Shenandoah National Park

Hello,


On June 6th hubby and I went on a daytrip to Shenandoah National Park. We walked on my favorite Limberlost Trail and drove on the Skyline Drive as far south as the Big Meadows. We had a late lunch at their camp store and restaurant before heading back north on the Skyline Drive and homeward bound.

On the Limberlost Trail we saw and heard a lot of American Redstarts. This is the male above.

In my mosaic above are some wildflowers and birds we saw during our visit to the park. The birds are the American Redstart, Scarlet Tanager, Eastern Towhee and the Cedar Waxwing.

A pretty blue sky and the Scarlet Tananger.

I believe these were wild Columbine flowers growing along the Limberlost trail.

A view of the Appalachian mountains from the range view overlook. I hope you enjoyed my post and my views of Shenandoah Nat'l Park.

For Tom's Barn Collective, on the way home I have a drive by shot from our daytrip to Shenandoah.

Thank you for visiting and for the nice comments. As always, thanks to the wonderful group of hosts listed below.

Here is a list of linky parties for part of the week, Sunday thru Wednesday. I hope to see you there.

Thanks to Tom the host of the The Barn Collective
Thanks to Jesh our host for Seasons

Thanks to Judith our  host of Mosaic Monday  this will be the last Mosaic Monday for Judith and possibly the end 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!

Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday

Saturday's Critters #94

Saturday's Critters #94

Happy Saturday, it's time to share your critters and post. Any kind of critter will do, even a new or old post..  I will be away from the computer during this post but I will catch up and visit and comment on your post as soon as possible. I appreciate everyone who is linking in with this week's critter party.

The last few years I have been seeing the fall warblers stop by my yard to eat some of our wild berries growing in our yard. This year we saw some warblers maybe not as many as previous years. Some of these warblers were in my yard and some seen in the local woods near my house.

If you click on these image you will see a larger image which looks better.

 On our devil's stick berries the Chestnut-sided Warbler.

Above the male American Redstart, another quick mover.

The female American Redstart in our Weeping Cherry tree. It is hard to get a clear shot of these fast moving birds.

Above is a breeder here at the watershed next to our house the Hooded Warbler. It was constantly on the move and hard to get these images.

The Hooded Warbler would not stay still for a second. It was hard just getting the shot above.

The Black-throated Green Warbler in our Weeping Cherry tree.

Above is a fall Tennessee Warbler, the line across the eyes is helpful for this id.

Above on the left is the Black-throated Blue Warbler and on the right the Cape May Warbler.

On one day, we were seeing two-three Cape May Warblers on the Devil's Walking Stick berries.  The brighter yellow colored warbler above is the male.

In the mosaic above is the female Black-throated Blue Warbler. It has an arc under the eyes and a small white patch on its side.

I hope you enjoyed my warbler post. Thank you for stopping by for a visit and thanks for the nice comments. I also appreciate everyone joining in with my critter party. Have a happy weekend!

Again I want to mention I will catch up with everyone's post as soon as possible..

An InLinkz Link-up

To see more beautiful birds and cute critters, check out these two memes below.
Also visit:  I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the gracious host: Anni.  

Shenandoah National Park

I am linking up Camera Critters and I'd-Rather-b-birdin   I hope you are joining in and posting your birds and critters.

Last Sunday hubby and I went on a daytrip to Shenandoah National Park, we enjoy riding on the Skyline Drive and hiking on the trails. 

A Downy Woodpecker seen on the Limberlost Trail.

The Limberlost Trail is my favorite trail. I knew the Hooded Warblers were nearby and I took my time looking for the warblers and other birds along the trail. I could hear the Hooded Warblers nearby along with a few American Redstarts.

Pictured above I was trying to follow my Hooded Warbler around the branches I started hearing noises that sounded like acorns or branches falling. So I followed the sounds to the top of the tree and noticed a tree swaying back and forth. Then I saw two black spots one big and a smaller black spot at the top of the tree. I zoomed in with my camera and I see two bears, one I think is the momma bear and the smaller definitely a baby bear.

The tree was swaying was actually from momma bear reaching for some kind of berries to eat. I think she had a feast up there in the treetop.

She was resting her head on the branch with the legs dangling off.  I wonder what the birds were thinking?

Momma looks comfy laying on the branches, she decided to take a nap in the tree. I hope she didn't fall out.

I did finally get to see the Hooded Warbler out in the open with a caterpillar in its mouth. But I think the excitement of seeing the bear I couldn't focus on the warbler. Seeing a bear up in the tree gives new meaning to the term "warbler neck". We stood on the trail and watched momma bear for some time, probably the longest bear sighting we ever had. We actually left before the bear, I did not want to be there when the bear came down the tree.

The American Redstart is beautiful, with its halloween colors black with the bright orange. I guess the birds do not mind sharing their trees and berries with the bears.

This week I am sharing some of my favorite memes. I have met some wonderful bloggers by joining in on the blogging parties and memes. Also, by linking your blog up you may increase your blog visitors and readers. So today, I am sharing the links for some of my favorite memes.


Sunday link up to: Mosaic Monday Mary at Little Red House has been hosting this fun meme you can join by creating mosaics and linking up. For my mosaics making I use the free site PicMonkey it is my favorite and easy to use.

Monday link up to: Our World Tuesday meet fellow bloggers from around the world sharing what is happening in their world.

Tuesday link up to : Wild Bird Wednesday Stewart is the Host of Wild Bird Wednesday. Fellow bloggers from around the world share their birds and photos.

Wednesday link up to : Nature Notes is one of my favorites..I love anything to do with nature. The birds, butterflies, flowers..a world of beautiful things.

Thursday link up to : Skywatch Friday is another one of my favorites. I love to skywatch, the sunrises and sunsets are beautiful. The cloud formations are beautiful. So many skies to share, a new one everyday.
Thursday link up to:NF Winged if you enjoy birds and other winged things  and like to share them with fellow bloggers.

 Saturday link up to: Camera Critters  and I'd-rather-b-birdin I am a bird and animal lover,  it is wonderful to see everyone's critters.

Saturday link #2 is Scenic Weekends I link up my travel blog Travel with Eileen it is fun to virtually travel the world.

There are many more blog memes and parties, these just happen to be some of my favorites. I hope someday you can join in on our fun. See you there!

Thanks for stopping by and for the nice comments! I wish everyone a happy weekend.

 To see more beautiful photos and cute critters

 please visit:  Camera Critters and I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the gracious hosts Misty Dawn of Camera Critters and to Anni of I'd Rather-B-birdin.

Shenandoah National Park

I am linking up with Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday

Happy Memorial Day! I hope everyone is enjoying the long holiday weekend.

These photos are from another recent day trip my hubby and I took to Shenandoah National Park. The park is one of our favorite places to visit . We enjoyed hiking on some trails and driving along the Skyline Drive. I recently heard on the news that the National Parks are trying to get young people unplugged and outdoors visiting the National Parks. They are saying the average age of a National Park visitor is 54 well that is pretty close to hubby's and my age of 55. It is being said that there may not be enough young people to care about National Parks to keep them going. Now, that sounds really sad to me. I know hubby and I took our son to many National Park during our travels over the years. I am hoping my son appreciates and loves the National Parks as much as hubby and I.

The shots above are from one of my favorite trails..it is called the Limberlost trail. Here we saw amazing numbers of the Chestnut-sided warblers. Quite a few American Redstarts were also bouncing around in the trees. The wildflowers and butterflies were a beautiful sight to see. I also saw some Canada Warblers but those photos were blurry. These warblers bounce around so fast it is hard to catch any of them still enough for a good photo.

I was amazed at the numbers of the Chestnut-sided Warblers we were seeing. Above you can make out the pretty chestnut side, but can not see the top of its head which has a yellow crown and bordered by black.

Some of the wildflowers seen along the Limberlost trail.

Above are some of the pretty pink wild azaleas, a tiger swallowtail butterfly, a view from the Rangeview overlook, the Appalachian trail and a Catbird. We also saw and heard many Indigo Buntings and Scarlet
Tanagers.

The American Redstart one of the common bird seen along the Limberlost trail.

A view of the Big Meadow located in the middle section of Shenandoah Nat'l Park on the Skyline Drive.

I hope you enjoyed our Shenandoah visit...it is one of the many National Parks that we love.

To see more wonderful mosaics and photos please visit Mosaic Monday  and Our World Tuesday
Thanks to Mary the host of Mosaic Monday  and to the hosting group of Our World: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia and Sandy

American Redstart

My post for the Friday Ark and Camera Critters I am showing the American Redstart. The male was seen last weekend during my bird count at the clear cut study area located at the reservoir's watershed.

I have been enjoying the warblers showing up at the reservoir and watershed near my house. The American Redstart breeds in moist and mixed deciduous woods. The male Redstart has halloween colors, mostly black and orange at its sides. I have heard the female being called the Yellowstart because she has yellow at her sides.

Below the female hiding in the bush, but if you look close you can see the yellow at her sides.

Another male perched in the bush, you can see his pretty orange side.

Another angle looking up at the male Redstarts bottom, white underneath, black head and back and bright orange at its sides.

Another female below, still far away but a little clearer photo.

For me trying to photograph any type of  warbler is very hard, these little birds are so quick and bounce around on the tree limbs way too fast for me. Just when I want to snap a photo, they take off and bounce to another branch. I am happy to get any photo to record where and when I see these beautiful birds.

To see more wonderful critters, you should board the Friday Ark  and
 for more cute animals check out Camera Critters.  Thanks to the host of the Friday Ark and to Misty Dawn for hosting Camera Critters.

I hope you enjoyed my American Redstarts and thanks for stopping by. I hope everyone has a great weekend.