Saturday Critters # 378

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!

Spring forward, YAY.  Tonight, I will be happy to change my clocks an hour ahead for more daylight.   I am sharing some birds hubby and I saw during a recent visit to Maryland's Eastern shore. We drove the wildlife drive at Bombay Hook NWR along the way.  We are still keeping our safe distance due to COVID, we felt safe not having to get out of our car. So these photos are all taken from my car on the wildlife drive.

1. On the road that leads to the wildlife drive entrance, we noticed what must have been thousands of Snow Geese. 

2. The Snow Geese were far back on the field, I tried zooming in for a closer look.

3. I usually try to check out the fields along side the road leading into the wildlife refuge. Various birds have been seen in the past, this day we saw what I am guessing is a female Horned Lark.

4. At the beginning of the wildlife drive we noticed two Bald Eagles. It looks one was having a conversation with the other eagle. 

5. Further along the wildlife drive we saw the Northern Harrier, Yellow-rumped Warbler and a few Eastern Bluebirds. 

6.  The Great Blue Herons were seen all along the drive, a Snow Goose hidden in the grasses, a second Great Blue Heron seen close to a Belted Kingfisher. 

7.  Yellowlegs, Lesser or Greater?  

8.  Great Egret with a Great Blue Heron.

9.  A pair of Common Mergansers. 

10. A group of Tundra Swans all tucked in with a  couple of Canada Geese.

I hope you enjoyed my birds and post this week. I will have  more post on the bird sightings from this little trip to Ocean City Maryland. I am looking forward to seeing your critter post and photos.  

 

 Thanks to all my visitors and for your comments. Stop back to see any replies to your comments. I appreciate everyone who loves critters and has linked up their critter post. 


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

Bombay Hook NWR

Linking up with Skywatch Friday  and Good Fences  

Sharing my photos from our most recent visit to Bombay Hook NWR in Delaware.. a sunrise shot and some scenes from our birding outing to Delaware.. We stopped at Port Mahon to look for owls and than we drove part of the wildlife drive at Bombay Hook NWR.. We were sad to see part of the wildlife drive was closed for hunting..I wish I had known in advance about the closure :(

For Skywatch Friday...the sunrise seen during our drive, I had to pull off the road to get this shot..

Port Mahon Road we searched for the Snowy Owl and Short Eared Owls but no luck there. We did see a young Red Tailed Hawk or Red Shouldered? And a adult Bald Eagle..

We stood on the pier to be up higher to look for the owls above the grasses.. This is the view from the pier looking out at the Delaware Bay. I hope this shot counts for both Skywatch and Good Fences..

Some of the birds we saw on the wildlife drive at Bombay Hook NWR. A Horned Lark, two more hawks and a Great Blue Heron.

Above a frozen pond, some Tundra Swans, ducks and gulls..

A couple of Tundra Swans and Canada Geese and a gull.

On the way home from Delaware..a shot for my Good Fence post.. a drive by barn and fence scene..

To end my post I have  my capture of the crescent moon taken the evening before our Delaware trip..

I hope you enjoyed our Delaware day trip and photos.. Thanks for stopping by and for the nice comments..I hope you enjoyed your visit.

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..

Back Roads equals Horned larks

I am linking up with Camera Critters

A good tip from a birding friend of mine, she told me after a snowy day I should take a ride on the back roads around my neighborhood to look for new birds. It seems the birds like to find food along the road where the snow melts. So, on this day I took a slow ride around watching the birds fly away from the edges of the road. You never know what you might find  Horned Larks, Sparrows, Juncos, Longspurs and sometimes even Snow Buntings.

On this day I found the Horned Larks and some Juncos. They flew away when I got close, so I stopped the car and they came right back. 

Above, you can just barely make them out but there are four Horned Larks along the edge of the road. One has its head way down in the snow.  Must be something really tasty there. Do you think they like road salt?

It seems like where ever I go I am always seeing vultures. These Turkey Vultures seem to be watching a group of donkeys. Not sure why?

The donkeys do not seem to mind being watched by the vultures and by me. I think they are so cute.

I hope you enjoyed my critters this week and  to see more wonderful and cute critters check out Camera Critters..   I have added the new Linky followers for those who will soon be loosing Google Friend Connect. Thanks to Misty Dawn for hosting and Thank You for stopping by to see my critters. I hope everyone is having a great weekend and Happy Birding.

My New Top Ten

I am linking up with Camera Critters  and Mosaic Monday

I had posted recently that I had seen a lot of the birds that I listed as my Top Ten Most Wanted to see birds. It is very hard to even pick a top ten, there are so many new birds I would like to see.

I made a mosaic of the birds that were on my previous Top Ten list. The Painted Bunting was always my number one bird to see, ever since I saw a photo of this beautiful bird. This Painted Bunting showed up on my listserve as being seen at a bird feeder near Annapolis, Md. I just had to go and see this one, luckily it stayed for awhile and made a lot of Maryland birders happy.

TOP TEN BIRDS...most wanted to see from 2009
1. Snowy Owl.. seen @ Assateague...added Snow Bunting...both seen Maryland and Delaware
2. Whip-poor-will.........Seen at Magee Marsh, Ohio
3. Blackburian Warbler...a male.....Seen  at Magee Marsh , Ohio
4. Green Jay....maybe a Texas trip
5. Snipe...Seen here at the Paper Mills flats in Maryland
6. Horned Lark...seen Freeland, MD added the....American Woodcock... seen at Magee Marsh, Ohio
7. Yellow Breasted Chat...seen on a Bird Club outing in Maryland
8. Bittern... any......American Bittern seen with the bird club in Huntley Meadows, Virginia
9. Chestnut-backed Chickadee..changed
10. Whooping Crane.....I might give up seeing this one.

They are the Snowy Owl, Painted Bunting, Horned lark, Blackburnian Warbler, American Bittern and a Woodcock. I have seen other birds that I listed but was not able to get a decent photo of them like the Whip-Poor-Will, Common Snipe and Yellow-breasted Chat. Surprisingly some of my most want to see birds show up in Maryland. The Painted Bunting was seen here in Maryland and the Snowy Owl. Hard to believe but sometimes the birds travel to see me.  Ha!Ha! It took me a few years to work on the list I created in 2009, but I think I did well seeing most of the birds on my list.

Above is the Blackburnian Warbler I saw in Magee Marsh, Ohio

The American Woodcock, look at that big eye. I also saw the Woodcock in Magee Marsh, Ohio

2011....Top Ten Birds..Most wanted to see

1. Barn Owl..in the wild
2. Atlantic Puffin
3. Evening Grosbeak....male..I have seen the female Evening Grosbeak here in Maryland
4. Black Rosy-Finch
5. Roadrunner
6. Pine Grosbeak....male
7. Western Tanager....male...I did see the female Western Tanager in the Grand Tetons, Wyoming
8. Green Tailed Towhee
9. GreenJay
10. Townsend’s Warbler
 

Above, I have my new Top Ten Most Want to see list. Some of these birds can only be seen by taking a trip. Maybe to Texas where I could see the Roadrunner and the GreenJay.  Or to Arizona and see the Green-Tailed Towhee and a trip to New England to see the Puffins and  the Pine Grosbeak. I assume that some of these birds show up in other states but I am not sure where and what time of year they can be seen.

 

The Barn Owl seen on a display at Magee Marsh,  I would really love to see this bird in the wild.  The Barn Owl can be seen in Maryland but they seem to be a rare sighting. Due to farm land lost to housing developments and barns and farms disappearing seeing a barn owl could be a real challenge to see in Maryland. My new Top ten want to see birds will give me something to look forward to and a challenge to see these new birds.
 

I would love if someone could tell me specific spots where I could see the birds on my new Top Ten list. Then I could add some new places to my bucket list of places to see and visit. Oh wow, I have so many different lists.... my top Ten Bird list, my list of places to travel to and visit.  Today, I am off to work on my Christmas list and to shop with my sisters and niece. I plan to knock off as many gifts on my list in one day.

To see more cute and wonderful critters check out Camera Critters and for more of Mosaic Monday.  Thanks to Misty Dawn for hosting this fun meme and thanks to Mary of Mosaic Monday.  I thank you all for stopping by to see my critter post.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend.