Saturday, December 31, 2022

Happy New Year 2023!

 Happy New Year 2023!


May the New Year bring you happiness, peace and prosperity. Wishing you and yours a joyous New Year 2023! 



May every moment of this year be unique, filled with pleasure and each day comes out exactly what you want.  Happy New Year! 

Saturday's Critters # 472

Welcome to Saturday's Critters!

Hello and happy Saturday!

 If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!

Happy New Year everyone! Thanks to all my visitors for your past and present comments. I appreciate everyone who has linked up their critter post this past year, I do love seeing all your critters. May this New Year be filled with much Joy and wonderful moments and critters for you!

Late November, for 5 days we were in Jamaica. It was great having a direct flight to Montego Bay from our airport BWI.  Just a little over 3 hours we were in Jamaica. Hubby and I would start our day watching the sunrise from the balcony of our room. I enjoyed watching the Brown Pelicans, Great Egrets, Great Blue Heron, Pigeons and the White-winged Doves flying around the resort. 


1. Nov 26th, Jamaica pigeon, White-winged Dove, Brown Pelican and a Great Blue Heron fly by.




Water activities galore, diving and snorkeling, kayaking and more right next door to our resort. 





2. Nov 27th, distant Great Egret, a couple of Brown Pelicans




Nov 27th, a couple of Brown Pelicans are perched on the boat below. It was a pretty sky watch day.  





There were some trees along the beach, nice spots to sit in the shade. I would watch hubby snorkeling and at the same time see and hear the Bananaquits moving around in the trees. 




3. Nov 28th, the Brown Pelicans were seen every morning, some times perched on one of the boats. The Great Egrets were seen fishing every morning. 




4. Nov 28th , the sunrise from our balcony. 





5. Nov 29th, while watching the sunrise I was also watching the Brown Pelicans and the Great Egrets in front of our resort.





6. I zoomed in on the Great Egret walking on the distant pier. 





7. Nov 30th, our last morning at breakfast these two cats liked to hang out on the restaurant's patio, maybe getting food from the hotel guest. 





8. Nov 30th, one last look at the ocean and resort while waiting for our airport transfer. 





9. Nov 30th, a sky shot from the plane on the way home.




Hubby and I love to travel, this was our first time visiting Jamaica, it was a fun and pretty island to visit.  We are already planning our next trip and I am looking forward to our next adventure. 

"I haven't been everywhere but it is on my list."


10. A bonus Christmas collage of our grandsons Wyatt and Mason.




Thank you for sharing your critters and post!

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.



Here is my linky:


I am also linking up to Anni's blog party found here I'd Rather B Birding   Anni always has some beautiful birds to be seen on her blog, check it out! Also, I am also linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post. 

Monday, December 26, 2022

Happy Monday!

 Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!


"Start each day with a grateful heart."





" You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water."



 "We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Comments off, enjoy your day!


Saturday, December 24, 2022

Merry Christmas!

 Merry Christmas to you and your family! 




May the Christmas season fill your home with joy, your heart with love and your life with laughter. 




Comments off, everyone your day! 

Saturday's Critters # 471

Welcome to Saturday's Critters


Hello and happy Saturday!

 If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!

Merry Christmas everyone! Happy Holidays to all! 

It's Christmas Eve, I am not sure who will have time to create a critter post. Just in case you have  a post ready for linking up the linky is here.  I tend to do my post in advance, not sure if I will ever be up to date sharing my photos. This post is a mish-mash, various birds from various times in late November and into December. 

Click on photos for better viewing!

1. I often can hear the Pileated Woodpecker right outside my house. They are so loud, on this day there were 2 of the Pileated Woodpeckers moving around a tree next to my yard. 





2. Hashawha Nature Park is one of my favorite local parks for hiking and birding.  On this day we saw the Northern Mockingbird, Eastern Bluebirds, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Carolina Chickadee, Song Sparrows and Starlings. 




3. A male Eastern Bluebird, one of many seen at the Hashawha Nature Park. 





4. During one of our walks on the local NCR bike trail I noticed this Bald Eagle sitting in a tree. 





5. Along the NCR bike trail, the berries added a bit of color, the Bald Eagle perched in a near by tree, a late sighting of a Fritillary Butterfly. 





5. Looking out my kitchen window I noticed this Northern Flicker on the top of our swing in the back yard. The Flicker found some berries to eat. 




6. The Northern Flicker has a call I recognize, it is also loud but not as loud as the Pileated Woodpecker. 




7. Some wild life from my back and front yards, the black cat has been seen a few times, hanging out around our little pond and wood pile. The crazy male Cardinal is back doing it's thing knocking on our den window which faces the front yard. 




8.  I often hear the Carolina Wrens in and around our yard. They can be loud, so loud I hear them while I am inside the house.






9. From my archives, a chubby looking Cardinal wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas.  





Thank you for sharing your critters and post!

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.



Here is my linky:


I am also linking up to Anni's blog party found here I'd Rather B Birding   Anni always has some beautiful birds to be seen on her blog, check it out! Also, I am also linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post. 

Monday, December 19, 2022

Happy Monday!

 Happy Monday! Wishing everyone a great day and happy new week!


"Nature unfolds her treasure at the first ray of sunrise."


Sunrise from our balcony at the Rose Hall Beach Resort Jamaica




"May every sunrise bring your hope, may every sunset bring you peace."



 "We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Saturday, December 17, 2022

Saturday's Critters # 470

Welcome to Saturday's Critters!

Hello and happy Saturday!

 If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!

We are thankful for our travels. There was no Black Friday shopping for me, we were packing and heading to the airport early Saturday morning. Ya mon, Jamaica !  Hubby and I went on a short trip to Jamaica on Nov 26th through Nov 30th.  Hubby really loves snorkeling and of course I was enjoying the Jamaica birds. We stayed in Rose Hall near Montego Bay. We took a day trips sightseeing, snorkeling and birding. One tour was to Negril, stopping at the Seven Mile Beach and Rick's Cafe where we could watch the cliff diving. We also took a tour to the Rockland Bird Sanctuary ( my favorite tour) and hubby took a snorkel trip to the Montego Bay Marine Park. 

Click on photos for better viewing!

Birds and photos are from the Rockland Bird Sanctuary!

1. Below on the top row: on my finger a Yellow-faced Grassquit, the Red-billed-Streamertail on a perch and on hubby's finger, White-chinned Thrush, Jamaican Oriole. The middle row:  the Jamaican Woodpecker, Mango Hummingbird, Black-faced Grassquits in the bath, Bananaquit, Cattle Egrets. Bottom row: the photos from our resort are the Brown Pelican, Great Egret, White-winged Dove, in flight a Tern with a Gull, Magnificent Frigatebird. 





2. Hubby is feeding the Red-billed Streamertail also known as the Doctor Bird and it is Jamaica's National bird. 





3. The Red-billed Streamertail, these birds seem very calm around people. They flew right up to my camera, zoomed around our heads chasing each other. Below the photo shows off it's pretty scissor tail feathers. 





4. The Jamaican Oriole has a heavy bill with black bib and bold wingbars and additional white on the wings. It is compared to the and resembles the young male Hooded Oriole and the Orchard Orioles. 





5. The Jamaican Woodpecker has a white face and scarlet crown with olive brown underparts. The only other woodpecker seen in Jamaica is the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. 





6. The Jamaican Mango Hummingbird, is a large all dark hummingbird. it has an iridescent dark rosy purple on the head and tail. 





7. Orangequit, the male is a pretty blue and has a pretty color orange throat patch.




8. The White-chinned Thrush, it is a slaty-gray in color with an orange bill and orange legs. It has a small white chin patch. 






9. Perched in a tree were two Bananaquits.




10. The Yellow-faced Grassquits perched on my finger drinking some of the sugar water, hubby and I both had these birds sitting on our legs eating bird seed off our pants. 




I had such a good time at this bird sanctuary, I fed the hummingbirds and the Yellow-faced Grassquits.






11. I had help with the id of these two birds, it was hard for me since they were so wet. They are Black-faced Grassquits. They were not a lifer for me, I have seen the Black-faced Grassquits in Curacao. 




Our Jamaica trip went by so fast, but we enjoyed touring the island, the nice people we met, the snorkeling and the birding.



Life is short, take the trip!


Thank you for sharing your critters and post!

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.



Here is my linky:


I am also linking up to Anni's blog party found here I'd Rather B Birding   Anni always has some beautiful birds to be seen on her blog, check it out! Also, I am also linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post. 

Monday, December 12, 2022

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday! Wishing everyone a great day and happy new week!


"Travel is my therapy."



"Life is a journey make the most of it."


 "We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Saturday, December 10, 2022

Saturday's Critters # 469

Welcome to Saturday's Critters!

Hello and happy Saturday!

 If you love all God's creatures like I do and also like to blog about them and take critter photos this is where you can share your critter post. Link up your post and share your critters, join in with my critter party ! You can share any kind of critters the real ones, pretend ones, statues and paintings, a new or old post!

Hubby and I enjoy our little getaways, in this case on Nov 2nd-4th we visited one of my favorite places Chincoteague Island NWR in Virginia. We like going on these getaways at the last minute, just so we can pick the good weather days. The Chincoteague ponies are always a treat to see along with all the wild birds. 

Click on photos for better viewing!

1. Various photos from Chincoteague Island NWR, the Chincoteague Ponies, Merlin, Yellowlegs, Egret with ponies, Great Egret, Osprey, White Ibis, Assateague Lighthouse, Forster's Tern, Osprey, Sanderlings, Green-winged Teals, Bald Eagles, Great Blue Heron, sunrise




2. Great Egrets were seen in the same spot every day, one of their favorite fishing spots.





3. Merlin, this bird was seen from the trail to the pony overlook.




4. Various ducks, a good distance away for me to id them. A Bald Eagle did a fly by and caused a raucous. 





5. We found a few Yellowlegs off the wildlife drive. 




6.  After flying over the ducks that were hanging out, the Bald Eagle couple hung out on the ground for awhile. 





7.  Below one Great Blue Heron on the far left with a group of Cormorants, this was taken close to the sunset at Tom's Cove.. 




8.  A few Forster's Terns perched on the bridge leading into the wildlife refuge. 




9.  A Northern Flicker high in one of the tree tops off the trail. 






10.  An Osprey was seen each day almost in the same spot, maybe it was a good fishing spot. 




11. A Pied-billed Grebe was seen off the wildlife drive. 



I came home from 2 nights and 3 days in Chincoteague with over 500 photos and a few awful mosquito bites. These are some of my favorite birds, from the first day and half of the second day. 


12. My bonus photo is from Thanksgiving Day, my son, DIL and grandsons Wyatt and Mason came over for Thanksgiving dinner.





Thank you for sharing your critters and post!

Thanks to all my visitors and for your past and present comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves and respects wildlife. Thank you for linking up a critter post.



Here is my linky:


I am also linking up to Anni's blog party found here I'd Rather B Birding   Anni always has some beautiful birds to be seen on her blog, check it out!  Also, I am also linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post. 

Happy Monday!

Wishing everyone a great day and a ha ppy new week! "One small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day." "T...