Saturday's Critters # 559

  Welcome to Saturday's Critters! Hello and Happy Saturday!

Happy Labor Day weekend everyone!

 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!

Our latest trip, July 31 through Aug 7th, hubby and I were on a trip to Alaska. Our first night was in Anchorage Alaska, we spent 3 nights close to Denali Nat'l Park and Preserve and the last 2 nights were in Glacier View Alaska. We flew on Alaska Airlines from BWI in Maryland to Seattle WA.  At Sea-Tac we had just over an hour for our next flight to Anchorage Alaska. Arriving in Anchorage we picked up our rental car and hit the road for some sightseeing. These are images from our first day in Anchorage. The daylight hours were long, the sun rose around 5:30 am and did not set until around 10:30. 

1. Only a 20 minute drive from our Anchorage hotel we drove on the Seward Hwy to Beluga Point, Cook Inlet. I read the Beluga whales could be seen in this area mid July through Sept when the salmon are plentiful. We did not see any whales but the views were beautiful. Sept 21, 2024 will be a day for the Beluga Count, open to the public. During the Sept 2023 count, 331 Beluga whales were counted. 

View from Beluga Point lookout, the Cook Inlet

2. Heading back toward our Anchorage hotel, we stopped at the Potters Marsh Coastal Refuge right off the Seward highway. The boardwalk is nice except part of it is right next to the Seward Hwy, with cars and trucks zooming by and the Alaska Railroad tracks, so it was very noisy.

3. A view of the coastal refuge, looking toward the Cook Inlet and the Seward Highway.

4. I am not sure when the birds in Alaska migrate south for the winter. We did not see many at the refuge.  I believe what we did see were the Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs and we saw the Wilson's Snipe.

5. I was told these birds could be the Greater Yellowlegs.

I wish I could balance this well on just one leg. 

6. We did see some ducks too, not sure which duck we saw here. 

Below are a Wilson's Snipe with another Yellowleg.

7. We did see the Belted Kingfishers, at one time I think there were 3 flying around us.  The bird on the right has a small fish in it's beak.

8. The Belted Kingfishers would fly around and then come back and land in the same bush. 

It was a long first day between flying and then driving to the Beluga Point, taking a walk on the refuge boardwalk. It was time for a dinner and check in to our Anchorage hotel for one night. My next Alaska post will be on our visit and stay near Denali National Park and Preserve.

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday 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:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post!

Happy Monday!

Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

"Keep your face always toward the sunshine and shadows will fall behind you." Walt Whitman

Florida 2019, sky above, sand below, peace within.

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

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Saturday's Critters # 558

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!

I am sharing photos from our visit to the Butterfly Pavilion at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix Arizona. 

1. Have you seen these butterflies? Only a few are found in my home state of Maryland. 

2. Below are the Buckeye, a pretty Julia Longwing, a Zebra Longwing and a Cloudless Sulphur. 

3.Cloudless Sulphur and Monarchs. 

4. Buckeye, unknown top right,  a Malachite and a White Peacock.

5. A Red Admiral and a Malachite, more Cloudless Sulphur and another Malachite.

6. The Zebra Longwing, Malachite and some goldfish. 

7. Below are the Zebra Longwing, Malachite and the Cloudless Sulphur.

8. Poster showing some of the butterflies in the Pavilion, Monarchs and some flowers.

9. Hubby, the butterfly whisperer.  

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday 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:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post!

Happy Monday!

 Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

"There is something in the human spirit that will survive and prevail; there is a tiny and brilliant light burning in the heart of man that will not go out, no matter how dark the world becomes." Tolstoy

Sunrise at Lake Crescent, Olympic National Park, Washington State

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

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Saturday's Critters # 557

 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!

 

These are various images from different days, mostly my backyard birds, a few from our walks on the NCR bike trail, the Hashawha Nature Center and our local fire road walks with Winnie the grand-dog.

Click on images for better viewing.

Backyard birds and blooms, the Gray Catbird and the Eastern Bluebird at the birdhouse.

Scenes from our walk on the NCR Trail, I always greet the dogs I see during our walks. I believe this handsome Labrador was named Noah. 

The birds below are from the NCR trail, White-breasted Nuthatch, Carolina Chickadee, Indigo Bunting, Eastern Phoebe and Turkey Vulture.

Backyard birds on June 14, the Peacock still comes to visit us, a Ruby-throated Hummingbird at the feeder, another shot of the Peacock perched on the swing set.

June 16th backyard deer, Peacock, Eastern Bluebird and a Downy Woodpecker.

June 16th, our walk at the Hashawha Nature Center

Back at home the Peacock standing next our car, a squirrel waiting for some food and a Tufted Titmouse on the fence. 

Two Hairy Woodpeckers visit our deck often, they like the peanut suet nuggets I leave out on the railing. 

Below more backyard birds, the Cardinal, Eastern Bluebird and the Brown Thrasher looking for food on the railing.

Backyard birds are the Brown Thrasher, the Northern Cardinal and the Peacock continues to visit. 

 July 2-4th we watched our grand-dog Winnie, she enjoyed going for walks on the local fire road.  

July 11th, we had two black bears visiting our yard. They walked up on our deck, around our cars and yard. They stopped and ate some our blueberries off the bush. If you enlarge the image below, you can see just a small part of the second bear, on top left image I circled it with a red marker. BTW, I have taken down my bird feeders years ago,  I was tired of seeing the squirrels eating all the food. 

I hope you enjoyed my birds and critters. 

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday 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:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post!

Happy Monday!

Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

St Stephen's Green Park Dublin

"Take short walks in a park down a happy trail."

"Access to nature close where people live, work and visit is critical for our mental and physical health."

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

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Saturday's Critters # 556

 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!

1. June 11-12th, hubby and I enjoyed an overnight trip to Shenandoah National Park, we like the Skyline Drive, hiking on the Limberlost trail and stopping at all the overlooks and of course the trails at Big Meadows. Below are photos from Shenandoah, birds that were seen and wildflowers and scenic views. 

2. Below are the Eastern Towhee, a Veery and I am guessing the Eastern Wood-Pewee.

I've been using the Merlin Bird Id app on my phone while I am out hiking, below are two screen shots of the birds I could hear while hiking on the Limberlost Trail. 

The Eastern Towhees were heard and seen all along the trail. 

3. The Mountain Laurels were blooming beautifully along the Limberlost Trail.

4. The Mountain Laurel blooms were either white or a pretty pink color. 

5. Our walk on the trail at Big Meadows , we saw some butterflies and lots of wildflowers. 

My first of the year Monarch Butterfly sighting. 

The speed limit on the Skyline Drive is 35MPH  for a reason, the deer and any wildlife can be crossing the road just around one of my many curves. 

One of the many deer we saw during the two days we visited the park. 

6. Birds seen at the Big Meadows were the Song Sparrows and the Field Sparrows and near the parking lot were the Cedar Waxwings. 

7. Stopping at various overlooks at the scenic views of the Appalachian Mountains, the White-tailed Deer , wild Columbine and an Indigo Bunting. 

8. The Limberlost Trail has always been a favorite of mine, below it looks like I captured a young Brown Thrasher, we saw  family of Wild Turkeys close to the parking lot. 

Shenandoah National Park is one of my favorite parks to visit, it is nice to stay overnight and be able to visit later in the day and early in the morning.  I hope you enjoyed the photos. 

I am linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday 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:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post!