More from around the yard

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

These are some shots from around my yard showing what it looks like after some snow in January.  Today was a bust weather wise, all we saw was a foggy damp day. So much for today being sunny and 60 which was predicted for today.

In my mosaic, I have the Mourning Doves and a Cardinal, Holly Bush, Chickadee and Titmouse, more Mourning Doves, American Goldfinches and a couple of Pine Siskins.

We had to have a large pine tree cut down that was growing right next to our house and we saved some of these large pieces or stumps to use for bird baths or in this case I spread some sunflower seed on top for the birds or critters to eat.

At times my yard can be filled with Mourning Doves, they seem a little shy around me. In the photo above the weeping cherry tree is a favorite spot for all the birds to land before going to the birdfeeders. It is cool, some of my yardbirds let me stand out on the deck right next to them.

The tangled monster behind the birdhouse is a trumpet vine we have climbing up the side of our deck on a trellis. We did not cut it down in the fall because the birds use it to perch and hide in. I like to have lots of spots for the birds to go to for protection and my monster seems to work well. Above you can find a Chickadee on top of the birdhouse and behind is a Titmouse perch on the monster.

Above is my tree stump, some holly berries and my purple coneflower seed head. I have seen the Goldfinches on the seed head multiple times. It was well worth letting the flowers go to seed.

Around in the backyard is another tree stump with a bird bath sitting on it, but it was covered with snow on this day. On this side of the backyard we have some rhododendron bushes, butterfly bushes, a dogwood tree, an azalea bush in front our shed. I think hubby cuts back the butterfly bushes in the early spring and they grow back each year.

Above I caught a cute Red-breasted Nuthatch behind the Mourning Dove.

In the winter, the only color I see are the holly berries on our holly bushes. I hope you enjoyed the walk around my yard and my birds. 

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!

Birding Loch Raven

I am linking up with  Green Day and Camera Critters and I'd-Rather-B-Birdin.

These photos are from last weekend, hubby and I took another walk at the Loch Raven Reservoir. Loch Raven seems to attract more ducks in the winter than the reservoir near my home.

Most of the ducks were across the lake on the opposite shore from where we stood. I can make out the Canada Geese, Common Mergansers, Buffleheads, Hooded Mergansers and I am sure there are some ducks I could not id without having my scope.

Loch Raven is great place to visit on the weekends, since the road is closed and used for hiking, biking and jogging around the lake. The road is line with the tall green pine trees that you can see in the distance.

Above, hanging out on a small island we saw the Great Blue Heron, lots of gulls, and some Ringed-neck Ducks.

I was playing around with the setting on my camera and I thought it made the water look neat.

Look the ducks are swimming uphill.

Families with small children are often seen in this spot at the lake feeding the gulls, ducks and geese.

Almost home, we see the usual peacocks hanging out on the snowy field. Now, that not a usual sight for some to see.

A cropped photo for a closer look. These birds live on a farm around the corner from me and I see them often on my way home from work. A few times they have been on the road right near a curve, luckily they were safe while I had to brake for them. It seems our neighborhood has a few farms with these peacocks, I have passed signs along my road saying BIG BIRD crossing.


To see more beautiful photos and cute critters please visit:   Green Day 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.

A walk to the lake

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

 These photos are from this past Sunday, hubby and I took the 4mile walk to the peninsula tip section our lake.

It was a chilly but pretty day, the sky was mostly clear and blue.

 At the lake we saw some Mallard ducks and Canada Geese.

 I like the sun shining thru the trees on the shot above.

 The sun shining across the lake showing off the pretty diamonds and reflection.

See if you can find the Golden-crowned Kinglet in this shot. The kinglets were the most common bird we saw on this walk, there were large groups of them together.

On the walk back home the sky was mostly cloudy, except for this one spot.

Later that evening, I was able to watch the Turkey Vultures on their return to my woods for the night.

From my deck, I watched the vultures and somewhat of a sunset. The clouds were turning a little pinkish.

I hope you enjoyed my walk to the lake and my skies.

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.

Glossy, White & White-faced

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

 I decided to post on the various Ibis... a wading bird I have seen over the years. The photos are from my archives but I am pretty sure I have never shown them together so you can see the differences in the Ibis. Thanks to Wikipedia, I was amazed at just how many Ibis there really are around the world. 28 species and 2 are extinct.

During my trip to Panama I was able to see a group of White Ibis on the shores of the Panama Canal.

Not the best photo but we were on the boat going thru the canal. They are easy to id with their long red bills, red legs and white bodies.

The Glossy Ibis is more commonly seen here on the East Coast in the summer months. This shot above was taken at the Edwin Forsythe NWR.

More of the Glossy Ibis seen at the wildlife refuge in New Jersey.

Above the White-faced Ibis has a white border next to the red facial skin and they have red eyes. Adults also show reddish legs. This White-faced Ibis was seen at the Bear Lake NWR in Idaho. They look very similar to the Glossy Ibis

After checking out Wikipedia's Ibis photos, I would really love to see the Scarlet Ibis, what a beautiful bird. The Scarlet Ibis can be seen in South America and the Caribbean. I hope you enjoyed my wild bird post.

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!

Birding Fort Howard

 I am linking up with Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday

Lately I am been doing some birding or I should say wild goose chasing in local parks in Maryland. This time I went in search of the Common Redpoll.  No luck finding the Redpoll, but we did enjoy walking around the Fort Howard Park. The park has some beautiful views of the water. Also, a park full of Baltimore's history, taking part in the War of 1812 along with Fort McHenry in Baltimore. In the Battle of Baltimore the British landed 4500 men not far from what became Fort Howard. The Americans won this war and the British sailed off the take part in the Battle of New Orleans. Ok, now for a little bit of birds I did see and the pretty scenery.

Earlier in the week the Common Redpoll was seen on the Sweet Gum trees. I will be continue my search for the Cute Common Redpoll hopefully to see it somewhere... someday. We did see some birds: Cardinals, Goldfinches, Pine Siskins, Chickadees, Carolina Wren, White-throated Sparrows, Juncos, a Fox Sparrow and we saw a few Gadwall ducks on the way out.

Above is some of the history of the park.

There were beautiful views of the river, here it looks more like part of the Chesapeake Bay.

There was a cute garden not far from the children's playground.

It was my choice to make it a great day even though I missed seeing my bird.

Not the best photo of two Cardinals and a Goldfinch, but it is shows all the little balls that fall off of the Sweetgum tree. Each ball has prickly points that open and let seeds out. Apparently the birds love these seeds, now birders are looking for the Sweet Gum trees.

Above I was able to find an American Goldfinch pecking for the Sweetgum seeds.

Pretty sure there is a Pine Siskin on the left and another Siskin on the far right finding the Sweetgum seeds.

So now, I am adding the Common Redpoll to my wish list along with the Red Crossbill and the White-winged Crossbill. I can say I am out there walking which is good exercise, something I have promised myself I would do more of during the New Year.

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!