, I believe it is a Pinto. 

I thought it was funny to see the horses standing in line for the restrooms. Looks like one just came out the other is waiting to go in.

A few more of the horses, in this shot you can make out someone's yellow/orange tent in the right side of the photo.

The horses are free to roam thru the national seashore in the shot above they are walking thru the campsites.There are signs around warning people that the horses are wild and not to be fed. Driving around the roads in Assateague I also saw and heard so many Yellow Rump Warblers.

I hope you enjoyed my visit to the ocean and Assateague Island National Seashore.

 To see more beautiful photos and cute critters please visit: Green Day  and Camera Critters and I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the gracious host Fiona of Green Day, Misty Dawn of Camera Critters and to Anni of I'd Rather-B-birdin.  Thanks for visiting my blog and post. I wish everyone a very safe and happy weekend.

Assateague sky

It's time for some of my favorites memes Skywatch Friday and  NF Winged and Watery Wednesday II.

These are some shots from our visit to the beach and to  Assateague Island National Seashore. After spending time In Ocean City and Delaware's Indian River Inlet we headed to Assateague so we could watch the sunset.

Ruddy Turnstones at the Indian River inlet.

Sunset at Assateague Island.

A pretty orange reflection.

After the sun had set, the sky was still filled with beautiful colors.



To see more beautiful photos and pretty skies please visit Skywatch Friday
and to see more of the winged critters check out NF Winged
And for some watery scenes check out Tricia's Watery Wednesday II

Thanks to Sylvia and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday! Thanks to the host of NF Winged. And thanks to Tricia the host of Watery Wednesday. Also, thank you for stopping by to see my post. I wish everyone a safe and happy weekend.

Nuthatches

I am linking up my Nuthatch post with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes


The Nuthatches are another one of my favorite birds to see. This irruptive winter I have the Red-Breasted Nuthatches visiting my feeders along side the White-Breasted Nuthatches.  The Nuthatch breeds mostly in mature spruce, fir and pine forest. They can often been seen at feeders.

The Red-Breasted Nuthatch has the white eyebrow or supercilium.

 The male above shows off his pretty reddish orange belly. The female has a more paler underparts.

 The White-Breasted Nuthatch is a pale blue above with the white breast/

 The Brown-headed Nuthatch can also been seen in the lower part of Maryland's Eastern shore. I have seen them often while hiking at Blackwater NWR in Cambridge, Maryland. They have also been seen further north and west of the Chesapeake bay  in Annapolis, Md.

To see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.
Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday and thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes.
I wish everyone a happy week ahead and Happy Birding!

Black Friday weekend

Hello, I am linking up with Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday.

 I was lucky to have off work on Black Friday not to go shopping but, hubby and I headed for overnight trip to Ocean City Maryland. The weather was gorgeous, a little cold but not too bad. We walked on the boardwalk and the beach, we looked for birds and we ate. Thrasher's Fries and Crab Cakes are two of our favorite Ocean City foods.

The Brants were hanging around Ocean City's inlet.

 Sometimes the Brants would take off out of the water, fly in a circle and land back in almost the same spot.

We did not have to fight off any of the Black Friday crowds here. They inlet parking lot was almost empty except for the gulls.

As if we did not have enough to eat for Thanksgiving dinner, Thrashers Ocean City fries were open and delicious.

A walk on the beach with the Sanderlings is always fun. They look so cute running around on the beach.

I thought this horse and buggy ride was cute, we still prefer walking.

A nice walk on the beach will help to work off the Thanksgiving Day dinner.

One of the many gulls we saw while walking on the beach and boardwalk.

I hope everyone had a great weekend and Thanksgiving holiday. For those of you who fought the crowds at the stores on Black Friday I hope you were able to catch some great bargains.




To see more wonderful photos and mosaics please visit Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday
 Thanks to Mary of Mosaic Monday and to the hosting group of Our World Tuesday: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia and Sandy .  Thanks also for stopping by to see my post.  I wish everyone a happy week!

Thanksgiving Skywatch

It's time for some of my favorites memes...I am linking up with  Green Day ,   Skywatch Friday and  NF Winged.


 It is Thanksgiving Day and I am spending the day with my hubby, son and family.  After serving fifteen for dinner,  we should be able to chill and check out my birds and sky. These are some shots taken thru-out this past week. A pretty sunset, a few kinglets from our walk on the fireroad, a couple of Brown Creepers and the vultures making their way back to roost for the night.

A Ruby-crowned Kinglet above and another open winged kinglet below. LOL, if you look real hard you can see the ruby crown on the kinglet in the top of the photo.

 I have been wanting to see a Brown Creeper, and luckily in this day I saw two. Can you find the two Brown Creepers in the shot above? They blend so well with the tree.

I always love seeing these pretty green ferns growing along the fireroad  where we walk.

 A cropped shot of a Golden-Crowned Kinglet.  The sky is a beautiful blue, it was a lovely day for a walk on the fireroad. The Kinglets are quick movers like the warblers, they did not stay still for a second.

 These trees are around my neighborhood and on the fireroad, not sure what kind of trees they are but they seem to be the last to drop their pretty yellow leaves. I love this shot looking up at the blue sky, yellow leaves and the tops of the pine trees.

Another day the vultures are making their way back to the woods to roost for the night.

A pretty sunset to end the day! I am looking forward to a long weekend for the Thanksgiving holiday. I am one of the few people NOT going shopping on Black Friday. Will you be going shopping the first thing on Friday morning?

 I hope everyone in the US is enjoying their Thanksgiving Day and to all those not in the USA have a great day!

 Thanks to the gracious host Fiona of with  Green Day
To see more beautiful photos and pretty skies please visit Skywatch Friday
and to see more of the winged critters check out NF Winged


Thanks to Sylvia and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday! Thanks to the host of NF Winged. Also, thank you for stopping by to see my post. I wish everyone a safe and happy weekend.

Bombay Hook NWR, Part two

I am linking up my Woodpecker with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

For my post this week I am showing more birds from our last visit to the wildlife refuge.

 We watched the American Avocets stay on the ground while the larger flock of shorebirds would take off and fly once in a while. I think it is just amazing to see these large flocks a birds together.

Again the large group of American Avocets and I am not sure if the others are Dunlins or another small shorebird.

Northern Harrier in flight

A good look at the Harrier's tail feathers.

We had fun watching the Northern Harrier on his hunt. I hope you enjoyed more birds from our visit the Bombay Hook wildlife refuge.

To see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.
Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday and thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes.
I wish everyone a happy week ahead and Happy Birding!

Thankful

Hello, I am linking up with Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone!!

For this weeks post with Thanksgiving just days away I wanted to do a post on the things I am most thankful for. First it would be my family... my dear hubby and son and the rest of my family who will be here for Thanksgiving dinner.  I am thankful to come home from work to see my sweet hubby already having our dinner made..my son who luckily has a job and goes to school..my Goldie Girl who greets me at the door and lays by my feet. I am thankful for my job and so happy it is one that allows me time off to travel..I am thankful that I am healthy..except for a few aches and pain..I think of all those who are really sick and I realize how fortunate I am..

I am thankful for the some of the simple pleasures in life..like waking up to a beautiful sunrise and ending the day with a gorgeous sunset...for the beautiful birds I see in my yard. And I have to say even with the awful political fights going on lately.. I am thankful for being born in the USA..There are so many poor countries and people thru-out the world who do not have food, medicine and a good roof over there heads. I would like to see less greed and in my opinion most Americans have a great life and I can say I am one of those thankful Americans.  And here are some of my wishes.. I wish for the US politicians be willing to compromise and I wish for world peace. I wish that everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving..

I am also thankful for the wonderful blogging friends I have made, the nice people that visit my blog and leave their wonderful comments. So thank you all! Have a safe and happy holiday!!

To see more wonderful photos and mosaics please visit Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday
 Thanks to Mary of Mosaic Monday and to the hosting group of Our World Tuesday: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia and Sandy .  Thanks also for stopping by to see my post.  I wish everyone a happy week!

Bombay Hook NWR, Nov 11

I am linking up with  Green Day and Camera Critters and I'd-Rather-B-Birdin.

 Last weekend hubby and I drove to Bombay Hook NWR for just the day. This wildlife refuge in Delaware is one of my favorite ones to visit next to Edwin Forsythe in NJ. For just a day trip Delaware is much closer to Maryland than New Jersey. We enjoyed the woodland walk and boardwalk and driving the wildlife drive.

These are just a few of the birds we saw: Great Blue Heron, lots of Carolina Wrens and Yellow Rump Warblers and a few Northern Harriers, Canada Geese and various ducks. I was surprised to still see some beautiful Autumn colors.

Yellow Rump Warbler, there were lots of these birds all over the refuge.

One Carolina Wren said to the other quick turn your head its that lady with the camera.

 We climbed the tower to see this pretty and colorful reflection. The weather was perfect and a big plus... there were NO BUGS.

A fair distance away is one of the few Northern Harrier's we spotted along the drive. But, even the bird is far away I still like the scene.

I am not sure why but for some reason I thought the beak on this Great Blue Heron  looked longer that what I am used to seeing. Maybe it is the shadow of the grasses on the beak?

Above is a large flock of Canada Geese and maybe some Northern Shovelers, Black Ducks and Mallards.
I hope you enjoyed my tour of Bombay Hook to see the birds. The scenery is pretty too, we enjoyed the day.

 To see more beautiful photos and cute critters please visit: Green Day  and Camera Critters and I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the gracious host Fiona of Green Day, Misty Dawn of Camera Critters and to Anni of I'd Rather-B-birdin.  Thanks for visiting my blog and post. I wish everyone a very safe and happy weekend.

Sunrise to Sunset

It's time for some of my favorites memes Skywatch Friday and  NF Winged.



These shots are all from this past Saturday. The same day as our visit to Fort McHenry and Snow Buntings on my post below. I started by taking shots of our backyard sunrise and ended with our sunset from along the road home and our backyard. Also, included were a few of my backyard birds.

Looking west the sky and clouds turned a pretty pink with the sunrise.

A shot of the crescent moon above our house.

I am pretty sure this is a juvenile Purple Finch. He found a happy spot on my deck railing.

The Red-Breasted Nuthatches are one of my favorite visitors in the winter.

We stopped along the road to enjoy this sky, we were almost home.

 The last couple of shots were taken at my front street and backyard.

To see more beautiful photos and pretty skies please visit Skywatch Friday
and to see more of the winged critters check out NF Winged

Thanks to Sylvia and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday! Thanks to Monica the host of NF Winged. Also, thank you for stopping by to see my post. I wish everyone a safe and happy weekend.