Sunday, May 31, 2015

Fort Island Gulf Beach


I am linking up with   Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday   They are both fun memes to participate in...I hope you can join in with the fun  and check out some of the participating posts.

It is the last day of May, unbelievable how fast the days are going..I love summer so I am hoping for lots of warm sunny days ahead.. Are you ready for some more of Florida? These are shots from the Fort Island Gulf beach in Crystal River on Florida's gulf coast.



The Fort Island Gulf Beach was a pretty spot with a nice sandy beach.


I am not positive but I am guessing that the Terns above are the Royal Terns with some Laughing Gulls.


We saw a lot of  Terns, Gulls, Sanderlings and the Piping Plovers. Any help with bird id's are appreciated. I do not claim to be an expert, lol.


I saw that there were a lot of Black Skimmers at one end of the beach.



Black Skimmers, Terns and Gulls.


Above hubby in the orange vest tried snorkeling at a park called Hunter Spring in Crystal River. I sat near the car watching the White Ibis, Mallards and some Scaup ducks hanging around the parking and in the water. I hope you enjoyed this collection of images from our Florida trip. I still have more to share. 
Thank you for visiting and for all the nice comments.. Have a great day and week ahead!

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 with 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.  

Saturday, May 30, 2015

Saturday's Critters #76


Saturday's Critters #76

Happy weekend, everyone!  Can you believe it is the end of May? 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.

Hubby and I like to take walks along the Susquehanna River trail on this day we saw a lot of Double-crested Cormorants in the river.


Double-crested Cormorants seen in the Susquehanna River.



They must be catching some great fish in this spot.


Also seen on the trail a Mourning Cloak butterfly.


More Cormorants seen from along the river trail.


On the drive home we always pass this Alpaca farm, they are cute critters..I hope you enjoyed my post and critter photos. Have a happy weekend!






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.

Also visit:  I'd-Rather-B-BirdinThanks to the gracious host: Anni.  Also check out Camera Critters. Thanks to Misty for hosting this fun meme.





Thursday, May 28, 2015

C & O Canal Trail

I am linking up with Skywatch Friday  and Good Fences  
I hope you can join in on the fun and share your fence scenes and pretty skies.

For this week's Good Fence and Skywatch Friday memes I am sharing our day trip seeing the Owls on the previous post and our walk along the C&O near Point of Rocks, Frederick Maryland. The C&O Canal trail runs about 185 miles along the Potomac River from Washington DC to Cumberland Maryland. Hubby and I have done various sections of this trail, I enjoy seeing the river scenery, wildflowers and of course the birds..


The C&O Canal trail is an easy walking trail or if you prefer running, jogging or biking. Or like me just for birding.


On this day the Louisiana Waterthrushes were seen and heard all along the C&O trail. As you can see it was a pretty day with a beautiful blue sky.


Along the C&O trail there is an old house were you can make a reservation to spend the night. This is if you are hiking the trail and backpacking and need a place to sleep and rest from your hiking 185 miles. While walking we must have seen 4 or 5 trains pass us some were the CSX freight trains and one was an Amtrak.

BTW, I hope you noticed all the fences in the mosaic above near the house and bridge over the canal.



Hubby and I had to treat ourselves to some ice cream after our walk. Before and after eating our ice cream I took some scenic fence shots around and at the Rocky Point Creamery. The baby cow was tiny and adorable. I have never been up close to a baby cow house, it looks like a big dog house. Fences galore in the mosaic above, they keep the horses and cows safe.


A pretty sky shot. If I had a farm house I would definitely want a weathervane, they are so cool. I like this cow weathervane we saw while buying ice cream at the Creamery.


A pretty view of the sky and if you look closely a herd of deer running up the hill, thankfully they switched directions or they would have been running in front of our car.


Our walk was on April 18th and this moon shot above was taken on April 11th. I hope you enjoyed my post and photos. Thanks for stopping by and for the nice comments.

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, May 26, 2015

Great Horned Owl

Linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

For this week's wild bird I am sharing the Great Horned Owl and owlet.. Recently I was able to find the adult Great Horned Owl and an owlet in a local Maryland park. I must say while birding I always stay on the trail and never get too close to any bird..My camera has good zoom, sometimes I do wish some tree branches would disappear..



I do not think I would have seen the adult Great Horned Owl but it was being harassed by some crows..


A cute owlet, I wish the branches were not in the way..It still has that fuzzy look.


Again with the branches in the way, Momma or Poppa was looking around at the some the nearby birders..


Another shot of the owlet, there were two baby owls but we only found the one.



These owls were seen right off a busy and popular bike & walking trail near a residential neighborhood..I hope you enjoyed my owl post.. these pic's are the best I could do..

I hope you enjoyed my wild bird post. 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

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


  Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Bombay Hook NWR

I am linking up with   Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday   and NC Sue WordlessThey are all fun memes to participate in...I hope you can join in with the fun  and check out some of the participating posts.

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

We have been so many different places since our Florida trip, a lot of day trips. This post is on a day trip when I took my older brother for his first time to Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge in Delaware.  Hubby stayed home and my brother (another amateur photographer like me) and I enjoyed checking out the birds and the wildlife.



The Tree Swallows had returned and there were numerous swallows flying over our heads.  My brother was enjoying taking shots of the swallows, he must have taken over a thousand photos during our visit to Bombay Hook NWR.



The boardwalk trail scene.



There were many Egrets, both Snowy and Great Egrets, Yellowlegs, Northern Shovelers and two Great Blue Herons.


The shorebirds were returning to the Delaware shore and the wildlife refuge. I believe this is a large group of Dunlin but there could be other species mixed in this group. I think there are some Egrets mixed in the group above.


This daytrip was late April so the trees were just starting to blush, some Ruddy Ducks and some American Coots.




Above are a few Glossy Ibis, Egrets, a Screech Owl in her nest and an adult Bald Eagle with two juvenile eagles. I had fun showing my brother one of my favorite wildlife refuges. I can assume by how many photos he was taking he had fun too.
Thank you for visiting and for all the nice comments.. Have a great day and week ahead!

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 with Mosaic Monday and Our World Tuesday and NC Sue's Wordless.

 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 and to Sue for Wordless Wednesday on Tuesdays.  

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Saturday's Critters #75


Saturday's Critters #75

Happy Memorial Day weekend, everyone!

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.

For my critter post I am sharing more from our visit to the North Point State Park in Maryland.


Peek-a-boo, a Little Blue Heron with some friends (bottom  left) a wood duck and another Little Blue Heron..



A Little Blue Heron with a Great Blue Heron


Great Egret in flight.


American Robin bathing.


I like this pretty sky and Downy Woodpecker. I hope you enjoyed my birds and critter post.. Thank you for the visits and for all the nice comments.. As always I appreciate your participating with my critter party..Have a happy weekend!



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.

Also visit:  I'd-Rather-B-BirdinThanks to the gracious host: Anni.  Also check out Camera Critters. Thanks to Misty for hosting this fun meme.





Thursday, May 21, 2015

North Point State Park

Linking up with Skywatch Friday  and Good Fences  

Happy Memorial Day weekend!


For this week's Good Fence and Skywatch Friday memes I am sharing our outing to a local Baltimore County park called North Point State Park. Local birders were seeing lots of Little Blue Herons and an American Bittern... They have a great trail and a nice view of the Chesapeake Bay.. included are some sky shots, fence shots and of course my birds..



We started our day early so we were able to catch this neighborhood sunrise. Still a little dark out but can you see the fence along the road.. I love a combo sky/fence shot...


The start of the trail at North Point State Park, another shot for my Good Fences.


One of the many Little Blue Herons..


The American Bittern was too busy hunting for food and was not shy at all.



Another American Bittern photo.


A look at the sky from the trail..


How many Little Blues do you see?


Little Blues everywhere, even in the sky.


A view of the Chesapeake Bay and the sky..


I did say the Little Blue Herons were everywhere.. Standing high on a dead tree..


Another look at the bay, includes the fence and sky. A pretty spot for a picnic, birding or just a walk..


I am ending this post with one of my favorite subjects the moon. I hope your enjoyed this post and my walk, the bay and birds. Thanks for stopping by and for the nice comments..

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..


Happy Monday!

Wishing everyone a great day and a ha ppy new week! "One small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day." "T...