Nature is grand

I have a list below of memes I am joining for this week, and to save time I am doing one post for all. They are all fun memes to participate in...I hope you can join in with the fun  and check out some of the participating posts. Special thanks to all the wonderful host and their memes, I hope you have some time to check them out.

"If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere." Vincent Van Gogh


This is finally the last of my Washington trip photos. On this gray day we were leaving La Push and heading south on Rt 101 near the coast. Before taking our rental car back to the Sea-tac airport we made a few stops along the way. One stop at the Grays Harbor Nat'l Wildlife Refuge near Aberdeen Washington and then the Nisqually Nat'l Wildlife Refuge near Olympia Washington.

"The sea, once it cast it's spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." Jacques Yves Cousteau

Driving down the coast and below the resort at Kalaloch we stopped to view the beaches and the amazing numbers of Surf Scoters.

To really see this image it is best enlarged. All the small black dots are the Surf Scoters. It had to be the largest count of Scoters I have ever seen. There were more Scoters (a sea bird)  up and down the coast. It was an amazing sight to see, especially if you are a birder.

Above are some birds, the tree lined boardwalk and moss covered trees
scenes from the Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge near Aberdeen Washington.

Grays Harbor NWR Great Blue Herons spending time with the gulls.

Above are some images from our short visit to the Nisqually Wildlife refuge. I wish we had more time here. They have a boardwalk that is 4 miles.

A scenic view at Nisqually, the boardwalk, wetlands and sky.

For Tom's meme The Barn Collective I am sharing the twin barns at the Nisqually NWR. The two huge barns were once dairy barns built back in 1934 and the wildlife refuge was once called the Brown Farm. The forest here is a rare natural occuring deciduous riparian forest found in Washington.

I hope you enoyed the images and post. I appreciate your visits and nice comments. Thank you! Have  a happy day and new week ahead!


As always thanks to the wonderful group of hosts listed below.

Thanks to Tom for hosting The Barn Collective.

Thanks to Judith our  host of Mosaic Monday

Thanks to Monica for hosting NF Trees

Thanks to Michelle for hosting Nature Notes

Thanks to the hosting team of Our World Tuesday!

Thanks to Stewart for hosting Wild Bird Wednesday

Virginia Rail

Linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes and NC Sue Wordless
I hope you can join in and share your wild birds and nature scenes.

For this week's wild bird I am sharing the Virginia Rail. This rail was seen on the same day and same place I saw the King Rail.

The Virginia Rail has a gray face and long bill.

At one time while we were sitting in the blind the Virginia Rail came out and walked over to the blind. It was right under the window when I looked down at it.

On this day we saw maybe four or five rails, some were right next to us as we walked down the trail next to the pond.


I hope you enjoyed my wild bird post and photos. Till next week's wild bird post. Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird and nature photos please visit:

 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes and NC Sue Wordless

Thanks to all of our hosts. Michelle for Nature Notes and Stewart of Wild Bird Wednesday and Sue for Wordless Wednesday.

  Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

Saturday's Critters #79

Saturday's Critters #79

Wow, this is my 1,000th post since I started blogging in July 2009.  I thank all my wonderful blogging friends for all their visits and comments over the years.

Happy Father's Day!

It's Saturday and it's time to share your critters.. Any kind of critter will do, even a new or old post.. I appreciate everyone who has linked up in the past and for those who are linking in on this week's critter party. And of course I always appreciate my blogging friends stopping by just for a visit.

These are some birds seen during a visit to the Swan Harbor Farms Park in Havre de Grace Maryland back in April. This is the same place where I saw the King Rail on a previous post.

The Yellow Warbler, you can the red streaks down his breast.

A rusty capped Swamp Sparrow, looks like he wants to come out of my photo.

The Virginia Rail a secretive marsh bird.

And a Glossy Ibis is included in the birds we saw during our visit.

An InLinkz Link-up

Thanks to Tex Theresa aka Tex, I was able to add this link up button and thanks to  Jennifer for creating my photo badge.

<a href="http://viewingnaturewitheileen.blogspot.com/"><img src=" https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3915/15299083201_9709303697_m.jpg" width="185" height="240"></a>

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.

My favorite birds of 2014

Linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

For this week's wild bird.. I am sharing some of my favorites from the past year.. One  bird ( maybe two)  for each month..seen during that month..I hope you enjoy my review and favorite birds of 2014.


Wishing you beautiful moments, treasured memories and all the blessings a heart can know! Happy New Year 2015!

I wish you a happy and magical New Year. I hope it brings you lots of new birds, joy and happiness. All the best in 2015.

 January 2014...Snowy Owl seen in at the Edwin Forsythe NWR in New Jersey.

 February 2014 ..A juvenile Bald Eagle seen at the Blackwater NWR in Maryland.

March 2014..The Pine Warbler seen on my deck railing..

April 2014.. the Yellow Crowned Night Heron rookery in Baltimore City.

May 2014.. I have two favorites for May this is a Virginia Rail seen near Aberdeen, Md

May 2014  and also from May from my Belize trip a Violet Sabrewing..

June 2014..the Scarlet Tanager in my backyard..a breeder in the woods near my house.

June 2014.. another favorite the Green Heron seen at Bombay Hook NWR.

July 2014..A Little Blue Heron seen at North Point State Park in Maryland.

August 2014.. an Eastern Towhee seen at Shenandoah National Park.

September 2014.. a Dusky Grouse seen in the Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.

October 2014..Black Skimmers on the beach at Ocean City, Maryland.

November 2014 .a Bald Eagle seen at the Conowingo Dam, Susquehanna River, Maryland.

December 2014... An American Bittern seen at the Chincoteague NWR in Virginia.

Till next week's wild bird post.. I wish you happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful birds and nature photos.

 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes

Thanks to all of our hosts... Michelle for Nature Notes and Stewart of Wild Bird Wednesday.

It was a Rail day

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

For this week's wild bird I am featuring the Virginia Rail..

 Hubby and I were among many of the Maryland birders that went to see the Virginia Rails being seen at the Swan Harbor Farms in Aberdeen, Maryland.. On one day 10-11 Virginia Rails were being seen.  Hubby and I saw 5 Virginia Rails, a Sora,  a Clapper Rail on the same day at the same place.. We sat in a blind and just watched them coming out of the reeds. It was so cool. We thought we also saw the King Rail, but it is not included in any of my photos..

 The Virginia Rail is a small water bird of the Rallidae family. Their breeding habitat is marshlands. They are secretive bird that usually remain hidden in the vegetation. They have a long curved red bill and gray cheeks, rufous throat and breast.

A Virginia Rail and muskrat

Together above were three Virginia Rails and a Sparrow.

 A few Sora's were being seen also.. With this bird their yellow beak is good to help with their id. This bird was able to hide and more shy than the rails..

Another Clapper Rail was seen with the Virginia Rails.. It's beak looks a little darker than the Clapper Rail I saw at Forsythe.  It was Rail weekend for me after seeing the Clapper Rail at Edwin Forsythe only two days earlier.



Thanks for stopping by my post and for all the nice comments.

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 our host Michelle our host Stewart.  Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

Virginia Rail

For my World Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes I have some shots of the Virginia Rail.

I mentioned my lifer the Virginia Rail on my post below with all the other birds I saw while touring Poplar Island, Md. But now I am doing a separate post describing the Virginia Rail and showing more of its habitat. The adult has chestnut colored wings, a long bill, and a gray face. The female can lay 5 to 13 eggs on a raised bed of cattails and other plants. Both parents care for the chicks and they are able to fly in less than a month. The rails chicks are black in color.  

Below, one of the Virginia Rails walked out onto the road where we were standing. All twenty five of us stopped and stood still. We were not sure what the rail was going to do and then it stopped right near one of the birders legs. At least on my photo it looks close. As soon as it noticed all of us watching, it turned tail and ran back into the brush. It did not go far because that was were the chicks were.

On this shot below we watched as the Virginia Rail and some of its chicks ran back and forth. The Virginia Rail breeds in upland freshwater marshes and coastal salt marshes. To avoid predators this species can dive underwater propelled by its wings.  They eat insects and aquatics animals.

I was not able to get any shots of the chicks, they were quick. But I think I saw both adults.

I was thrilled to see my new lifer the Virginia Rail!  Rails in general are very secretive birds more often heard than seen. The are fairly common dispite the continuing loss of their habitat. I am hoping they will do well on Poplar Island.

To see more wonderful photos and pretty birds please make sure to visit Springman's World Bird Wednesday  and Michelle's Nature Notes.  thanks to both Springman and Michelle for hosting these great memes.

Also, thanks again for visiting my blog and post. I hope enjoy my Virginia Rail. Happy Birding and I hope the rest of your week is great. 

Birding Poplar Island, Md

I am linking my post  up with  Scenic Sunday and   Mosaic Monday and That's My World

I read on Dina's blog about the loss of Klaus, he was a great bird and nature photographer and very much respected. Klaus will be dearly missed.. I was always amazed at his photos.

My prayers go out to Klaus's family and friends.

On Friday my bird club had an outing to Poplar Island, Maryland an island located in the Chesapeake Bay. Tours of Poplar Island are given by MES ( Maryland Environmenal Services) reservations have to be made in advance by our bird club or by any group that would like to tour the island. We were met at the Tilghman Island dock by the MES boat and staff. After a 20 minute boat ride a staff person also drove our tour bus around Poplar island, stopping at various places so we could see the birds. I want to say KUDOS to the MES gals and guys that run these trips and to all the organizations are are helping to rebuild Poplar Island.

In earlier days the island once supported a small town, post office, cattle, sawmill and a school. Two US Presidents Roosevelt and Truman used the island as a hunting and a vacation retreat. By 1990 erosion had cut Poplar Island into three sections each around 10 acres. Today, Poplar Island is growing from a group effort and combined efforts of the Port of Baltimore, Army Corps of Engineers and the MES. Their reconstruction and restoration project is using dredged material from Maryland and Baltimore shipping channels. Construction started in 1998 and is suppose to continue thru 2020. During our tour we could see the bulldozers hard at work at the various wetland cells and the upland cells. When the island is completed it will be divided between tidal marsh and upland and will provide habitat for migratory and the resident wildlife. There is an ongoing school Terrapin Connection project for the nesting Diamondback Terrapins. I was able to see the baby terrapins that will soon be going to various schools where school children will be collecting data and taking care of the hatchlings until their release back on the Poplar Island beaches in May or June.  

Wildlife is already claiming Poplar Island as their home, we saw numerous Osprey, Eagles, Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, Terns, GB Herons,  Avocets, Black Necked Stilts, Black Bellied Plover, various species of Sandpipers, Yellowlegs, Killdeer, various species of Seagulls, many DC Cormorants, Barn and Bank Swallows and lots of Mallard ducks, Redwing Blackbirds, Cowbirds and some Black Ducks. The Diamondback Terrapins are already successfully nesting on the island.

I was able to see two new lifers, one was a Virginia rail and its chicks and the other was the Hudsonian Godwit. The Godwit was too far away but I did get a couple of rail photos. The chicks were too fast but they were cute.

The finished island project is suppose to include boat docking facilities, information kiosks, self guided nature trails and boardwalks, avain observation areas, picnic area and other resting and viewing areas. It sounds great and I am already hoping to go on another one of my bird club's outings to Poplar Island. 

While we were on the island, it looked like a sailboat race was happening on the Chespaeake Bay.

To see more wonderful mosaics and photos please visit The Holley's at Scenic Sunday and Mary's Mosaic Monday and That's My World.  Thanks to the Holleys of Scenic Sunday, Mary for hosting Mosaic Monday and thanks to the hosting group of That's My World: Sylvia, Wren, Sandy.

 

Thank you for visiting my post this week, I hope you enjoyed my visit to Poplar Island. I hope everyone has a wonderful week. Happy Birding!!!!