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!

Saturday's Critters #243

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!

July 10th we hiked the trail at Calvert Cliffs State Park located on Maryland Western shore. Along the trail were lots of birds, dragonflies, turtles. We were warned about snakes and beavers but did not see any.

The Red-winged Blackbird were plentiful.  Coming soon, on my other post I shared the Kingfisher and Red-headed Woodpecker we saw at this trail.

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 Saturday, enjoy your weekend!

Thankful Thursday

Happy Thankful Thursday!


These are some images from our visit to Maryland's Western Shore, we visited the Piney Point Lighthouse located on the Potomac River near the Chesapeake Bay. Beside the lighthouse there is the Keepers House and a Museum. 

Osprey with two young. 

It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in sight. Only blue sky!

 Piney Point Lighthouse and the Keepers House.

Trail to the water.

The pier and view of the Potomac River. There are 50 major rivers that pour into the bay. Everything flows downstream that means we need to keep our rivers, streams and creeks clean. 

A group of Terns and Gulls



In this one area we saw 4 Osprey nests and close to 6 Osprey.  There was a sign on this pier that had info on the Chesapeake Osprey. It said the Chesapeake Bay estuary supports the largest breeding Osprey population in the country. I am not sure if this is still true, I hope so. 

Sharing a Google map of our Maryland Western Shore trip. 





I am thankful for blue skies and pretty views. 

I am thankful Maryland wants to keep the Chesapeake Bay clean. 

I am thankful for all your visits and comments. 




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


Happy Monday, enjoy your day and new week!

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

North Point State Park

Linking up with Skywatch Friday  and Good Fences  

Happy Memorial Day weekend!


For this week's Good Fence and Skywatch Friday memes I am sharing our outing to a local Baltimore County park called North Point State Park. Local birders were seeing lots of Little Blue Herons and an American Bittern... They have a great trail and a nice view of the Chesapeake Bay.. included are some sky shots, fence shots and of course my birds..

We started our day early so we were able to catch this neighborhood sunrise. Still a little dark out but can you see the fence along the road.. I love a combo sky/fence shot...

The start of the trail at North Point State Park, another shot for my Good Fences.

One of the many Little Blue Herons..

The American Bittern was too busy hunting for food and was not shy at all.

Another American Bittern photo.

A look at the sky from the trail..

How many Little Blues do you see?

Little Blues everywhere, even in the sky.

A view of the Chesapeake Bay and the sky..

I did say the Little Blue Herons were everywhere.. Standing high on a dead tree..

Another look at the bay, includes the fence and sky. A pretty spot for a picnic, birding or just a walk..

I am ending this post with one of my favorite subjects the moon. I hope your enjoyed this post and my walk, the bay and birds. Thanks for stopping by and for the nice comments..

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..

Birding Poplar Island, Md

I am linking my post  up with  Scenic Sunday and   Mosaic Monday and That's My World

I read on Dina's blog about the loss of Klaus, he was a great bird and nature photographer and very much respected. Klaus will be dearly missed.. I was always amazed at his photos.

My prayers go out to Klaus's family and friends.

On Friday my bird club had an outing to Poplar Island, Maryland an island located in the Chesapeake Bay. Tours of Poplar Island are given by MES ( Maryland Environmenal Services) reservations have to be made in advance by our bird club or by any group that would like to tour the island. We were met at the Tilghman Island dock by the MES boat and staff. After a 20 minute boat ride a staff person also drove our tour bus around Poplar island, stopping at various places so we could see the birds. I want to say KUDOS to the MES gals and guys that run these trips and to all the organizations are are helping to rebuild Poplar Island.

In earlier days the island once supported a small town, post office, cattle, sawmill and a school. Two US Presidents Roosevelt and Truman used the island as a hunting and a vacation retreat. By 1990 erosion had cut Poplar Island into three sections each around 10 acres. Today, Poplar Island is growing from a group effort and combined efforts of the Port of Baltimore, Army Corps of Engineers and the MES. Their reconstruction and restoration project is using dredged material from Maryland and Baltimore shipping channels. Construction started in 1998 and is suppose to continue thru 2020. During our tour we could see the bulldozers hard at work at the various wetland cells and the upland cells. When the island is completed it will be divided between tidal marsh and upland and will provide habitat for migratory and the resident wildlife. There is an ongoing school Terrapin Connection project for the nesting Diamondback Terrapins. I was able to see the baby terrapins that will soon be going to various schools where school children will be collecting data and taking care of the hatchlings until their release back on the Poplar Island beaches in May or June.  

Wildlife is already claiming Poplar Island as their home, we saw numerous Osprey, Eagles, Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, Terns, GB Herons,  Avocets, Black Necked Stilts, Black Bellied Plover, various species of Sandpipers, Yellowlegs, Killdeer, various species of Seagulls, many DC Cormorants, Barn and Bank Swallows and lots of Mallard ducks, Redwing Blackbirds, Cowbirds and some Black Ducks. The Diamondback Terrapins are already successfully nesting on the island.

I was able to see two new lifers, one was a Virginia rail and its chicks and the other was the Hudsonian Godwit. The Godwit was too far away but I did get a couple of rail photos. The chicks were too fast but they were cute.

The finished island project is suppose to include boat docking facilities, information kiosks, self guided nature trails and boardwalks, avain observation areas, picnic area and other resting and viewing areas. It sounds great and I am already hoping to go on another one of my bird club's outings to Poplar Island. 

While we were on the island, it looked like a sailboat race was happening on the Chespaeake Bay.

To see more wonderful mosaics and photos please visit The Holley's at Scenic Sunday and Mary's Mosaic Monday and That's My World.  Thanks to the Holleys of Scenic Sunday, Mary for hosting Mosaic Monday and thanks to the hosting group of That's My World: Sylvia, Wren, Sandy.

 

Thank you for visiting my post this week, I hope you enjoyed my visit to Poplar Island. I hope everyone has a wonderful week. Happy Birding!!!!

Birding the Eastern Neck NWR

Working a full time job makes it hard for me to go on the chase for lifers. I am a little envious of other birders who can run and see new birds at any time. So,  when I do get the chance to see a "rare" bird on the weekends I grab my hubby and I am on the go too. On this weekend the rare bird was a Golden Crowned Sparrow, sighted in Kent County across the Chespeake Bay.  The Golden-crowned_Sparrow is a western bird, seen in the west coast states of the USA. I used Wikipedia's link for a photo because even though I saw the bird I was not able to get a photo. Still I was a happy birder, just being able to see the Golden Crowned Sparrow and to add a new bird to my life list.

Here a few of the other birds we saw in the same area as the Golden Crowned Sparrow.


                                    A field of  Snow Geese

White Throated Sparrows, Cardinal and Bluejays. Every once in a while my new lifer the Golden Crowned Sparrow would join these other birds down on the ground.

                                        Cedar Waxwings

Not a bird but, I thought this sheep sticking its head thru the fence was funny and cute.

After being able to see the Golden Crowned Sparrow twice, hubby and I visited the Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge. It was a cold windy so most of the birding was done by car on the wildlife drive.

One of the first birds we saw at the refuge was the Bald Eagle.

The Bufflehead ducks and some Scaups pictured below were bobbing around in the Chesapeake Bay.

A view of the Eastern Neck Wildlife Refuge.

These are my Camera Critters for this week, I hope you enjoyed them. To see more cute and wonderful critters please visit Misty Dawn's Camera Critters

Thanks for stopping by to see my post. Have a great weekend and good birding!