Saturday's Critters # 623

 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!

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"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks." John Muir

These are my nature walks with hubby and Miney, these images are from various parks we visited. Hubby and I were able to visit some of our Maryland State Parks, Gunpowder State Park, North Point State Park in Baltimore County and the Susquehanna River State Park and Conowingo Dam. 

1. We walked the Black Marsh Trail at North Point State Park.  We saw a few Osprey, Eastern Phoebes and the Belted Kingfisher.  

2. At the end of the Black Marsh trail we had a good view of the Chesapeake Bay.  I had a good view of the Eastern Bluebird and an American Goldfinch. 

3. We walked on the NCR trail which is part of the Gunpowder State Park. 

4. Another day and another walk on the local NCR bike trail. 

On the NCR trail my Merlin app was picking up the sounds of some winter birds like the Golden-crowned Kinglet and the Ruby-crowned Kinglet. 

5. It was too early to see the Eagles migrating, that usually happens later in November.  We did see a few Bald Eagles, Double-crested Cormorants and the Great Blue Herons. 

Near the fishing pier at Conowingo Dam they have a pretty garden with a Bald Eagle sculpture. 

6. The Black Vultures are still plentiful near the Conowingo Dam and the Susquehanna River.

I can usually always see the Great Blue Herons along the Susquehanna River.  

7. Flashback photos are of various Kingfishers, seen here in the USA, Belize and Costa Rica. 

First I am sharing the male and female Belted Kingfishers seen in the USA.

8. The Amazon Kingfisher was seen in Costa Rica. 

The Green Kingfisher was seen in both Costa Rica and Belize. 

The Ringed Kingfisher was seen in both Costa Rica and Belize. 

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.

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Thank you for sharing your critters and post! 

Black Bellied Whistling Ducks

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

For this week's Wild Bird I am sharing the Black-bellied Whistling Duck that I saw in Belize.. These shots were taken from my boat ride and birding outing on the Sittee River near Hopkins, Belize..

 I have been enjoying these ducks at Theresa's blog @ Tex's Whistlers-on-wednesday  that I decided to share some of my photos of these adorable ducks...

I think these shots are not too bad considering we were in a boat..These Whistling Ducks are one of my favorite birds. They are just so darn cute.. 

They are a large duck with a long neck.. a grayish face, bright pink bill and legs. They have a chestnut breast and black belly. And they really do have a whistle call.

Flocks feed on waste grain on agricultural fields or they eat at Theresa's yard in Texas..I hope you enjoyed my ducks and post..

As always I thank you in advance for stopping by my post and for the nice comments.  Sorry, I am not able to send thank you emails for your comments, working full time, life and blogging takes up a lot of time lately.


Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.

Thanks to both of our hosts... Michelle for Nature Notes and our host Stewart of Wild Bird Wednesday.  Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

Ringed Kingfisher

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

For this week's wild bird I am sharing the Ringed Kingfisher from Belize. It was not a lifer because my first sighting was posted here Ringed Kingfisher Costa Rica

These photos are from my birding tour along the Sittee River..near Hopkins Belize.  The bird was cooperative for a few photos.

This is a large Kingfisher 15.5 inches..a massive bill and you can clearly see the rufous underparts of the male.. It has blueish-gray plumage, shaggy crest and a white collar. It breeds near large bodies of water and near heavily wooded areas.

The kingfishers are another one of my favorite birds. LOL,  I seem to have so many favorites.. This Kingfisher is found in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas, thru Central America to South America.. I hope you enjoyed seeing the Ringed Kingfisher.. 

Thanks for stopping by my post and for all the nice comments.

Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.

Thanks to both of our hosts... Michelle for Nature Notes and our host Stewart of Wild Bird Wednesday.  Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

Yellow-faced Grassquit

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

For this week's wild bird I am sharing  the Yellow-faced Grassquit from Belize.

It is hard to believe but I never finished sharing all the lifers I saw while in Belize.. The Yellow-faced Grassquit was seen on the grounds of the Sleeping Giant Rainforest resort.. The few times I saw this bird they were poking around in the grass finding seeds or food.

The Yellow-faced Grassquit is a passerine bird seen in the Central America tropics. A small bird with a conical bill. The adult male has an olive-green back, it's face and breast are black. They have  a bright yellow throat, supercilia and lower eyelid spot. The rest of its underparts are a greyish olive.

They feed on grass seeds, insects and some berries..

Their main breeding season is in the summer, but they may nest February-April. Sometimes they may form loose nesting colonies.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my Belize  lifer the Yellow-faced Grassquit..

Thanks for stopping by my post and for all the nice comments.

Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.

Thanks to both of our hosts... Michelle for Nature Notes and our host Stewart of Wild Bird Wednesday.  Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

Tropical Kingbird

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

 For this week's wild bird, I am sharing the Tropical Kingbird  seen in Belize.

The Tropical Kingbird was not a Belize lifer, I have seen them in different places during my travels.
 Here is another one of my post sharing the Tropical Kingbird seen in Panama.
This bird is a large tyrant flycatcher. It breeds from southern Arizona to South America

This is not the best shot taken from a great distance and on a cloudy day. But it shows the bird well and their colors. Their head are a pale grey with a darker eye mask. They have a heavy bill and the they have yellow underparts.  They eat insects and some fruits.

I hope you enjoyed my Belize bird.. Thanks for stopping by my post and for all the nice comments.

Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.  Thanks to our host Michelle our host Stewart.  Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

Yellow-tailed Oriole

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes


For this week's wild bird I am sharing another Belize lifer.. The Yellow-tailed Oriole..a passerine bird in the New World. It breeds from Mexico to western Peru and northwestern Venezuela.

This Oriole is mainly yellow with a black back..lower face and upper breast..and a yellow rump

This Oriole has been reducing in numbers in its range due to the cage-bird trade..it is valued for its beautiful appearance and song.. I wish there was a way to put a stop to the trade and sale of wild birds. Many wild birds become extinct due to habitat loss and pet trade..

I can see a small section  of the black tail edged in yellow on this shot..This Yellow-tailed Oriole was seen during my birding tour along the Sittee River in Hopkins, Belize..



I hope you enjoyed my Belize bird and lifer.. Thanks for stopping by my post and for all the nice comments.

Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.  Thanks to our host Michelle our host Stewart.  Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

Roadside Hawk

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

 For this week's wild bird I am sharing my lifer the Roadside Hawk from Belize..A small bird of prey and a common raptor seen in Belize.

The Roadside Hawk is named for its preference for the edges of the forest.  It's diet is mostly insects and small mammals..Also above you can see the yellow eyes..

The range is from Mexico to South America to the northeastern parts of Argentina..

Above you can see its banded tail.  The Roadside Hawk was seen on my birding tour along the Sittee River.. As we birded along the road we stopped to see this hawk..



 Thanks for stopping by my post and for all the nice comments.

Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.  Thanks to our host Michelle our host Stewart.  Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

For this week's wild bird I am sharing another Belize lifer the Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher.  I saw the Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher in few places during our travels in Belize.  It was on my birding tour to the Sittee River that I was able to take these photos of my Belize lifer..

 The Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher can be found from southeastern Arizona to Central America. They have heavy streaking plumage and a yellow belly..a rusty brown and a black eyestripe.

I have also been working on my photo Bird Lifer list officially my list is 434 lifers and here is my : photo Lifer list


I am up to 300.. only 134 more birds and photos to add. 

This was another Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher seen on the day we took the ruins tour in Belize,not the best shot but it shows more of the black eye stripe.

 Thanks for stopping by my post and for all the nice comments.

Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.  Thanks to our host Michelle our host Stewart.  Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

Vermilion Flycatcher

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes


For this week's wild bird I am sharing the Vermilion Flycatcher. One of my favorite sightings in Belize..  This was not my first sighting of this bird, they are my first photos of the pretty Vermilion Flycatcher. I actually saw it during our one day visit to Belize while we were on a April 2006 Western Caribbean cruise and a cave-tubing excursion.
This bird was seen during my birding tour near the Sittee River in Hopkins Belize.  Part of our tour included some birding along the road on the way to the river.. Whenever we spotted a bird we would stop to view the bird up close and take photo if we wanted.

The Vermilion Flycatcher is a stunning color unlike other drab flycatchers..The males are bright red and have dark brown plumage. They prefer open areas but usually near water. They eat insects such as flies, grasshoppers and beetles.

 

A different angle of the Vermilion Flycatcher showing dark brown plumage on it's back and wings. It Is a gorgeous bird and one of my many favorites.

 Thanks for stopping by my post and for all the nice comments.

Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.  Thanks to our host Michelle our host Stewart.  Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

Social Flycatcher & Boat-billed Flycatcher

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

For my post this week I am sharing two Belize birds..the Social Flycatcher and another Belize lifer the Boat-billed Flycatcher.

The Social Flycatcher at 6.3 to 7inches is the smallest out the three Flycatchers that look similar.. They are the Social Flycatcher, Great Kiskadee and the Boat-billed Flycatcher..  I have some shots of my   Great Kiskadee in Bermuda   to show more comparisons.

 The Social Flycatcher has yellow underparts, crown stripe and a white throat.

The Social Flycatcher has a small stubby bill.

 

 

These Social Flycatchers were trying to build a nest inside the umbrellas near the pool.

Going thru my Belize photos I just noticed I have another lifer the Boat-billed Flycatcher. This bird has a heavier and broader bill and is about 9.3 inches compared to the smaller Social Flycatcher which is 7 inches. I am sorry this shot is so fuzzy. It was taken from the lodge's restaurant and the bird was way down on the trees next to the river.. They are known to sit high in a tree to catch bugs..

This is the Great Kiskadee seen during my Bermuda trip.. a large flycatcher at 8.3 to 10 inches. Their wings and tail are brown with some rufous fringes..

As you can see these three flycatchers all look similar in colors, just different bills and sizes..starting on the left is the (4) Boat-billed Flycatcher, (5) Great Kiskadee and on the right is the (6) Social Flycatcher.

 Thanks for stopping by my post and for all the nice comments.

Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.  Thanks to our host Michelle our host Stewart.  Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

Bare-throated Tiger Heron

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

I am sharing another Belize bird..the Bare-throated Tiger Heron.. It was not a lifer, I saw this bird for the first time in Costa Rica. This bird during a birding trip on the Sittee River near Hopkins, Belize..It was a little difficult taking bird photos from a moving boat..even though once in awhile we stopped..

The Bare-throated Tiger Heron has a naked yellow throat, the adult has a black crown, dark greyish-olive legs and a grey face.

 Their underparts are a dull cinnamon brown.  A large species, they are 31 inches in length and weighs 42 oz..

The Bare-throated Tiger Heron can be found from Mexico to Northwestern Colombia.

 They can be found around fresh water and mangrove habitats..on river and lake banks.

As we watched for birds along the river we spotted a few of the Bare-throated Tiger Herons in various spots along the river..I hope you enjoyed seeing the Bare-throated Tiger Heron..

 Thanks for stopping by my post and for all the nice comments.

Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.  Thanks to our host Michelle our host Stewart.  Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!