Saturday's Critters # 581

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!

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On Dec 30th hubby and I enjoyed a good weather day and a walk at the North Point State Park. This park is on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay in Edgemere Maryland, Baltimore County Maryland. It is a great park for birdwatching, we walked on the fishing pier and on the Black Marsh trail.

1.  Various ducks can be seen on the bay, we saw a large group of Ruddy Ducks, a female Long-tailed Duck, the Snow Bunting and a few Song Sparrows. 

2. The male Ruddy Duck retains it's white cheek in the winter months. They have a stiff tail that is often raised.

3. I am pretty sure this is a female Long-tailed Duck. These ducks have a white head, tan face with a brown neck patch, a white body with dark wings. The juvenile can look similar to the winter female.

4.  A larger photo of the Long-tailed Duck.

5. In the winter months,  Snow Buntings have become annual visitors and can be seen on the long pier that goes out into the bay. 

6. Below the Snow Bunting was hanging out with a Song Sparrow.

The non-breeding male looks similar to the female. The male has more white on the wings. 

A view of the fishing pier that juts out into the Chesapeake Bay. The Snow Buntings are found at the very end of the pier.

7. We walked on the Black Marsh trail, looking for birds and any kind of wildlife.  I think we were the only people that were not walking a dog. Below images of the trail and wetlands, Gadwall, Northern Mockingbird, Slider Turtles, Mallards and a few Bald Eagles. 

8. It was one of our warmer December days, the Slider Turtles came out to sun themselves on the log. 

Bald Eagle in flight over the parking lot.

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 # 556

 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!

1. June 11-12th, hubby and I enjoyed an overnight trip to Shenandoah National Park, we like the Skyline Drive, hiking on the Limberlost trail and stopping at all the overlooks and of course the trails at Big Meadows. Below are photos from Shenandoah, birds that were seen and wildflowers and scenic views. 

2. Below are the Eastern Towhee, a Veery and I am guessing the Eastern Wood-Pewee.

I've been using the Merlin Bird Id app on my phone while I am out hiking, below are two screen shots of the birds I could hear while hiking on the Limberlost Trail. 

The Eastern Towhees were heard and seen all along the trail. 

3. The Mountain Laurels were blooming beautifully along the Limberlost Trail.

4. The Mountain Laurel blooms were either white or a pretty pink color. 

5. Our walk on the trail at Big Meadows , we saw some butterflies and lots of wildflowers. 

My first of the year Monarch Butterfly sighting. 

The speed limit on the Skyline Drive is 35MPH  for a reason, the deer and any wildlife can be crossing the road just around one of my many curves. 

One of the many deer we saw during the two days we visited the park. 

6. Birds seen at the Big Meadows were the Song Sparrows and the Field Sparrows and near the parking lot were the Cedar Waxwings. 

7. Stopping at various overlooks at the scenic views of the Appalachian Mountains, the White-tailed Deer , wild Columbine and an Indigo Bunting. 

8. The Limberlost Trail has always been a favorite of mine, below it looks like I captured a young Brown Thrasher, we saw  family of Wild Turkeys close to the parking lot. 

Shenandoah National Park is one of my favorite parks to visit, it is nice to stay overnight and be able to visit later in the day and early in the morning.  I hope you enjoyed the photos. 

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 # 473

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 birding outings slow down in the winter months, I am a wimp when it comes to the cold weather.  I am sharing some birds from my back yard, from our neighborhood and some birds from our Maryland State Parks. 

Click on photos for best viewing!

1. A neighborhood walk, we always enjoy walking our local fire road trails. This trail to the Prettyboy Reservoir has been one of my favorites. On this day we saw a juvenile Bald Eagle sitting on a downed tree on the lake, the Canada Geese are here year round. 

2. When the back yard birds are not eating the peanuts I put out, they are finding some berries to eat. They kind of get lost in the vines where the berries are growing. Below are the Downy Woodpecker, White-throated Sparrow, Carolina Chickadee, Northern Flicker and a squirrel. Can you find the birds?  

3. North Point State Park, located in Baltimore County, Maryland. Here we can see birds in the forest, male and female Bufflehead ducks, various ducks out on the Chesapeake Bay, we saw a group of Tundra Swans and a couple of Belted Kingfishers. I missed the Snow Buntings that were being seen at the end of the fishing pier. 

4. We were watching two Belted Kingfishers, chasing each other along the shore. 

5. I saw a few Song Sparrows on the fishing pier, I was hoping to see the Snow Buntings in this spot. But, they must have moved on. 

6. Back in my yard, a Northern Mockingbird posing on a old dead tree that we left for the woodpeckers. 

Dec 30th, coming back from our walk to the lake I found two Golden-crowned Kinglets bouncing around the trees in our front yard. 

These images are all from December, I am slowing catching up sharing outings and photos. 

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 also linking up to Anni's blog party found here I'd Rather B Birding   Anni always has some beautiful birds to be seen on her blog, check it out! Also, I am also linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post. 

Saturday's Critters # 471

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!

Merry Christmas everyone! Happy Holidays to all! 

It's Christmas Eve, I am not sure who will have time to create a critter post. Just in case you have  a post ready for linking up the linky is here.  I tend to do my post in advance, not sure if I will ever be up to date sharing my photos. This post is a mish-mash, various birds from various times in late November and into December. 

Click on photos for better viewing!

1. I often can hear the Pileated Woodpecker right outside my house. They are so loud, on this day there were 2 of the Pileated Woodpeckers moving around a tree next to my yard. 

2. Hashawha Nature Park is one of my favorite local parks for hiking and birding.  On this day we saw the Northern Mockingbird, Eastern Bluebirds, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Carolina Chickadee, Song Sparrows and Starlings. 

3. A male Eastern Bluebird, one of many seen at the Hashawha Nature Park. 

4. During one of our walks on the local NCR bike trail I noticed this Bald Eagle sitting in a tree. 

5. Along the NCR bike trail, the berries added a bit of color, the Bald Eagle perched in a near by tree, a late sighting of a Fritillary Butterfly. 

5. Looking out my kitchen window I noticed this Northern Flicker on the top of our swing in the back yard. The Flicker found some berries to eat. 

6. The Northern Flicker has a call I recognize, it is also loud but not as loud as the Pileated Woodpecker. 

7. Some wild life from my back and front yards, the black cat has been seen a few times, hanging out around our little pond and wood pile. The crazy male Cardinal is back doing it's thing knocking on our den window which faces the front yard. 

8.  I often hear the Carolina Wrens in and around our yard. They can be loud, so loud I hear them while I am inside the house.

9. From my archives, a chubby looking Cardinal wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas.  

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 also linking up to Anni's blog party found here I'd Rather B Birding   Anni always has some beautiful birds to be seen on her blog, check it out! Also, I am also linking up to Heidrun's Mosaic Monday  I hope you can stop by and visit Heidrun and check out the Mosaic Monday post. 

Saturday's Critters #237

Welcome to Saturday's Critters!

Happy Canada Day to my blogging friends in Canada!  

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!

These are some of the birds and butterflies I saw while staying at the Cumberland Falls Resort State Park in Kentucky.

Taken on May 7th 2018, a  Spotted Sandpiper was seen along the river right before the top of the Cumberland Falls.

A Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly seen on some wild azaleas near the Eagle Falls.

American Goldfinch outside the resort lodge.

This fat groundhog was seen outside the restaurant window at the lodge. I think it was watching me eat my breakfast, wishing he could join us.

I enjoyed watching this Song Sparrow playing in the water on the river's edge above the falls.

I hope you enjoyed my post and photos.





I appreciate and thank everyone who links up their post and for all the wonderful comments! 

Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!