Saturday's Critters # 531

 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!

My latest trip has been to my archives. I usually prepare several post in advance so I will always be a month or so behind.  At this time, Hubby and I have not been anywhere special due to the super cold weather or the rain/snow days. So I went back and visited previous posts, taking photos from the past 5 years during the month of February. Photos are of some of my favorite places, birds and critters. 

From a February 2019 post, I was reporting on our Florida trip and visit to the Green Cay Preserve. In the mosaic are the Painted Buntings, Swamphen, a Tricolored Heron, Little Blue Heron, Palm Tree, Purple Gallinule, Green Heron, Glossy Ibis and a Pied billed Grebe. Florida is one of my favorite places for birdwatching. 

Also a few more photos from our Green Cay Nature Center are the American Bittern and below is the Green Heron.

Also from Green Cay are my favorite Florida Bird, the Painted Bunting, seen below with a female Painted Bunting. 

Another bird seen at the Green Cay Nature Center are the Wood Storks, their nest were right next to the boardwalk.

From my February 2020 post, I am sharing some of my favorite back yard birds: the Eastern Bluebirds, Downy Woodpecker, American Goldfinch, more Goldfinches with a House Finch, another Male Bluebird, a Dark-eyed Junco, a White-throated Sparrow, male Downy Woodpecker and a Carolina Wren.

From Feb 2020, one of my all time favorite birds is the Eastern Bluebird. I feel lucky when they choose one of my birdhouses for their nest. 

From a February 2021 post, I have one of my favorite woodpeckers, in my yard is the Pileated Woodpecker. 

From my post in February 2022,  we were dog sitting for our son while his house was being built. 8 months of watching our grand-dogs Nibbles and Winnie at our house. They enjoyed their walks to the lake and on the fire roads. Also in the mosaic are Eastern Bluebirds and the lake. 

From February 2023, we were excited to see my lifer the Golden Eagle in our area at the Prettyboy reservoir. It hung around for a few weeks.  

Here is a larger view of the Golden Eagle. This Eagle is a dark brown with golden brown plumage on the nape.  The Golden Eagle is a beautiful raptor. 

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 Thankful Thursday!

 Happy Thankful Thursday!

On December 26th we spent the day at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida. We drove the wildlife drive and saw a beautiful rainbow. This was our last full day in Florida, we saved the best place for last. 

"There is a rainbow of hope at the end of every storm."

 "Nature always wears the colors of the spirit." Ralph Waldo Emerson

The birds seen were colorful too, the Little Blue Heron and the Roseate Spoonbill in the photo below. 

 "Colors are the smiles of nature."

 We saw lots of Tricolored Herons, White Ibis and the pretty Roseate Spoonbills.

 This Tricolored Heron posed nicely for me.

 "Nothing last forever, make every moment special."

 A bush full of Roseate Spoonbills.

 "Be a rainbow in someone else's cloud." Maya Angelou





At the visitor center we saw the Painted Buntings, the male is a beautiful bird with a rainbow of colorful feathers.

 A pretty sky and walk on the trail to the lookout tower.

 "Life is like a rainbow. You need both the sun and the rain to make it's colors appear."

I am thankful to see a rainbow, I do not see them often.
I am thankful for the colors of nature.
I am always thankful for your visit and comments. 

Live simple and be happy!  😊




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 #179

Saturday's Critters #179

Happy Saturday, it's time to share your critters and post. Any kind of critter will do, even a new or old post.. I appreciate everyone who is linking in with this week's critter party.


For those who did not see my last post , we returned home from our visit to Washington State for two weeks only to find out my desktop computer is messed up. The auto update from Windows 10 did not work well. I have been using my mini iPad to comment and visit blogs for now. But, it is taking longer. So I will be visiting, it may just take me longer until I have my desktop back.
Luckily this post was scheduled, I am sharing some more of my favorite sights from the Circle B Bar Reserve in Lakeland Florida. I hope you enjoy my photos. 

Come for a walk on the trails with me and this Great Blue Heron.

The light is shining just right to catch the pretty colors on this Purple Gallinule.

I believe this is a female Anhinga showing off her pretty feathers.

The Great Blue Herons do like to pose for the cameras.

The Green Heron does not mind striking a pose.

A pretty female Hooded Merganser and her reflection.

This female Painted Bunting was a little shy and tried hiding in the brush along the trail. Can you see her, she is bright green in color?

This is the cool looking Turquoise Long-tailed Skipper seen on the Alligator Alley trail.

Lake Hancock can be seen from walking the trail called Alligator Alley. On this day we saw a group of Brown Pelicans with some Cormorants.

As always thanks for the visits and the nice comments. I also thank everyone who is linking up and sharing their critters.. Happy Saturday, have a great weekend!

To see more beautiful birds and cute critters, check out these two memes below.

Also visit:  I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the gracious host: Anni.  Also check out Camera Critters. Thanks to Misty for hosting this fun meme.

Painted Bunting

Hello,

I am happy, I finally was able to have a Comcast Cable rep help me with my internet service.  I am sharing one of my favorite Florida birds, the Painted Bunting. My brother visited us during his to trip to see the Daytona 500, he spent 5 days with us. So I had to take him to my favorite birding spot at the Circle B Bar Reserve. I was happy we all were able to watch this pretty Painted Bunting on the ground eating seed.

The Painted Bunting is one of the most beautiful birds I have ever seen. The male has the pretty colors of blue, red and green. The female is a yellowish-green in color.

The Painted Bunting can be found in thicket, dense shrubbery and bushes. They are shy birds but can be found at feeders.

I have many more Florida photos to share so I will still be blogging about Florida. I hope you enjoy!

Thank you for stopping by and as always I appreciate your comments.

My list of memes for today, I hope to see you there. Thanks to both of the host below.

Thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes
Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday

Saturday's Critters #163

Saturday's Critters #163

Happy Saturday, it's time to share your critters and post. Any kind of critter will do,  a new or old post.. I appreciate everyone who is linking in with this week's critter party.

Our Circle B Bar Reserve on 11/19/17, as usual this place never disappoints. We always enjoy our visits, the birds and wildlife.


A male Painted Bunting.

Juvenile Little Blue Heron, Anhinga and a Tricolored Heron.

The same spot a few seconds later, there was the Anhinga, two Glossy Ibis and I believe a juvenile Little Blue Heron or could be an Egret.

A Glossy Ibis

My favorite Black-bellied Whistling Ducks.

The Green Heron another favorite bird.

I am not sure if there are two eagles or an eagle and osprey battling over a fish.

An Armadillo seen on the way out of Circle B Reserve.

As always thanks for the visits and the nice comments. I also thank everyone who is linking up and sharing their critters.. Happy Saturday, have a great weekend!

To see more beautiful birds and cute critters, check out these two memes below.

Also visit:  I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the gracious host: Anni.  Also check out Camera Critters. Thanks to Misty for hosting this fun meme.

Merritt Island NWR

I am linking up with   Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday   They are both fun memes to participate in...I hope you can join in with the fun  and check out some of the participating posts.

Happy Easter & Happy Passover to all!


I am sharing more from our Florida trip, so far I have only showed the first two days of our two trip.. Beware of trip photos overload..SORRY! I have mentioned before if there is a wildlife refuge near our travels we will always try to visit them.. Merritt Island NWR has a great visitor center and an awesome wildlife drive.

 One of my all time favorite birds is the Painted Bunting.. it was found right outside the Merritt Island Visitor Center..

Various flowers, oranges and buttterflies seen around the Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge.

Above one of my Florida lifers.. the Reddish Egret.. egrets are not always white.

The Reddish Egret is a beautiful wader..wow look at the colors on it's bill. It was cool to watch this bird dance around.

There does not seem to be a problem with the American Coot population in Florida. We saw them everywhere we went..

Above are some of the Merritt Island NWR birds we saw: various ducks like the Blue-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, American Avocet, Pied-billed Grebe, Common Moorhen, Glossy ibis, Green Heron, possible Boat-tailed Grackle

I hope you enjoyed my post. Thank you so much for stopping by for a visit. I appreciate the nice comments..

I use Pic Monkey to create my mosaics, you can use Pic Monkey free or pay for an upgraded version.

I hope you can join in on our fun at  Mosaic Monday and   Our World Tuesday

 Thanks to Judith our  host of Mosaic Monday and to the hosting group of Our World Tuesday: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia, Sandy and Jennifer.  I wish everyone a happy week ahead!

Painted Bunting

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

For this week's featured bird I am sharing my favorite the Painted Bunting. We saw maybe 5-6 males and females at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary during our visit to Florida.

I actually saw the Painted Bunting in Maryland and at that time it was a lifer for me.  Their vivid colors of blue, red, green and yellow are very attractive.

They are medium sized finches with thick seed eating bills.



The females and immature males are a bright yellow-green and a pale eye-ring.

For the longest time, this bird was on my top ten most want to see list. I loved seeing these beautiful males during my vacation to Florida. The Painted Bunting will always be one of my favorite birds.

Thanks for stopping by and for leaving your nice comments. I always appreciate your visits.
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 Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday and thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes.
I wish everyone a happy week ahead 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.