I have a list below of memes I am joining for this week, and to save time I am doing one post for all. They are all fun memes to participate in...I hope you can join in with the fun and check out some of the participating posts. Special thanks to all the wonderful host and their memes, I hope you have some time to check them out.
On Jan 2nd hubby and I took a walk at a local park called Hashawha Environmental Center and a quick visit to the Bear Branch Nature Center. The park has many trails for walking or horseback riding, it was a little chilly breezy morning so we enjoyed a shorter walk than normal.
The Eastern Bluebirds were the most common bird seen during our walk. One of my favorite quotes. "The bluebird carries the sky on his back." Henry David Thoreau
A larger look at the Eastern Bluebird.
The House Finches were eating these blue berries on possibly a Juniper Evergreen tree? The other tree is neat, I was guessing it is a Sumac tree? Any id help on the above trees is appreciated.
Is this a sumac tree?
The boardwalk trail next to the Hashawha Lake, some Dark-eyed Juncos were eating off the ground and trail in front of us.
Here is one shot for Tom's linky party a barn and silo at the Hashawha Environmental Center.
At the nature center they have a great pond and a trail which includes some birdhouses and feeders.
There were several what I believe are Winterberry bushes along the trail and outside the nature center.
A barn mosaic, the larger image is from Hashawha and the bottom left barn is one we pass on the road to the park.
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed my post.
As always I appreciate your visits and nice comments. Thank you! Have a happy day and new week ahead!
Thanks for visiting my post and as always I appreciate your comments.
Thanks to Tom for hosting The Barn Collective
On Jan 2nd hubby and I took a walk at a local park called Hashawha Environmental Center and a quick visit to the Bear Branch Nature Center. The park has many trails for walking or horseback riding, it was a little chilly breezy morning so we enjoyed a shorter walk than normal.
The Eastern Bluebirds were the most common bird seen during our walk. One of my favorite quotes. "The bluebird carries the sky on his back." Henry David Thoreau
A larger look at the Eastern Bluebird.
Is this a sumac tree?
The boardwalk trail next to the Hashawha Lake, some Dark-eyed Juncos were eating off the ground and trail in front of us.
Here is one shot for Tom's linky party a barn and silo at the Hashawha Environmental Center.
At the nature center they have a great pond and a trail which includes some birdhouses and feeders.
There were several what I believe are Winterberry bushes along the trail and outside the nature center.
A barn mosaic, the larger image is from Hashawha and the bottom left barn is one we pass on the road to the park.
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed my post.
As always I appreciate your visits and nice comments. Thank you! Have a happy day and new week ahead!
Thanks for visiting my post and as always I appreciate your comments.
Thanks to Tom for hosting The Barn Collective
Thanks to Judith our host of Mosaic Monday
Thanks to Monica for hosting NF Trees
Thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes
Thanks to the hosting team of Our World Tuesday!
98 comments:
The words 'most common' and bluebird don't exist in one sentence in my birding vocabulary -- I wish they did! Beautiful walk and great birds -- hard to believe you saw that many birds in a walk that was shortened by the weather.
I just type sumac tree in Google images and yes this is a sumac and i have never seen one with those red pods like that. it is gorgeous and if that beautiful little finch was sitting in all that red pod it would blend in. cute little birds...
A couple of lovely walks! Nice bird pics too.
We don't see many Eastern Bluebirds here, so I was delighted to get photos of a few earlier this afternoon while we were in Tupelo.
Hope you are having a great week-end!
Lea
Such a super collection of birds and what they enjoy this time of the year, Eileen (including Tom's barn!!)...enjoy your week ahead...:)JP
I love those path ways along the water. Very beautiful.
Mersad
Mersad Donko Photography
A bit of a red theme here Eileen...birds with red feathers, sumac, winterberries and of course red barns. Thanks for sharing this week and I hope you find some more barns while you discover more wonderful critters.
Oh, I so LOVE that last barn...in the lower right corner. What a beauty. I never see bluebirds here at our house...but see them other places.
These are great, and lovely photos.
I haven't seen any bluebirds for a long time. I love Winterberry. Those bushes are pretty big they must be old. Nice walks. Lovely bird photos. Have a wonderful week.
Looks like a beautiful day Eileen!
I always enjoy your nature shots, Eileen!
Love this week's beautiful nature shots, Eileen! :)
Wow, Eileen, I could spend hours enjoying the lovely birds! Beautiful photos, thank you so much for sharing them. :)
pretty area. love the barns! and bluebirds are just so sweet. :)
The small birds too deserve our love! Thanks for these fine nature shots, Eileen
Wow, beautiful pics.
A great place for walking and birding. Lovely colours and unusual trees.
Beautiful birds and wonderful blue skies. Eileen!
Here the temperature is about -13 Fahrenheit and the sky is only very pale blue.
Happy Mosaic Monday and have a great week ahead!
Hi Eileen,
wonderful photos of the clear blue sky, the birds, the way and the nature around you. Fabulous !
Have a nice new week, Eileen.
Best regards, Synnöve
Hi Eileen, you and hubby had a very interesting walk at the local park. I am amazed at the various birds sighting and walking along the trails that leads to ponds, etc.
Excelente trabalho e belas fotografias.
Um abraço e boa semana.
I like those winterberry bushes, and of course the barns. I'd like to take a walk on that boardwalk. Have a wonderful week, Eileen.
has winter snow come to you yet Eileen? In any case, enjoy your walks and have a great week.
ENJOYED
:)
I have no idea what kind tree that is, but it sure is cute! Lots of great photos today!
Your red barn photos, aside from the wonderful bird photos, are always wonderful to see.I do believe that the tree in question is a sumac. Here in Colorado, we have the mountain blue bird, a brilliant blue and if Thoreau is correct, yes, indeed this species does reflect the beautiful Colorado blue skies. We don't have them so much here on the prairie. We do see indigo buntings and lazuli buntings at the feeds during the spring migration. Have a wonderful week. Loved walking with you.
i love the pond view. gorgeous area ... looks so calming. hope you are well this week. i have not hear of this Nature Center, i will have to look more into it. ( :
I rarely see bluebirds, although I have seen them at my sister's place in Virginia. That's also where I see staghorn sumac. Your tree has the same flowers, but not the staghorn shape.
~
Beautiful birds and a lovely park with the pond. Have a nice week!
Great tour and lovely photos. I have forgotten where you live so am wondering where you found these lovely spots where you walked.
Glad you spotted the Eastern Bluebirds and Finches to share, lovely captures Eileen. I'm not familiar with what you suspect is a Sumac tree. At first I thought the branches were full of birds!
Great pictures, but really fabulous blue skies.
Fabulous birds, excellent images Eileen.
Enjoyed all your images and the fun memes they belong to. Happy new week.
MB
What a beautiful nature center! You will have to go back on a warmer day and see more of it, Eileen. It looks very peaceful there and there were a nice amount of birds even in the cold weather. I'm going to add my post to Saturday critters--have so mnay of them on my post--lol!
Those male finches really photograph beautifully!! Gorgeous bluebirds and a pretty reflection!!
Love the pond! And oh the bluebirds...just the sweetest. I miss them!
Donna@GardensEyeView
and LivingFromHappiness
This is also a very nice post with a lot of variety in it. Beautiful birds and enjoying nature. Thank you for sharing. Have a nice week.
Groejtes, Helma
Thoroughly enjoyed your stroll through this picturesque park with sweet little birds to see against such a brilliant blue sky! I loved the barns too!
Have a great week!
Beautiful place with such lovely birds.
Awesome place for a hike Eileen. We get the red flowers on our sumacs here and they're great for flower arranging. Junipers do get little blue berries that the birds like, we had to remove a tall one from the side of our house because it was getting a gelatinous rust in spring which affected the dwarf crabapple and serviceberries.
I enjoyed your walk and photos. Look forward to seeing more.
Love that quote about the bluebird.
Hi Eileen. That is a beautiful quote from Thoreau. And so apt when I look at your photos of the bluebirds against that superb blue sky. Such a gorgeous morning for your walk.
Sorry I cant help with identifying your tree but I do think the bright red Winterberry bush must be a magnet to berry eating birds.
Enjoy your week ahead with those lovely blue skies.
That's a beautiful place to visit. The tree does look very similar to sumac. Here our sumac have soft branches and the plumes attract some birds.
Looks like Staghorn Sumac to me. If I recall correctly, you might also have Winged Sumac at Hashawha, but I haven't been there for some thirty years, so may not be correct. In any event, Winged Sumac has loose fruit heads, while Staghorn has these nice, tight spikes. Nice photos, but then that kind of goes without saying..
Great walk, there were birds and interesting places. It was nice to him. Regards.
Interesting place ! Very nice !
Beautiful place! I love those bluebirds and the water features.
You always find the best places ~ Gorgeous photography of nature's treasures ~ I do believe that looks like a sumac tree ~
Wishing you a Happy Week ~ ^_^
All great photos but the Bluebirds against the blue sky are especially beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
Blue skies in winter make for such gorgeous photos. The birds you photographed must have loved being out on that beautiful day.
Lovely series of images. I especially like the bluebirds. Love the reflection of the trees and sun on the pond.
Oh, a beautiful place indeed, Eileen!! And superb captures as always!! I do love the birds and, yes, the water features, too!! I hope your new year is off to a great start!! Enjoy!! Thank you for sharing the beauty!!
Hi Eileen, everything there is beautiful. How i wish to see something like that environment again! And i love HDT also, everything he said i adore! And someday i would love to see the Walden Pond where he spent a wonderful part of his life.
What a beautiful walk, filled with gorgeous scenery, pretty birds and even some wonderful barns! Looks like you had nice weather, too. Thanks for sharing all the beauty, Eileen!
oh so many birds, especially the ones we don't have here.
Great walks and lovely birds seen
I'm impressed with the many natural places you have within easy driving distance of your home! Love the look of those winterberries!
So beautiful birds both the eastern bluebird and the house finches! Lovely photos.
Have a happy week!
How pretty! And it looks warm too.
Rocks, water and barns, oh, my! Love them all.
In our area sumac are small because they are usually mowed. With out the leaves or berries I am lost to identify it.
Yes, yes, that looks like a sumac.
Loved all your collages....a great walk I had along with you in the brisk winter day with all the sunshine!!!
I do believe it is a Sumac, though I couldn't tell you which variety. We have many here in our wooded area's but ours look different now as they are covered with the white stuff ... in fact, it is such a pleasure to get a glimpse of nature through your eyes, Eileen. Here it is all but too cold to do anything but look out the window and what we do see is miles and miles of white :) Beautiful series, as always, Eileen.
Andrea @ From the Sol
Very nice shots! It looks like a nice place to go birding.
Love that boardwalk shot!
What a great collection of photos and beautiful mosaics, Eileen. I love the house finches and we have quite a few of them around here. I love the quiet looking pathway...so peaceful and serene. Have a great week!
How lovely and yes a Sumac bush/tree/shrub. One of the great things is that when the Robins stay for the Winter and it gets bad, they can go to the Sumac berries for nutrition. It is said that American Indians made a drink that tasted much like lemonade from the fruit of the Sumac. I also believe that this is not the same as the Poison Sumac plant. Have a great week~
More beautiful and great nature photos from you!
Oh what a lovely selection to look at.
I also particularly like the colour in the 'Winterberry bushes'and your lovely blue sky looks so welcoming.
Hope your week is going well
All the best Jan
It's always a thrill to see your lovely birds Eileen and I continue to be amazed at the variety!
I occasionally use Sumac powder in recipes so it's interesting to see the actual tree.
How do you find these beautiful places to visit to get your bird shots. This one must me wonderful. Loved all the photos but especially the close up of the Eastern Bluebird sitting in the tree surrounded by the blue sky. Nice barns, too.
Always love the sumac's look of perched cardinals. Happy Day.
You do have some nice areas to walk, Eileen. Thanks for sharing some of them.
I always love seeing the pictures from your walks Eileen. The Eastern Bluebird is one of my favorites. They hang out in my backyard sometimes.
Wonderful photos! Great place!
What a great nature center.... I love our Bluebirds. We have lots of them around here. This winter we have more than enough (MANY MANY) Pine Siskins... Those little finches don't ever visit in small groups... Gads! ha ha
Great set of pictures, Eileen.
Hugs,
Betsy
Oh..I wish we had blue birds here...I am not sure why we don't.. Lovely walk and no snow...Michelle
All wonderful images and collages!
Many greetings
How nice to have these beauties around all the time!
Hi Eileen, such gorgeous photos and collages. Love taking walks with you. You are so very talented with your camera. Enjoy the day. xo
How wonderful! Your bluebirds are gorgeous and the Thoreau quote is a perfect fit. Sweet little Finches also. I always welcome the Juncos when they turn up in winter. Love the pretty sumac tree and the old barn. All your photos are a treat. Thanks Eileen and have a great day.
Thanks you for taking us to the Nature Center with you. You got some gorgeous photos. I really enjoyed your bluebird photos, as that is probably my favorite visitor to our feeders.
Just beautiful, I love clear blue skies and winter trees!
Have a happy day!
Jemma
beginning of January and no snow whatsoever to be seen. Love your little Bluebird. Such a sweet little one.
Lots of different things to be seen during that walk. Thanks for taking us along :)
Hi Eileen, Great looking place. I like visiting the various wildlife refuges and nature areas. Nice pictures. I love the Junco's. Have a fabulous day!
I believe, bird photography is one of the most challenging types of nature photography. Amazing shots Eileen!
Good nature walk, bird watching amount. Beautiful reflection in the pond Eileen.
Besos.
You still have so much color there in leaves and berries - not to mention the many birds!
I love the winterberry trees and the possible sumac! Lovely against the blue sky...and the blues of those bluebirds. All your photos are wonderful!
A very pretty bird, and I love the boardwalk.
The house finches are so cute! I love birds, but I think I miss them a lot of the time because I forget to look!
Beautiful photos, Eileen!
Thank you so much for sharing!!! What a lovely place! I love the images with that gorgeous blue sky...
All the best!
Ana
All lovely pics Eileen...have a great weekend!
Love the sweet birds and the red branches!
pretty area. love the barns
What a beautiful day for a walk! And the beautiful bluebirds too!
Hope you are warm and safe through the bad weather that is heading your way!
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