Happy Monday!

Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

"Wildlife is the storyteller, weaving tales of survival and beauty."

Assateague State Park, Maryland, Assateague ponies,

"Nature is not a place to visit, it is home."

"We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Happy Monday!

Wishing everyone a great day and a happy new week!

"Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving."

"Believe you can and your halfway there."

"We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Comments off, enjoy your day!

Saturday's Critters # 514

  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!

On Sept 16th hubby and I enjoyed a fun outing with our son, DIL and our grandsons at the Catoctin Wildlife Preserve in Thurmont Maryland.  

1. There were a lot of birds to be seen at the wildlife preserve, many were native of Australia and Africa. Parrots, Black Swans, Cockatiel, Parakeets, Storks, Peacock and the Barred Owls are seen in my mosaic. 

2. White bellied Storks also known as the Abdim's Stork, found in Africa. 

3. The butterfly garden, lots of pretty flowers and a few butterflies and bumblebees. Wyatt looking like a junior birdwatcher took control of our binoculars that hubby was using. Wyatt ended up carrying our binocs throughout our visit.  

4.  We had some food for the animals in the children's zoo feeding section. There were goats, llamas, alpacas and some cows.

5. This goat was having a roaring good time, looking for food.

6. This Ring-tailed Lemur looked to be practicing yoga. 

7. Kangaroos with a Giant Tortoise. 

8.  Murals of various birds, it was fun seeing our grandsons posing with these pretty birds. 

9.  We had some food for these Koi fish, they were practically jumping out of the water for the food. 

10. The Green Iguana is one of the largest, they can be found in Florida. 

11. We saw some of the animals like the Zebra  that could be seen  on the wildlife preserve safari ride.   

12.  Giant tortoises look like they were going to kiss. 

We enjoyed our walk through this wildlife preserve, our grandsons loved all the animals and birds.

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.

Happy Monday!

 Happy Monday! 😊

Wishing everyone a happy day and a great new week!

Concord Point Lighthouse, Havre De Grace Maryland. 

" Today I choose JOY."

"Nothing can dim the light that shines from within."

"Choose joy, choose happy, choose to shine."

"We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone."

Comments off! Enjoy your day!

Our World, My World

 Happy Monday

 Hello, I hope everyone is doing well.

A recent article titled Sanctuaries Under Strain in my latest Audubon magazine triggered this post. A wildlife refuge should be land set aside as a safe haven. A refuge for the birds to nest and refuel during migration. Now the refuges are losing workers, money and are open to more hunting.  So I started researching to see just how many National Wildlife refuges there are in the US. There are a total of 568 refuges, they can be found from sea to shining sea.  I wanted to see how many of these 568 refuges hubby and I have visited. LOL, I have NOT put a dent into visiting 568 refuges, some being in Puerto Rico and Somoa. The refuges in Alaska have the most land acquired by our government, land with no roads. California might have the highest number of refuges, Connecticut and Kentucky only have one each. Find a refuge to visit near you!

So my inquiring mind had to go through some of my archived photos and blog posts looking at all my visits to our great national wildlife refuges. I had to see which refuges are my favorites, you can see some of my visits on my label NWR on the side bar. I also googled which National Wildlife Refuges were listed as a favorite for other people and  which is best for bird watching. Listed as a few of the top ten wildlife refuges are St Marks NWR in Florida and Aransas NWR  and Laguna Atascosa NWR both in Texas. So now a long road trip (post COVID) could be in the plans for me. Planning is fun for me.

 Here are some photos and mosaics I created from my archived wildlife refuge photos.  I am starting by state in alphabet order.  

1. Colorado Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR, on the last day of our Sept 2014 trip we visited this refuge and drove on the wildlife drive. My photos include the GB Herons, the Bison, the cute Prairie Dogs and a White-tailed Deer.

2. Delaware has 2 National Wildlife refuges, the first one is my favorite Bombay Hook NWR. I have posted so much about Bombay Hook NWR, it is hard to choose favorite photos. My mosaic below shows lots of Great Egret, American Avocets, Bobolinks, Peregrine Falcon, Belted Kingfisher, Green Heron, Clapper Rail adult with chick, a Red Fox, more Egrets. 

3. Delaware Prime Hook NWR , views of Prime Hook wetlands, GB Herons, Ruddy Ducks and a Brown Thrasher.

4.  Florida is another state that has a lot of Wildlife Refuges. Some of my favorites are included like Merritt Island NWR. In the mosaic below are the Roseate Spoonbills, Belted Kingfisher, Little Blue Heron, American Avocets, Gulls,  a large gathering of White Pelicans, Spoonbills, Egrets and more, Reddish Egret and Pileated Woodpeckers.

5. Florida Ding Darling NWR , seen below are the White Pelicans, Roseate Spoonbills, Summer Tanager, Osprey, Yellow-crowned Night Heron, GB Herons, Egrets, Little Blue Heron and a Swallow-tailed Kite.

 

 

6. Florida Hobe Sound NWR . The beach and sky were beautiful, a few gulls and shore birds were around for our viewing pleasure.

 

7. Florida Lake Woodruff NWR: Bald Eagle, Osprey, Turkey Vultures, American Coots and an unkown Sparrow.

8. Florida Pelican Island NWR has a nice tribute to the National Wildlife Refuges, Their boardwalk includes a board each with a name of one of the National Wildlife Refuges. 

 

9. Maryland has 5 National Wildlife refuges, I have visited 3 of them. Two of the  Maryland refuges are closed to the public, only accessible by boat. 

Blackwater NWR in Cambridge Maryland is one of my favorite refuges in Maryland. You can see a great variety of birds there year round.  The Bald Eagles are a common sight at this refuge.

10.  Maryland the Eastern Neck NWR is located in Rock Hall Maryland. It is part of the Chesapeake Marshlands NWR complex. It is a great place in the winter months to see Bald Eagles, various ducks, Vultures, Gulls, Geese and the Tundra Swans.

11. Maryland the Patuxent NWR , this refuge has a great visitor center, the refuge includes a North, Central and South tract. The Central tract is where the offices and research center is located, the South tract is the visitor center and trails, they used to operate a tram on some of the closed trails. The North Tract has a little wildlife drive and trails. I have been on the tram ride, a night time Owl walk and on a tour to see the research center for the Sandhill Cranes. I am not sure but between funds being cut and Covid, the tram and Sandhill Crane  research have stopped.

12. New Jersey the Edwin B. Forsythe NWR is located  not far from Atlantic City NJ.  It is another one of my favorite refuges on the East Coast. I have seen many awesome birds, like the Rails , the Snowy Owl, Whimbrel, Brant Geese, Black Skimmers, Black Ducks, Northern Pintails, Teals, Mergansers, various Herons, Egrets, Terns and Gulls. In the winter the Snow Geese arrive in large groups, summer time is great for Warblers and shore birds.

This NWR subject is photo heavy so I will continue my National Wildlife Refuge post on my Thursday blog post. There may even be three blog post, due to way too many photos. 

 

I do love blogging about things I love or feel passionate about, like the wildlife and birds.  My hobby of birding can be done at home or while traveling. If I am passing by a wildlife refuge during my travels I do try to stop and visit the refuge. Have you visited any of the wildlife refuges, if so do you have a favorite?

What's happening in your corner of the world? Please check out and visit the following memes and links. I hope to see you there.


 
Thanks to Angie the host of  Mosaic Monday

Thanks to LadyFi  the host of Our World Tuesday!

Thanks for visiting and commenting, have a happy day and a great new week!

Happy Thankful Thursday

Hello and Happy Thankful Thursday!

Sharing another walk at the Hashawha/Bear Branch Nature Center. It is a local Carroll County Maryland park, one of my favorite places for a hike. Usually there is something always there to see, nature related.  


"An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day." Henry David Thoreau

"We have come too far,
we have sacrificed too much, 
to disdain the future now." John F Kennedy


In the park there is an early 1900's cabin, belonging to the Martin Family. Nearby is a 300 year old White Old tree. 

"Where flowers bloom, so does hope."  Lady Bird Johnson

"We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it's forever." Carl Sagan

Common Buckeye Butterfly

"Life is short, spread your wings and fly."

Red-spotted Purple Butterfly

Thankful for pretty blue skies and cool days for a walk. 

Me and my shadow.

I like this cloud right above a silo. 

"The earth does not belong to us, we belong to the earth." Chief Seattle

I am thankful for natures beauty!

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!

Our World & My World

Happy Monday,

On June 30th, hubby and I spent some time at the Great Falls National Park located in Potomac Maryland. We walked the trails to the Olmsted island Bridges, the Great Falls Overlook and part of the River Trail. 

Below is the Great Falls NP Visitor Center and the  Mercer Canal Boat. A lock project is underway and the boat rides are not operating at this time. 

The bridges over Olmsted Island and the trail leads to the Potomac River and the Great Falls Overlook.

The Potomac River @ Great Falls National Park.

People kayaking are often seen at the Potomac River.

Some of the park's wildlife seen were the Black Vultures, Canada Goose, Swallowtail butterflies and there were lots of Great Blue Herons. The heron's rookery is nearby. 

The C&O Canal Trail and towpath. 

We had great views of the river and the Great Blue Herons from their nearby rookery. 

Double-crested Cormorants perched on a rock in the Potomac River. 

We saw a lot of Great Blue Herons from the River Trail.

The Potomac River @ Great Falls NP, Maryland

I hope you enjoyed our park visit and my post and photos. 

Thanks to Angie the host of  Mosaic Monday

Thanks to LadyFi  the host of Our World Tuesday!

Thanks for visiting and commenting, have a great day and new week!

Saturday's Critters #273

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!


On our way home from Ocean City, Md we took a detour to the Blackwater Nat'l Wildlife Refuge in Cambridge Md. We drove the wildlife drive twice, seeing many Bald Eagles, Canada Geese, Snow Geese. Tundra Swans and various ducks.  

Below I see the Tundra Swans, Canada Geese and a few Northern Pintail ducks. 

One lone White Pelican greeted us close to the wildlife drive entrance. 

A distance out on the river, the Snow Geese. 

We saw a lot of Bald Eagles, it was hard getting all in one photo this shot shows 2 adult Eagles. We counted 6 Bald Eagles in this one area all just sitting in the trees. 

This Great Blue Heron had a mouthful of fish.

Adult Bald Eagle and a juvenile Bald Eagle on an old Osprey nest.

We saw many bald Eagles on the nest, this nest below looked huge even from a distance. 

A Bald Eagle takes off after seeing the Snow Geese take off. 

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!