Around the yard VIII

It's time to link up with my favorites memes Skywatch Friday and  NF Winged

First my here are birds for NF Winged. I have a male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

 The male Yellow-bellied Sapsucker has the red on the throat and the head.

  and one of my regulars the White-Breasted Nuthatch. This is how I usually see the Nuthatch on my feeder. They love the peanut suet.

Between leaving for work early and having it get so dark early in the evening I have not had many chances to take sky shots. These are from last week. Below are two shots of the sunset, one from my back yard and the second is from near my mailbox on the street.

 The sunset from the front of my house and street.

 Above is a shot of the moon on Dec 3, it was early in the morning. I think it is a cool shot, the seeing the craters is neat.

Later the same day, I captured the moon during the daylight hours.



To see more beautiful photos and pretty skies please visit Skywatch Friday
and to see more of the winged critters check out NF Winged

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

The Booby

I am linking up my  post with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

How do you like my catchy title? You would never guess it is about birds right? Ha!Ha! It is all about birds!  I know I have shown my Brown Booby (taken from a boat on the way to St Johns)  before but not so sure if I ever put up my Blue-footed Booby from Panama.

Above is my Blue-footed Booby seen in Panama 2011.  The Boobies are aerial divers and a pelagic bird.

 It is not the best photo, the bird was in flight and I was on a boat heading into the Panama Canal.  I am not the best taking photos of birds in flight and it is even harder when you are moving too.

I was a little luckier with this Brown Booby flying by. I was sitting down on the side of the boat (turning green)  when the bird flew right along side the boat. This fly-by was meant for me, I am sure! On this day we were on a tour to St Johns from our cruise ship which was docked at St Thomas.

 They were both lifers at the time and very exciting birds to see. I have not done much birding lately at home so I am diving into my archives to do this post. Other Boobies are the Masked Booby and the Red-footed Booby and I read both of these could be seen at the Dry Tortugas in Florida. I am researching a possible trip to Florida and adding lifers to my list will be exciting too. I guess that means another boat ride is necessary, I will have to take some seasick pills to see these other boobies.


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 Favorite Birds of 2012

Hello, I am linking up with Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday.

Since the year  is almost over and I do not think I will be doing much birding in the next two or three weeks I believe it is safe to post my favorite birds of 2012.

Above are some of my favorite birds seen while traveling this past year. Some of my favorite birds seen in on the island of Curacao are the Troupial, Saffron Finch and the Bananaquit. And seen in Oregon this year, I loved the cute Pigeon Guillemot. 

 The beautiful Saffron Finches seen in Curacao.

 The Bananaquits above were also a lifer a favorite of mine. They seem so tame and such a pretty bird.

The pretty Pigeon Guillemot was a common bird seen on the Oregon coast, it was a lifer for me.

At home in Maryland, some of my favorite birds and sightings are the Le Conte's Sparrow, Scarlet Tanager, Rose-Breasted Grosbeak, Snow Buntings and the Evening Grosbeak.

 As a birder some of my sightings were exciting and rare, at least for me they were awesome. The Evening Grosbeaks in my yard was a real treat for me and a few other birders that showed up at my yard to see my Grosbeaks. The Snow Bunting and the Grosbeak appear on my post below and I considered them my Top Ten Birds to see.

Some of the birds are regular breeders in my area and some are birds that pass thru every year but still a thrill to see. The warblers are a spring, summer and fall treat to see and I was thrilled so many showed up in my yard this year.

The Le Conte's Sparrow is a "rare" sighting in Maryland as is the Evening Grosbeak that showed up in my yard.

  Above the beautiful Scarlet Tanager is a breeder in the woods next to my house, I think they are beautiful birds to see and are always a treat to see.

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The Rose-breasted Grosbeak has been a long time favorite. I only see it passing thru in the Spring and Fall but they grab my attention when they do show up in my yard.

I was so happy that this summer was a year for new yardbirds for me, it was cool to see so many warblers eating the berries in my yard.

Above are some my favorite warblers of 2012 the:  Northern Parula and the Tennessee Warbler, Nashville Warbler, Hooded Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler and the Tennessee on the bottom right.

The Nashville Warbler was only one of the many warblers that showed up in my yard.

Again in seen my yard  the Tennessee Warbler along side a local breeder the Northern Parula. The Northern Parula is also a breeder in the woods next to my house.

The Hooded Warbler is a gorgeous bird, this is a pretty male.

Another new Warbler sighting and lifer for me is the Kentucky Warbler.

The Black-Throated Green Warbler was another great new yardbird for me.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my favorite birds of 2012. I am hoping that 2013 is another great year and I will have a lot more favorite birdsand sightings.

To see more wonderful photos and mosaics please visit Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday
 Thanks to Mary of Mosaic Monday and to the hosting group of Our World Tuesday: Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia and Sandy .  Thanks also for stopping by to see my post.  I wish everyone a happy week!

Top Ten 2012

We are almost at the end of 2012, very hard to believe this year flew by. For my Camera critter post I have a post on my top ten birds I most want to see and some photos of my previous top ten. I started this list years ago and have been marking off my lifers as I see them.

TOP TEN BIRDS... from 2009 most wanted to see in 2010 first post on my TOP TEN
1. Snowy Owl.. seen @ Assateague...added Snow Bunting... a link to my  Snowy Owl
2. Whip-poor-will.........Seen at Magee Marsh, Ohio
3. Blackburian Warbler...a male.....Seen  at Magee Marsh , Ohio  my Blackburian Warbler
4. Green Jay....maybe a Texas trip
5. Snipe...Seen in the Paper Mills flats here in Maryland my Wilson's Snipe
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 my Yellow-breasted Chat
8. Bittern... any......American Bittern seen with the bird club in Huntley Meadows, Virginia
9. Chestnut-backed Chickadee..  seen on our Oregon vacation July , 2012
10. Whooping Crane.....seen Aug 4, 2012 at the Patuxent Whooping Crane research center

I saw lots of Chestnut-backed Chickadees during our trip to Oregon, July 2012.

We visited the Whooping Crane research center at Patuxent NWR in Aug, 2012. My Whooping Crane post about our Whooping Crane tour at the research center is here Whooping Crane.

The Snow Bunting is one of my favorite top ten birds and I was so happy to see it here in Maryland

 at Fort McHenry.

2011....Top Ten Birds..Most want to see in 2012

1. Barn Owl..in the wild
2. Atlantic Puffin...saw the Tufted Puffin In Oregon, July 2012 still need the Atlantic Puffin
3. Evening Grosbeak....male..I have seen the female Evening Grosbeak here in my yard Nov, 2012
4. Black Rosy-Finch
5. Roadrunner
6. Pine Grosbeak....male
7. Western Tanager....male...male seen during our July 2012 vacation to Oregon
8. Green Tailed Towhee
9. GreenJay
10. Townsend’s Warbler..seen on a backyard feeder in Carlisle Pa, Feb 2012

I was thrilled to see the Tufted Puffin, the male Western Tanager and the Townsend's Warbler even though the sighting was only for a short time and I was not able to take their photos.

On the list above I need to go on a vacation to Texas and Arizona? I could knock off a few of these birds with one trip.

 A real treat to see the female and juvie Evening Grosbeaks in my yard in Nov, 2012

                                            2012 Top Ten Birds... most want to see in 2013

1.   Barn Owl ..in the wild
2.   Atlantic Puffin
3.   Blue-winged Warbler
4.   Golden-winged Warbler
5.   Saw-Whet Owl
6.   Burrowing Owl
7.   Limpkin
8.   Black Tern
9.   Common Redpoll
10.  Pine Grosbeak

Since we are having this irruptive year, I might be able to see the Common Redpoll or even a Pine Grosbeak in Maryland or neighboring states. The Burrowing Owl and Limpkin are possible to see during a planned Florida trip in March or April. The two warblers will have to wait until spring. I am hoping to add many more lifers to my list in 2013. Happy Birding.

 To see more beautiful photos and cute critters please visit: and Camera Critters and I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. Thanks to the gracious host Fiona of Green Day, Misty Dawn of Camera Critters and to Anni of I'd Rather-B-birdin.  Thanks for visiting my blog and post. I wish everyone a very safe and happy weekend.

Skywatch and my 500th post

Wow, I can not believe I am doing my 500th post, it seems like just yesterday I started the blog. My first post was on  July 19, 2009 the title of the post was River Rider.

 I want to thank all my followers and the very nice bloggers and friends who take the time to comment on all my post. I have "met" so many wonderful bloggers from around the world.   I do love to visit with my blogger friends thru reading their blogs and seeing all their wonderful photos. What a cool way to see the world! I hope to continue my blog for some time and I hope everyone will still come and check out my post.

Now onto my 500th post and I am linking it up toWatery Wednesday and  Skywatch Friday and NF Winged

These are shots from a few weeks ago when hubby and I went on our overnight trip to Ocean City. These are some of the sunrise shots near our hotel.

The hotel and boardwalk early in the morning. The christmas lights are pretty and I love the cute blow up Santa.

Our first sign of color.

The was a layer of clouds on the horizon that was blocking our view of the sun.

 I was watching this fishing vessel being followed by a group of seagulls.

The sun has risen before we were able to finally see it rise up the layer of clouds.

Before leaving Ocean City, I had to check out the inlet one last time. The birds seen there were the Sanderlings and a few Ruddy Turnstones.

Above a Ruddy Turnstone was trying to walk on the steep side of this rock at the jetty.

As you can see above, it was another great day and skywatch at Ocean City. I was just sad to leave.


To see more beautiful photos  check out Tricia's Watery Wednesday II
 and for pretty skies please visit Skywatch Friday
and to see more of the winged critters check out NF Winged


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