Viewing nature with Eileen

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Saturday's Critters #57

Saturday's Critters #57

It's Saturday 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.

Also, I hope you can check out the post at Anni's I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. You should also check out Misty Dawn's Camera Critters.

I am sharing some of my yardbirds seen this past week..

A Dark-eyed Junco sitting in the White Pine.

A puffy looking Blue Jay.

The pretty male Cardinal.

A female Cardinal

The European Starling with a female cardinal in the background..

I hope you enjoyed my yard birds and photos..Again I thank you for linking up to the critter party. I also appreciate the visits, comments and the support of my blogging friends................... Have a happy weekend!

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.

To see more beautiful birds and cute critters, check out these two memes below.

Please 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.

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Taking a chance

Linking up with Skywatch Friday and Good Fences

So here I am once again Jan 9th watching the bird list for Maryland and what do I see a Common Redpoll appearing at a feeder at the Black Hills Regional Park's visitor center. The Redpoll has been on my list of must see birds for some time.. Hubby and I arrived at the park at 11am and started watching the feeders.

Above one of the feeders, I see an American Goldfinch and a few Pine Siskins.. No Common Redpoll.. The visitor center had feeders in the back and feeders in the front of the building.. So here I am like a crazy person walking back and forth from the front to the back..

A pretty House Finch.. but not a Redpoll.. Did I mention it was a cold and breezy day?

The lake above is one of the views from the visitor center.. A pretty blue sky for Skywatch Friday and a fence scene around the boat dock for Good Fences.. Looking and waiting, waiting and looking... for the Common Redpoll.

A distant shot of some of the ducks and Coots in the lake... And a fence shot for my Good Fences post.

A little closer look but not too close, lol. Some American Coots, the Wigeons and a few other ducks..The zoom on my CanonSX40 is good but not that good.

We did have some pretty views while waiting for the Common Redpoll to show himself.. I seriously believe it was hiding in the bushes waiting for me to leave..Two and a half hours go by and no sight of the Redpoll.. I guess you can call me a quitter, I gave up, hubby and I left a little after 2pm..

In the distance, I could see another fence scene and a farm.. If you look hard you can see a fence behind the bare trees..So my wild chase was not completely a waste I was able to take some fence photos..and I was happy to see the Pine Siskins again...Oh and wouldn't you know it the Common Redpoll showed up at 2:40 just after I left. My luck on chasing birds has not been good. :(

I enjoy taking moon shots when I can, this is the moon setting on the morning of Jan10th.

This sunrise was taken from my driveway on Jan 11th... So this has been part of my week in activities and photos... I hope you enjoyed and my quest to see the Common Redpoll will continue...

Thanks for stopping by and for the nice comments..I hope you enjoyed your visit.
To see more pretty skies from around the world please visit Skywatch Friday
and check for more fence shots at Tex's Good Fences

Thanks to Theresa @ The Run*A*Round Ranch for hosting Good Fences and thanks to Sylvia, Yogi and Sandy for hosting Skywatch Friday. I wish everyone a happy day and weekend ahead..

Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Redbellied Woodpecker

Linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Note s

For this week's Wild Bird I am featuring the Redbellied Woodpecker.. It is a common bird found in my area and around the state of Maryland.. I have a pair that visit my yard and feeders frequently..

I am sharing various photos taken from the past year..some new and some I have already shown on previous post..

The Redbellied Woodpecker is one of my favorite yard birds..

This woodpecker loves peanuts, suet sometimes Black-oiled sunflowers seeds and cracked corn..

Above you can see the red on this woodpecker's belly..

A female Redbellied Woodie.. you can see the white on its forehead and that the red on the head stops..

The male Redbellied Woodpecker..as you can see the male has the red on it's head all the way to the beak.

Momma and a juvenile Redbellied Woodpeckers.

Another shot of the female Redbellied Woodpecker. I hope you enjoyed my Redbellied Woodpeckers as much as I do..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 bird and nature photos please visit:

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.

Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Let it Snow

I am linking up with Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday

This is the first snow storm we had in 2015, about three inches of the cold wet white stuff on January 6. I hate to rub it in but I am SO, SO HAPPY I am retired now. I do not have to worry about setting the alarm, going to work or the awful commute. I can look out at the snow and if I want go back to bed and pull the covers over my head, lol. Most of the day was spent relaxing and looking out the windows at the snow and my yard birds.. When it snows my birds go into a feeding frenzy..I filled up the feeders a few times that day.

Above are some of my yardbirds top row left side are the Dark-eyed Junco, female Cardinal, Blue Jay and a White-throated Sparrow and silly hubby wrote a note in the snow on the car.. Bottom row on the suet feeders are the female Redbellied Woodpecker and a male Downy Woodpecker..

The Cardinals are a favorite with a snowy background..their red colors really pop..

Our white pine trees in the back of the yard and a few Cardinals and Juncos..

On a cold snowy day, I am happy to stay inside and look out my dining window and watch the birds at my feeders...I caught this Redbellied woodie at the suet, you can see her tongue. Are you a snow lover? I prefer Spring, Summer and Fall and would not mind just skipping Winter..

I use Pic Monkey to create my mosaics, you can use Pic Monkey free or pay for an upgraded version.
I hope you can join in on our fun at Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday

Thanks to Judith 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 ahead!

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Saturday's Critter's #56

Saturday's Critter's #56

Hi everyone, I hope you had a great first week or so of the New Year.. It's Saturday and its 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.

Also, I hope you can check out the post at Anni's I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. You should also check out Misty Dawn's Camera Critters.

Since being retired I am checking out my local bird list to see what new birds maybe in the area. Usually I have not been able to chase down birds since I was working. Now I am going to have to check on the list and I may be able to pick up a lifer or two.. This weeks rare birds in the area were not lifers just an odd bird for Maryland. The Sandhill Crane was one of my chase birds but I have seen them here before.

So I am off and hubby is along with me. I decide to make this huge loop trying to first find the Sandhill Cranes.. The weather was not the best for birding..we drove in and out of fog and drizzle..I find the correct road and the parking lot suggested for the Cranes sighting..The corn field (where the cranes were sighted) was socked in with heavy fog. If the Cranes were there they were hiding in the fog. Hubby must have thought I was crazy going out in these conditions..Oh well no luck with Cranes but I did see a few chickens running around the parking lot in the fog.

Next I decided to drive to where the Warblers were being seen, I am not sure if it was the fog, but I missed the spot and drove right past it. I figure what the heck we come this far lets check out the Marshy Point Nature Center. You can see above a few swans and some Gadwall and something else out there lurking in the fog..We walk back to the visitor center to use the loo and we see some odd sights inside..

A starling on a bear's paw..I believe the starling was raised inside the visitor center. It was out of its cage, flying around when it landed on the bear.

An unusual sight to see...a Northern Bobwhite in the hand.

This female Mallard (behind the sign) is another inside bird. Notices were on the door warning do not let the duck outside.. It would not survive..

Another odd sight was coming out of the visitor center and finding this wild turkey sitting in the corner.. It got up right away and walked over to us..

I was able to walk around it, but she seemed to block hubby's way. I think it was her way of asking for food.. Hubby finally managed to get around the turkey.

Next stop where a couple of warblers were being seen at a local park & ride near Baltimore. The warbler must not have wanted to make the long flight to Central America. If it was me knowing the cold weather coming this week, I would have flown south already..The warbler being spotted is the Cape May Warbler. I found this bird at the exact spot is was reported in a tree at a park and ride. Easy peasy, sometimes I can be lucky with my mission..Half of my mission was accomplished one bird seen out the the two I was aiming for..Neither were life birds for me, just odd to be seeing them in Maryland. Stay tuned for more birding adventures.... I hope lucky ones...