Monday, August 5, 2019

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge

Hello, Happy Monday! 


Can you believe it is August already? The summer days are flying by. During our recent road trip to Maryland's Eastern shore we made a quick visit to the Blackwater Nat'l Wildlife Refuge. Cambridge Maryland is about a 2 1/2 hour drive from home and we crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge almost at the half way point. 

On the road heading toward Blackwater NWR we passed this field of sunflowers. The farm has a stand selling veggies and fruits. They also had a field where you could pick your own blackberries.



The Blackwater NWR wildlife drive is 4 miles long, it has various spaces to pull over and watch the birds and wildlife. Blackwater NWR is designated as an Important Bird Area. 







One of the first birds I saw heading toward the wildlife and refuge was this Red-headed Woodpecker. 



The Osprey nest can be seen from our car. There are 2 juveniles along with the 2 adult ospreys on this nest. 


A view of the Blackwater wetlands, there are terns perched on this posts. See if you can find a turtle toward the middle center of the photo. 



This is a closer look at the turtle. It is big, we saw 5-6 turtles in this area. 





Great Blue Heron



We sat in our car and watched this family of Bald Eagles together. The juvenile looked like it was throwing a fit over missing the meal. 




Pretty view of the wetland and sky. 


"Kindness is choosing love over hate, light over darkness, compassion over judgement."


Please check out and visit the following memes and links. I hope to see you there. 

Thanks to Angie the host of  Mosaic Monday

Thanks to LadyFi  the host of Our World Tuesday!

Thanks for visiting and commenting, have a happy day and a great new week!

55 comments:

  1. Hari om
    The birds are fab...but today, the winner is the sunflower field!!! YAM xx

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  2. Aves, girassóis e o céu maravilhoso! Adorei! Linda nova semana! beijos, chica

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  3. Hello Eileen,

    Beautiful images! The wetland and the sky was very pretty.
    Happy Monday, and have a great new week!

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  4. i have only seen fields of sunflowers in photos and would like to see it with my own eyes. so beautiful.. the osprey family is lovely.....

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  5. You have so many great walks close by, Eileen, and this looks to be a premier spot.

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  6. ...gorgeous, those sunflowers brighten things up.

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  7. I’ve never seen turtles in the wild like that! Exciting!

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  8. Your captures are wonderful! ☺

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  9. What a perfect summer day! You have such lovely shots of beautiful animals and scenes...I would be thrilled to see all of them, but especially those eagles!

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  10. The heron is gorgeous and that turtle is BIG!!! Nice pictures - the juvenile bald eagle is too funny.

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  11. Eileen, these are some exceptional views. Lucky you!

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  12. Sunflowers are my favaorite flowers.
    The bird area is too beautiful.

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  13. I LOVE the turtle pic! Have a lovely day.

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  14. We need beautiful things in these dark times to remind us the world still has potential. I haven't seen any natural small sunflowers here, but many gardeners have the ones with massive heads in their gardens. - Margy

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  15. You share some gorgeous areas and those bird shots are always a pleasure. Thank you Eileen and have a great week.

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  16. i think your quote is perfect for today with all that is going on. i was going to pick a favorite picture/animal BUT you know how that goes!! the red headed woodpecker is GORGEOUS and those are awesome pictures of it!! and be still my heart, the osprey and eagles what majestic sights to see!! a sunflower field is one of my favorites, the ones we visit should be blooming soon, i can't wait!! this post indeed was made for me, all of my favorites!!

    ps...we were stuck in traffic the other day, an odd spot just a mile from home. it seems a huge turtle decided to cross the road. people moved it along with some type of stick, i think they actually lifted it. i have never seen a turtle that big. it came from godfrey lake, you may remember me writing about it. i visit there often but not as often as lake of the lilies

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  17. Fabulous shots! Those sunflowers are delightful!

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  18. What a beautiful place to be. A bit of heaven I suppose. Excellent shots of Eagles, Osprey, a bedraggled Heron and I love the Woodpecker.
    MB

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  19. Such a beautiful area, Eileen! I love all of the creatures that you showed today but seeing a turtle that large is a real treat!

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  20. Sunflowers are so beautiful - I love the wildlife photos are always.

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  21. Another beautiful area to explore. Great bird photos and that turtle is nice to see. We don't see too many of those here.
    Enjoy your day and have a wonderful new week.

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  22. I am so in love with the field of sunflowers and your mosaic! And the woodpecker is one of my favs now. We are finally seeing them here after years of looking for them! Enjoy your week!

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  23. I remember a bridge crossing the bay (a toll bridge)...long ago. Beautiful wildlife refuge photos!

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  24. Great images of your trip Eileen. Love the red head!

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  25. The field of sunflowers caught my eye as did the beautiful sky hanging over the wildlife and plant life!

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  26. You've got some great photographs here Eileen … and yes, that is indeed a very pretty view of the wetland and sky.

    Enjoy the week ahead.

    All the best Jan

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  27. I love fields of sunflowers. You can't help but smile when you see them!!

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  28. Eileen - a lovely post from start to finish. Maybe I should just throw a bunch of sunflower seeds in my garden and see what happens! I love osprey - looks like those parents have their talons full! Thanks for linking to Mosaic Monday, my friend, and have a wonderful week. P.S. Your quote is very timely.

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  29. I would love to see those sunflower fields and what can be better than picking your own veggies and fruit.

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  30. Amazing birds photos.
    Loved the post.
    Have a nice week ahead.

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  31. Hi Eileen
    Love the sunflowers, heron and swimming turtle! Summer is flying by.

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  32. Another Woodpecker totally unknown to me! There are so many different...
    It was nice to see it in your post.
    Have a nice day!

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  33. Looks like a lovely place to walk. The sunflowers are so bright and the woodpecker is beautiful

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  34. Indeed,time goes by... faster and faster. I thought in the last days in christmas, can you believe it?!

    Wonderful captures... happy MosaicMonday

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  35. Hi Eileen, Really enjoyed this post. Excellent photography, as always, and tough for me to pic a favorite, but that 3rd pic, the Red-headed Woodpecker, should go in one of those birding guide books. I saw a bumper sticker a few days ago that I think you would like ... “Bird is a Verb.” :-) Yes, the summer days are flying by. Thank you for sharing your adventures with us. Love your closing thought! Have a happy week ahead. John

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  36. You hit the gold mine with this trip! I am on phone now but sure want to think later and look at photos on computer.

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  37. Wow! ~ Gorgeous sunflowers and favorite photo is the sweet woodpecker ~ ^_^

    Happy Day to You,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  38. Gorgeous photos!
    I love all the birdies. And the Great Blue Heron certainly has style.
    Thank you for visiting my blog.

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  39. You have such fun! I have fun reading your posts!

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  40. So many great birds today. The red-headed woodpecker is so pretty. I love seeing ospreys on the nest in Florida. Thanks for dropping by!

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  41. What a beautiful area, and so much interesting wildlife! The sunflower mosaic is gorgeous. You are quite the photographer to capture so many outstanding photos of the resident birds.

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  42. Fantastic shooting you made. The Red-headed Woodpecker and the nesting of Ospreys, beautiful.

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  43. Eileen, you are an amazing photographer! The sunflowers are just so beautiful to me, and I've had no luck in getting them to grow!

    xoxo

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  44. Oh, I came back on computer...gorgeous, gorgeous shot. You could call that turtle Little Loch Ness..lol He must be huge.

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  45. Thanks for taking us along on your trip. It looks like an area rich in wildlife. On our vacation, we saw several great blue herons fishing on the beach, and lots of brown pelicans cruising along the shore and lots of shore birds.

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  46. Stunning sunflower field, great bird photos and the last shot is wonderful! Wishing you happy August Eileen.

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  47. Hello Eileen,
    Beautiful photos of your walk, you live in a beautiful area.
    The sunflowers, the woodpecker and the nest of the osprey are really amazing.
    Best regards, Irma

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  48. Great and beautiful photos from you again!

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  49. Lovely! A place so rich in fauna and flora.
    It's been a while since I saw some sunflowers. :)

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  50. What a lot of beauty here today. That red headed woodpecker is a stunner!

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