Saturday's Critters # 602

  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!

A mish-mash on daily walks and outings with our dog Miney, birdwatching from my backyard or on the Prettyboy Fire Roads.

Click on images for better viewing.

1. May 9th, seeing the bluebirds in my yard this season just makes me happy. I hope to see their babies!  

"The bluebird carries the sky on his back."

The bluebird is a symbol of hope, happiness and joy.

2. May 10th, in the backyard a Bluebird and a Mourning Dove are having a conversation.  

3. May 10, we took our walk on another local fire road, wildflowers Fleabane and I am not sure what the tiny yellow wildflowers are called. 

My May 10th Merlin app birds heard on our walk on the Prettyboy fire road. 

I am hearing the Great-crested Flycatcher calling while on our walks and from my bird yard.  They are brownish upper parts and yellowish underparts and a bushy crest.

4. May 11th, Some blooms from our yard, the Columbine, Siberian Iris, Bluebird sitting in Pine tree and I am not sure if the plant bottom right is called Spiderwort?

Images from our fire road walk are of Miney, Bigleaf Magnolia bloom, and one of the Pink Lady Slippers.

May 11th backyard birds captured by my Merlin app.

The House Wren is one of my loudest yard birds, a small bird only a little over 4 inches. This wren is brown with pale to white underparts.

5. May 12th, my backyard we have the Siberian Irises blooming, I saw a cute bunny, our Rhododendrons are looking beautiful. 

6. May 12th, the Worm-eating Warbler is a drab looking warbler with black and buffy stripes on its head. I have been hearing this bird calling from off the local fire road when I am walking Miney.

My May12th Merlin App birds heard on our walk at Prettyboy.

7. May 12th, I see and hear the Blue Jays in my yard and often on the fire road while we are out walking Miney.  

8. Flashback from last year May 2024, the Scarlet Tanagers have returned to Prettyboy Watershed and my back yard. The male Scarlet Tanager is a lovely color red with dark wings. During mating/breeding season I hear these birds singing while I am out walking Miney on our local fire roads. 

Another Flashback to Aug 2023, a beautiful closeup of the Scarlet Tanager on the trail at Shenandoah Nat'l Park. 

Bonus, July 3rd  is my granddaughter Sophie's 1st birthday.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our sweet Sophie. 

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.

Check out  Catblogosphere.com

Here is my linky:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post! 

Saturday's Critters # 599

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!

Again I am sharing a mish-mash of photos dating back to late April. The photos are from our walks to the lake, on the local fire road and from my back yard. 

Click on images for better viewing.

1. April 22nd, another day and another walk with Miney to the lake.  We saw a few Double-crested Cormorants and the turtles were out sunning on the rock and logs. 

"Bird songs, nature's sweet melodies."

2. April 22nd, I use the Merlin app to id the birds I heard on our walk to the lake. It seems we have a mix of year round birds, winter birds and the new arrivals for the summer season. 

The Pine Warbler is a breeder in my area, I often seen and hear them on my deck and in our yard. The male is a bright yellow color with some streaks on it's chest. 

3. April  22nd, my metal moose is being surrounded by the creeping phlox.

4. April 23rd,  this is my first sighting of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird this spring.  I am always happy to see them return to my yard and feeder. The background is our Redbud tree which looked beautiful this Spring.

5. April 23rd, my back yard birds are the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, I saw and heard the Great-crested Flycatcher and a Tufted Titmouse.

I am including an older photo of the Great-crested Flycatcher, it is  pretty bird. 

6. April 24th, our walk with Miney on the local fire road and a Carolina Chickadee on top of  a pine tree. 

I am sharing an older photo of mine which shows the pretty Northern Parula.

7. April 26th, in between rain drops I stood on my deck and listened to the birds that are around my yard.  It was nice to hear the Wood Thrush back for the summer season. 

Here is an older collage of the Ovenbird, it is another bird that breeds in my area.  We hear them often on our walk now, they have a loud call. 

8. Flashback to some of my Florida birds, the Limpkin was seen in various parks during our visits.  I included one of my videos where the Limpkin is calling, they make a strange sound. Limpkins are large wading birds, they have long curved bill which is yellow with a dark tip. They eat mainly apple snails. 

Flashback Florida various sightings of the Limpkin:

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.

Check out  Catblogosphere.com

Here is my linky:

Thank you for sharing your critters and post! 

Saturday's Critters # 551

 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!

Can you believe it is July already, the days and months are flying by. I am still sharing photos from our April Arizona trip and photos of our walks and backyard bird from May. Today's post is a mish-mash of images from my yard, neighborhood and our local trails. 

1. A walk to the Prettyboy lake, a blurry photo of a White-eyed Vireo, Red Admiral Butterfly, Double-crested Cormorants, the reservoir, Canada Geese, Cliff Swallows at the dam. 

2.  The Eastern Bluebirds raised at least 2 broods this year. I am glad to see them using my birdhouses and they are doing well.

3. The Peacock liked walking and sitting on our deck railing. 

4. I noticed a pair of Great-crested Flycatchers sitting on my deck, sunning themselves? When they saw me with the camera they flew to a nearby tree.

5.  In my yard, I was seeing the Eastern Bluebirds, Downy Woodpeckers, American Robin, Gray Catbird, Great-crested Flycatchers and the neighbors Peacock was becoming a daily visitor to our deck. 

6. Various photos of the Peacock that made repeated visits to our deck.

7. Out our den window perched in the rhododendron was the Gray Catbird and at another time the Robin. Both birds were knocking on the window.

8. The Black Rat Snake on our deck, I think it was hoping to find a meal in my Bluebird House. Luckily the house was empty and hubby chased the snake off of the deck. 

9. From one of our walks on our local fire road, I was hearing the Eastern Wood Pewee, Acadian Flycatcher and I believe there was an Eastern Phoebe, I saw a Baltimore Oriole high in a tree and than there were 3 of the Orioles chasing some crows away. The Mountain Laurel is blooming and looking pretty. 

At the end of May we stopped seeing the Peacock, I am not sure where it goes.  My neighbors have not seen it but they have notice a fox with kits has been hanging out across from their driveway. The Black Bear came back one night and got into the trash again but we did not see it since the first sighting.

We are grand-dog sitting Winnie the Corgi, excitedly waiting for the birth of our granddaughter. Should hear news soon.

Edit: We now have a beautiful granddaughter Sophie born July 3rd, 6lb 15oz. 

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!

Saturday's Critters # 497

 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!

A break from my Ireland photos, I am trying to catch up with my yard birds and flowers, local walks on the fire road and to the lake which is pictured as my header photo. 

The week of June 12th,  I found my hummingbird feeders down on the ground and emptied. I was not sure what was happening, maybe a raccoon or as it turned out our neighbor saw a black bear in our yard on evening of the 14th around 8pm. It has been making the rounds at various neighbor's yards and bird feeders. I wish I was able to see it, now I am looking out my windows in the evening and bringing in my feeders. 

1. A White-eyed Vireo, White-tailed Deer, Prettyboy Reservoir, Eagle's Nest, Common Loon, wild azaleas, more deer and wildflowers.

2. The Common Loon is not often seen at our lake, I was happy to see this one a good distance from the lake shore where I was standing. It was amazing to hear the loon call, a very cool sound. 

3. The Eastern Bluebirds are back again using a different nest box, today I saw the male divebomb a squirrel that was on my deck railing. 

4. Our Rhododendrons, various Clematis, Siberian Iris, Catmint, Columbine, Lantana and a white Waterlily. 

5. A pair of Double-crested Cormorants, Great Blue Herons, Canada Geese and the Belted Kingfishers. 

6. A pair of Great Blue Heron with a group of Canada Geese. 

7. A Belted Kingfisher couple, the male is offering a small fish to the female on the left. 

8. Tiger Swallowtail butterfly, Columbine is still blooming and lots of Clematis, my yard birds are the Great-crested Flycatcher, House Wren, Cardinal, Ruby-throated Hummingbird and a Chipping Sparrow. 

9. This Ovenbird was upset to see us walking on the fire road, he came and started fussing at us just for walking by.  You can see the agitated adult raise their Black-bordered Orange crown. 

10. These birds sing loudly, I can hear them all around my yard. 

11. A Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, these birds are small and have a cute sound.  I usually hear them more often than I see them, they move around quickly.

I hope you enjoyed my yard birds and the birds I see around my neighborhood.  

Thank you for sharing your critters and 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:

 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.