Saturday's Critters #289

Welcome to Saturday's Critters!


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 some more photos from our walk at the North Point State Park in Baltimore County, Maryland. 

We saw 5-6 adult Little Blue Herons and one mottled juvenile Little Blue Heron during our walk.  

Bull frogs where everywhere, very loud. 

I think these are the Red-eared Slider Turtles.

The Mottled Little Blue Heron, a juvenile. 

Another Little Blue Heron, we watched this one catch a frog.

A Pileated Woodpecker seen on a dead tree right above where an Osprey was perched. 

Osprey and a thin looking nest. 

The adult Little Blue Heron is beautiful, the blue colors around the bi-colored bill and the maroon head are lovely. 

I appreciate and thank everyone who links up their post and for all the wonderful comments !





Here is a list of my linky parties;

Also visit:  I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the gracious host: Anni.

Happy Thankful Thursday!

Happy Thankful Thursday!

North Point State Park is a great park for seeing all kinds of birds, frogs, turtles and even snakes. The trail goes through a wooded area and ends on the Chesapeake Bay in Baltimore County, Maryland. 

The Black Marsh trail is my favorite trail to take in the North Point State Park. 

"Our souls need time to think, dream and reflect."

There is a great wetlands area and habitat for the Osprey, Little Blue Herons, Great Blue Herons and even the Bald Eagle. Pretty sky reflections on the water. 

The Bull frogs were pretty loud and did not seem shy. 

There were two Osprey nest and we saw at least 4 Ospreys from the trail. 

"Happiness radiates like the fragrance from a flower and draws all good things toward you."

We saw some pretty Mimosa tree blooms along the Black Marsh trail. I am thankful for flowers, they are happy things. 

"Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience."

 Juvenile Tree Swallow being fed by the adult. 

I could hear snakes moving into the plants along the trail as we walked, this was the only snake I saw out in the open. I am assuming it is a Black Rat Snake. 

"My favorite weather is bird-chirping weather."

It was a nice day for a walk, this is a pretty view of the Chesapeake Bay and a beautiful sky. 

Be honest, be nice, be a flower not a weed. 


I am thankful for my son, he is handy dandy. He put wainscoting in our bathroom, it is looks great.
I am thankful for all your visits and comments. 


Thank you Michelle for hosting Thankful Thursday. 
Thank you to Yogi the host of   Skywatch Friday



Thanks so much for visiting and for your nice comments on my previous post. Have a happy day!

Cattle Egrets

Happy Monday everyone!

I am sharing one of my favorite birds seen in Florida. We saw many of the Cattle Egrets at the Circle B Bar Reserve near Lakeland Florida. During the breeding season they have pretty tan or golden feathers on their head, chest and back. They are smaller in size compared to the other Egret species. They are all white with a yellow bill and legs.

BTW, I hope Florida and my friends and family there have all safely survived Hurricane Irma. I also hope all my favorite birding spots, birds and wildlife have survived this storm.

If you click on the photo below you can see some of the Cattle Egret below that have the golden colors on their head.

These two Cattle Egrets were seen in Baltimore County Maryland. So they are found up and down the coast during the summer season.

A few more Cattle Egrets seen at a local Florida preserve.  They eat insects on gassy fields.

I hope you enjoyed my Egrets photos and post.
As always I thank you for stopping by and as always I appreciate your comments.

My list of memes for today, I hope to see you there. Thanks to both of the host below.


Thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes

Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday

Cromwell Valley Park

I am linking up with Skywatch Friday  and Good Fences
I hope you can join in on the fun and share your fence scenes and pretty skies.

Today I am taking you on our walk at the local  Baltimore County 426 acre Cromwell Valley Park. It is a favorite spot for local birders and is a Hawk Watch spot. These images were from Aug 12th. I sharing some fence scenes and skywatch shots, it was a beautiful day to be outside. Of course the birds were there also and could not go unnoticed.

For Skywatch above we are continuing on our walk on the road/trail that has a view of these towers and the pretty farm fields. This park was originally a farm and the land donated to the county for the park. The sky in my mosiac looks beautiful.

Is this the Northern Waterthrush with its streaked breast or is it the cousin Louisiana Waterthrush. I am always second guessing my Id's.

Hubby and I usually start off our walk on the loop trail thru a wooded area and next to the stream. BTW, hubby does not mind me calling him "hubby" in my post and not by his real name Michael.  Above are some images for Tex's Good Fences that include the fence scenes along the trail, the stream, wildflowers and a skipper.

Using our binocs we could see some men working on the tower. I think this is a neat skywatch shot above and in the mosaic above. I believe the towers are telephone towers?

 For my Tex's Good Fence entry I have more views of the farm and fence scenes in the park. The sky was a pretty blue with these lovely puffy white clouds.

Another shot of my Waterthrush! We saw this bird next to the stream on our way back to the parking. I hope you enjoyed going along on our walk, the bird, sky and scenery! Thanks for stopping by for a visit and for your nice comments. Have a happy day and weekend ahead.

To see more pretty skies from around the world please visit  Skywatch Friday
and check for more fence shots at Tex's Good Fences

Thanks to Theresa @ The Run*A*Round Ranch for hosting Good Fences and thanks to Sylvia, Yogi  and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday.    I wish everyone a happy day and weekend ahead..

Robert E. Lee Park

Happy Labor Day Monday!

My post is for all the memes I have listed below.  I thank all the hosts for taking their time and holding these fun linky parties.

If you have been following my blog for a while you already know hubby and I enjoy taking our walks in various parks. It is our way of getting outdoors for exercise and I enjoy birding. On this day we visited the Robert E. Lee Park in Baltimore County and the Lake Roland Dam. The park consists of 450 acres has numerous trails, a dog park, pavilions, nature programs, canoeing and kayaking.

Above is the boardwalk from the parking lot to Lake Roland. For my Wild Bird post I am sharing the Great Blue heron, Great Egrets and some Mallard Ducks.  We also saw various woodpeckers, a kingfisher and some sparrows. They also have a nice doggie park and playground.

Another wild bird photo, the Great Blue Heron.

The mosaic above includes some scenes from the park, the trail crosses the lightrail train tracks, the trail along side the lake and dam area, goose at the top of the dam, is the Virginia Creeper turning fall colors, Lake Roland Dam.

At the doggie park, the dogs have their own swimming spot in the lake.

The Lake Roland Dam is somewhat surrounded by a mature forest. The stream Roland Run above flows into the Jones Falls and eventually into the Baltimore Harbor. The Lake Roland was at one time the first water supply for the City of Baltimore.

As we hiked on the trail we were noticing the Art on the trail 2015, which celebrates both art and nature and allows some Maryland artist to show off their work. I like the cool Baby Mastodon and the next two are interesting and the bottom row with the trees wrapped with yellow is called the Sacred Grove.

My favorite art piece was this Baby Mastodon.
I hope you enjoyed our walk and my post. I hope to see you linking up and have some fun visiting each other. Thank you, as always for visiting my post. Have a happy new week ahead!

Thanks to Judith our  host of Mosaic Monday
Thanks to Monica for hosting NF Trees
Thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes
Thanks to Mersad for hosting Through My Lens.
Thanks to Sue for hosting Wordless Wednesday
Thanks to the hosting team of Our World Tuesday!
Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday

Little Blue Heron

For this week's memes ( my list is below) and my wild bird I am featuring the Little Blue Heron seen at the local Baltimore County park  North Point State Park. I was able to capture the adult, juvenile and the transitional Little Blue Herons.

 " Enjoy the little things in life..for one day you'll look back and realize they were the big things".  author unknown.

An awesome spot to see the Little Blue Herons is just a short walk down this wooded Black Marsh trail.

The lush Black Marsh wetlands contains marsh loving shrubs, grasses and various flowers. The land side of the marsh is a mature forest.

Above is the white juvenile Little Blue Heron.  From a distance you would think this Little Blue Heron was actually an Egret. But, you have to check out the bill and leg colors to see the differences.

The Juvenile Little Blue Heron has an olive-gray bill and greenish legs and feet.

Another look at the juvenile Little Blue Heron.

Above is the transitional mottled Little Blue Heron.

You can above the mottled grayish blue and white on the Little Blue heron above.

Another shot of the mottled white-blue Little Blue Heron. For Monica's NF Trees and bushes I am sharing the wild hibiscus bush and flowers. The blooms are  pretty behind the heron.

And last I share the adult Little Blue Heron in the mosaic above and the two images below. It is a beautiful heron and one of my favorites.

Another adult Little Blue Heron, this park seems to be home to these birds in the summer. You just have to put up with some bugs to see them.

The Adult Little Blue Heron being stalked by a turtle. They are beautiful herons and wonderful birds to see. I hope you enjoyed my Little Blue Herons post. Thanks for stopping by and for the nice comments.   Happy Birding and I wish everyone a very happy new week!

I hope to see you linking up and have some fun visiting each other.

 Thanks to Judith our  host of Mosaic Monday

Thanks to Monica for hosting NF Trees

Thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes

 Thanks to Mersad for hosting Through My Lens.

Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Birds Wednesday

Saturday Walk Part II

Linking up with Skywatch Friday  and Good Fences

This is part two of our Saturday walk, the first being our stop at the Yellow Crowned Night Heron rookery. We then drove to Cromwell Valley/Sherwood Farm park in Baltimore County. They have a nice loop trail that follows along a stream, fields and farm. A great habitat for the spring migrants and breeders!

I love this big old tree and the sky and clouds were beautiful, a perfect day for our walk.

Part of the loop trail was walking along the driveway for Sherwood Farms. The farm was acquired by Baltimore County with Program Open Space funds..A portion of the park is a demonstration farm. the park is 426 acres

We saw a lot of  Tree Swallows along the trail, mostly near the Bluebird houses. I hope the Bluebirds are not being pushed out of their homes.

My first of the season Palm Warbler, it posed nicely for a second..

We also saw the House Finches walking along the trail.

A shot of the farm and house way in the distance and a beautiful sky. This park is also a located for the hawk watch. I saw two hawks in flight during our walk, but my photos were blurry :(

More of the farm and I got some awesome shots of fences for Tex's Good Fences meme and a beautiful sky for my  Skywatch Friday post.

A beautiful Eastern Bluebird..

And just because I love taking photos of the moon, this shot was from the morning of April 16th 99% full.  Our skies were cloudy, rainy and snowy for the Lunar Eclipse. :(



I hope you enjoyed my post and I hope to see you on Saturday sharing your critters..

To see more pretty skies from around the world please visit  Skywatch Friday
and check out Tex's Good Fences


Thanks to Tex @ The Run*A*Round Ranch for hosting Good Fences and to Sylvia, Yogi  and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday!   I wish everyone a safe and happy long weekend.