Fireroad walk and bird count

January 9, 2014

Linking up with NF Winged   and  Skywatch Friday 


On this day, hubby and I took a local walk on the fireroad near our place.. There was snow on the ground and some on the trees and  it was a little breezy day .  I have begun to count the birds in my yard and on the fireroad trail for Ebird.. These are some photos from our Pine tree loop walk..

Our neighborhood fireroad walk..

Sky above the tall pines.

Wind blown snow and a sunburst.

I really loved how this scene looked during our walk..

A regular at my feeder is the female Downy Woodpecker.

The Male Downy woodpecker is another regular visitor to my yard and feeders.

This past weekend we saw a beautiful sunset..heading home from Walmart.. I hope you enjoyed my post and the woodpeckers..

To see what bird are being seen in your area this is a link to	EBIRD
This was my list from our walk on the fireroad
Pine Tree Loop Prettyboy Reservoir, Baltimore, US-MD Dec 26, 2013 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Protocol: Traveling 2.0 mile(s) 11 species (+1 other taxa) Canada Goose  X     In flight..could not see them all due to tree cover. hawk sp.  X     Heard not seen..maybe a Red Tailed Hawk Red-bellied Woodpecker  2 Pileated Woodpecker  2 American Crow  2 Carolina Chickadee  X Tufted Titmouse  X Carolina Wren  2 Ruby-crowned Kinglet  1 White-throated Sparrow  3 Dark-eyed Junco  4 Northern Cardinal 2

Just a reminder..I am looking forward to seeing you join in and share your critters on my MEME called Saturday Critters..early Saturday Morning..join in on the party and post your cute animals.

To see more pretty skies from around the world please visit  Skywatch Friday
and to see more of the winged critters check out NF Winged

Thanks to Sylvia, Yogi  and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday! Thanks to Monica the host of NF Winged.   I wish everyone a safe and happy long weekend.

Weekend Walk, Oct 13

  I am linking up with Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday 

October 13, 2013

This Columbus Day weekend  has been mostly rainy so I am sharing a previous weekend walk.  Since we have so many fireroads around our neighborhood we can choose to take a different walk each weekend.

 On this day before leaving on our walk, I watched a bike event on our street. I assume they were riding the loop around our lake.

 Some trails have become favorites only because we enjoy the views of the lake. We enjoy a nice walk among the tall pine trees, bushes with berries, the sounds of birds singing and views of the lake.

This trail takes us to our favorite spot for viewing the lake.  There were lots of different berries along the trail, I hope they were berries that the birds enjoy eating.

  Lately I have been seeing and reading on my listserve about the winter birds moving back into the neighborhood and state.  On this day I was able to see some great views of the Ruby-Crowned Kinglet. The Kinglets are winter birds for my area. When agitated their pretty Scarlet Crown is raised. They have a heavy eye-ring, but thin at the top and bottom. They winter in wooded and brushy habitats. It is a tiny bird only 4 1/4 inches.

The highlight of my rainy weekend, was meeting my niece's son for the first time baby Neill.

As always, I hope you enjoy my post and thanks for visiting my blog. I always appreciate your comments.

Join in on the fun and for more wonderful photos please visit  Mosaic Monday and more
 from  Our World Tuesday

 Thanks to our host: Mary 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!

Weekend walk, Oct 6

  I am linking up with Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday 

October 6, 2013

Sharing some scenes from our weekend walk on the fireroad and to the lake. Hubby, Goldie Girl and I enjoy our walks on the weekends.

The reservoir, Goldie Girl and pretty reflections.

Goldie Girl enjoying the reflections.

Pretty ferns, Goldie Girl and some colorful fungi.

The fireroad walk, Pileated Woodpecker and some more fungi.  I hope you enjoy these natures scenes, Goldie Girl and the pretty reflections.

 Back in the yard, are some of my warbler yardbirds..the Black-throated Green Warbler and the Cape May Warbler and a cute Ruby-Crowned Kinglet..

As always, I hope you enjoy my post and thanks for visiting my blog. I always appreciate your comments.

Join in on the fun and for more wonderful photos please visit  Mosaic Monday and more
 from  Our World Tuesday

 Thanks to our host: Mary 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!

Our weekend walk, Aug 31

  I am linking up with  Our World Tuesday 

September 2, 2013

For my post for Our World Tuesday, I am sharing some of the scenes from this weekend's walk.  We walked on the fireroad that we call the Pine Tree loop, it maybe a mile long.

Along the trail, beside the tall pine trees we saw lots of colorful berries and some leaves changing into their pretty fall colors.

Autumn is a second Spring when every leaf is a flower. A quote by Albert Camus.

I am sure the birds are happy with all the berries we were seeing.

Of course while I am walking I am listening for  different birds, I could hear some loud Bluejays, a Wood PeWee, Cardinals, a Northern Flicker and I am sure some Warblers were high in the treetops.

I believe there were two Northern Flickers, but I was only able to snap off a few shots of this Flicker. It is pretty with the red on its head and the spotted chest.

Along the trail, we saw different kinds of ferns, they all look beautiful to me. After working all week, I am happy to get outdoors for a walk and to enjoy everything that is nature.

One touch of nature makes the whole world kin. A quote by William Shakespeare.


As always, I hope you enjoy my post and thanks for visiting my blog. I always appreciate your comments.

Join in on the fun and for more wonderful photos please visit Our World Tuesday

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

Around the yard

 I am linking up with   Our World Tuesday

Happy  Mother's Day! I hope you all are having a great day!

These are some of the scenes from our weekend walk on the fireroad to our lake early Saturday morning. And some shots from around the yard.

 A few geese came near Goldie Girl, a wild White Dogwood tree and we saw lots of ferns.... the forest floor was covered with beautiful ferns. It rained Friday night and after a rain everything green looks a darker color green.

Fern on the forest floor.

 I checked out a small creek that leads into the lake, I thought I might see some birds there.  The geese and our resident GB herons were at the nest...they were the only birds I actually could see. I did hear a lot of birds calling and singing like the Ovenbirds, Northern Parula and Wood Thrush. I also heard the Barred Owl's call "Who cook for you" .  There were some pretty wild pink azaleas growing off the fireroad.

Wild White Dogwood blossoms.

 I have been putting Goldie Girl's hair out in a old suet feeder for the birds to use in their nest. It seems like this Tufted Titmouse  really likes Goldie Girl's hair. The Titmouse had a mouthful of hair. This was the second time I filled up the feeder with more hair. It is a good thing that Goldie Girl sheds a lot of hair. Also seen above are some of my yardbirds like the House Wren coming out of the birdhouse, Carlina Wren, the Titmouse, House Finches with a Downy Woodpecker and WB Nuthatch.

Tufted Titmouse with Goldie Girl's hair. Yes, there is a bird behind all that hair.

I hope you enjoyed our walk around the yard and to the lake. I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Thanks for visiting my blog and post. I really appreciate your comments too.
Join in on the fun and for more wonderful photos
please visit   Our World Tuesday
Thanks to the hosting group of Our World Tuesday: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia, Sandy and Jennifer.
Thanks also for stopping by to see my post.  I wish everyone a happy week ahead!

SWF>>>Walking the fireroad

It is time for my favorites memes Skywatch Friday and  NF Winged.  Over the last couple of days I took some shots of the skies above my yard and a few birds from my local walk on the fireroad for NF Winged.

Our skies lately have ranged from blue to all gray.   One early morning started out looking like this.

 And by the time I walked up the fireroad

I looked up at these Eastern bluebirds in the tree, there was nothing but gray skies for a background. I thought Goldie Girl and I were going to be rained on so I decided to turn around and walk home rather than go further up to the clear cut area.

And here when I looked up again at the same tree I saw some American Robins. At first the rusty colored breast  kind of fooled me. But, the Robins are much bigger birds than the bluebirds.

I did see some pretty colors along the fireroad.

  I hope you enjoyed my walk and skies, I hope the sky is pretty where you are.


To see more beautiful photos and pretty skies please visit Skywatch Friday
and NF Winged

Thanks to Sylvia and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday! Thanks to Monica the host of NF Winged. Also, thank you for stopping by to see my post. I wish everyone a safe and happy weekend.

Flycatcher, Tanager & a walk

I am linking up with my favorite  Camera Critters

Misty Dawn is the host Camera Critters happening every Saturday. If you are an animal lover like me, you will be happy to check out all the Camera Critter blogs and all the cute critters. Our weatherman is called for 103 on Saturday, I hope everyone stays cool.

My critters are from a walk I took with my hubby along the nearby fireroad. One of the common birds heard in the woods near my house is the Acadian Flycatcher.

 I am sure this bird above is the Acadian Flycatcher. I can that say I am positive (maybe positive)  about the id because I heard its sound. It is one sound I am very familiar with after hearing it often on my fireroad walks and listening to my birdpod.

Flycatchers, Wood Pewees and the Phoebe are kind of like sparrows to me. They all look alike.

This bird above was in my yard and perched on my weeping cherry tree for awhile.  The Acadian Flycatcher has a green back which is hard to see in strong light. It has a uniformed white eye-ring and white wingbars and a wide bill. Question is: is the bird in the woods the same bird I saw in my yard?

The Scarlet Tanager above is another bird I see along our fireroads. The male above was calling and making sounds constantly even while it seem to have a bug in its mouth. I wonder if it was calling to the baby birds. They are beautiful birds and I was lucky to see two males chasing each other around a tree in my backyard this week.

I love the colorful birds and the Scarlet Tanager is one of my favorites. I am hoping to see the male Western Tanager on my upcoming trip to Oregon.

Just to throw on another critter for my Camera Critter post I have some shots of the hogs we see on our way to or from town. I jokingly call the area we live the boonies, it is a 15 minute drive over to the closest town for shopping and to do our Walmart shop. Besides the lake and the woods near my house there are farms. There have been numerous times I have seen cows and horses running down my street.

On our way back from town we ride by this farm that has hogs and goats. They are kind of close to the road so I was able to take a few shots from my car. Do you think the saying  is true couldn't be happier than a pig in mud? I guess that goes for hogs too.

I  felt sorry for this Momma and the others, it was a hot day. They do have a shady area where they like to lay. I think they cute, but then I love all the animals.

So, thanks for stopping by to see my critters and thanks to Misty Dawn the host of Camera Critters.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy weekend. Stay COOL and Happy Birding!!

My yardbirds and a walk

I am linking up this post with  Mary's Mosaic Monday and  That's My World  it is of my recent yardbirds and a walk today along the fireroad to the lake.

It is Spring at least on the calendar, I am not sure if my yardbirds know it though. I am still seeing my winter birds and I am on the watch for any sign of my summer, migrants or my breeding birds. Some winter birds still here are the Juncos, White throated Sparrows and Pine Siskins and the Fox Sparrow.


Pictured in my yardbird mosaic are the male Pine Warlber, Junco, Bluejay, Chickadee, female Cardinal and a Fox Sparrow.

After watching my yardbirds in the early morning hubby and I drove around the lake for a walk on another fireroad. It was a pretty day with a beautiful blue sky but very cold temps were in the high 30's. Nice day for a brisk walk and I wanted to see a different part of the lake then the usual part we just walk to. Goldie Girl enjoys a car ride and the walking. I was happy to see my first of the year Eastern Phoebe.

I was hoping the fireroad would take us all the way to the lake but, the trail down to the lake was rocky and steep. I decided to let hubby and Goldie Girl take the small trail down to the lake edge. I stayed at the top and took a shot of the lake from the fireroad. Below is Goldie Girl huffing and puffing back up the steep hill.

Please join in and visit Mosaic Monday and That's My World.  Thanks to Mary of Mosaic Monday and to the gang at That's My World.

Also, thanks for stopping by and I hope everyone has a wonderful week.

Walk to the lake

I am linking up  with That's My World  and Watery Wednesday . These are some photos from yesterday's walk with my hubby to the nearby lake and some from my backyard. The lake has a thin layer of ice and is starting to melt quickly now.

These are some shots of Black Vultures and Turkey Vultures flying around my yard and a pretty Pine Warbler and a gorgeous sunset to end the day.

I hope you enjoyed my photos please visit that's My World and Watery Wednesday.  Thanks for stopping by and thanks to the great host of the two memes.

Sunday morning walk

This morning hubby and I went out for a walk on the fireroad closest to our house. I am trying to get back into the groove after being off for my hand surgery. The fireroad still has 3-6 inches of snow and is difficult to walk in but I guess it is good exercise. Kind of like walking in sand ..it feels like a real workout.  My Goldie Girl does not seem to have any trouble walking thru the snow.

On this shot you can see some of our reservoir thru the trees. Most of the lake looks frozen.

Goldie Girl doesn't seem to mind me stopping so I can listen for the birds. We could see deer and other animal tracks all along the fireroad as we walked.



















I was looking and listening for the birds as we walked. I could hear Canada geese in the distance, Bluejays and crows seemed to be fussy, a woodpecker knocking, the cute sounds of the Tufted Titmouse, Downy Woodpeckers and Chickadees. A Red Tailed hawk was flying over my yard just as we arrived home from our walk.

A Red Tailed hawk and a pretty blue sky. you can really see the distinctive red tail on this shot.

I am link up with Mary's Mosaic Monday and That's My World.  Thanks to Mary and the hosting gang at That's My World. Also, thanks for stopping by to see my post. I everyone has a great week.