Siblings

Picture perfect day, sunny and quiet...a good time to take the kids for a stroll.

As with all siblings, quiet never seems to be something that is meant to last.... Ouch, that hurt!!!

and when we look up to see what has happened... we know we have to be patient and practice the rule of always listening to both sides!but we are wise and know when to ignore, knowing it's just part of learning to get along, as we hear those little whispers in the background ...yes you did!... no, I didn't...ah huh..nuh ah..

GREATER, LESSER, COMMON, UNCOMMON???

There were a lot of people standing on the bridge that crosses the creek. Morning visitors. They all seem to be enjoying the topic of discussion at hand. A few were doing the talking, most, like me, were listening. "It's a Yellowlegs," says one, "but is it the Greater or the Lesser?" Well, I don't think I've ever seen a Yellowlegs before and if I did I didn't know what it was called. I don't believe there was a final consensus, just a lot of opinions and after having looked at my books and pictures online, my inexperienced opinion is that it is a Yellowlegs and it is the Greater. It looked to me to be about 14 inches in length, the Lesser I believe is suppose to be about 10 inches. I think I can also see that the bill is a little upturned. They say that the Greater's legs can be a yellowish orange but the legs of the Lesser are yellow and rarely orange. Well, I'm still not 100% sure though, so if you can help me out, that would be nice!
I wasn't able to get close to him, you know, to get that, one, really nice close up! I do have to say, though, that I loved watching him forage for food with those long toes and long bill. The markings on his wings and back were quite striking! He seemed very confident, as he waded through a large flock of Canadian geese and Mallards.
He certainly kept very busy with getting lunch....
and after lunch there was a fast wade with a friend...actually I put in this picture of the Killdeer thinking it was a good comparison for size.
...and then as we all know, after exercise one needs a good stretch...a one-leg wing stretch!
Such a cute face, but oh so hard to find in all those colors as he walked the shoreline. He was so well camouflaged that I had to use my binoculars a few times to locate him because he had stopped moving!!
Now for the Common (Wilson?) Snipe?? When I came upon this little guy, I was wishing for that small group of people that I had seen in the morning because I had heard or read (can't remember which one) that it was quite uncommon to see a Common Snipe in S.E. Pa. at this time of the year?? As you can see the sun was out in full force and the fall colors fell onto the water making it a little difficult for my camera to get around that glare and produce a more detailed photo.

It was a little better once he moved back into the shade. I have to say it was a lot of fun for me to find two birds that I am not very familiar with and I hope if you have information about them you can share, that you will!

THE BLUES OF FALL

Once again the colors of Fall have descended upon us with those bright reds, brilliant yellows, chartreuse greens, siennas and russet browns. It was the perfect day for zipped up jackets, smart wool socks and a destination. With binoculars and cameras in hand we (hubby and I) walked a field path leading towards a small lake in southern New Jersey. Commenting on the abundance of colorful berries we were unaware of the real treat that was soon to greet us. The Blues of Fall. A flock of Bluebirds, happily feasting upon the berries of a Virginia creeper vine which had woven its way up and around a small hichory tree. What a nice surprise to see these little birds! Having had the pleasure of two bluebirds nesting in our backyard, this past spring, we were accustomed to only seeing a few at a time. I have to say we both were elated to see a flock of blues. They were so busy, flitting from branch to branch, gobbling berries that our presence seemed to be overlooked.

Such vibrant blues. No matter how many times you see a Bluebird fly, it's that striking flash of blue, that always leaves a WOW impression in your mind's eye!
As we approached the lake we were greeted by another Great Blue, the Heron. He was perched high in a tree overlooking the lake. Prehistoric looking but calm in his demeanor. A distinct difference to the behavior of the flock of blue birds, we had just left. He seemed contented to stay where he was and allowed me to take several perched pictures before he stood up.
Maybe he felt he needed a change to his pose...or to impress me with how unbelievably long that wing can extend!!
After showing off that wing he remained only a few seconds more. He slowly tipped to one side, gave a little push, did a little free fall and glided away! Cool! We continued our walk around the lake and as we headed back to the car we both agreed that of all the fall colors we saw today blue was definitely our favorite.

TWO GRACEFUL EGRETS, ONE SMALL PERCH

For the Snowy Egret, it was probably only a few moments of quiet and solitude... looking out over the water .For the Great Egret, it was "Move over fellow, this tree is mine!"


For me, it was the surprise I felt to see those BIG shiny black feet actually find a balancing grip on that twiggy little perch! He seemed to be so elated with himself and his victory that he felt the need to flap his wings in celebration.



He finally settles in to resume the duties of looking out upon the water, perhaps for brunch!


meanwhile on the other side of the lake:
"I'm telling you Evelyn, he had really big feet and he came right at me..."
(sorry, just had to...it fit so well! lol )

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Its top most branches, bare of leaves, rises perhaps thirty to thirty-five feet from the ground. Its root system is nestled in from the lake's edge and it sits among others whose foliage is seeing change. It is deadwood. To most of us it is simply seen as a linear silhouette of limbs and branches. Its purpose, however, is being kept alive by the birds that choose to use it as a perch! Today, that bird is an osprey. This is my first sighting of a wild osprey! Wow!! Part of me wants to snap a hundred pictures but I don't want to cause the osprey to leave its perch. At the same time I want to just look at him.... so I try to be contented with only taking a few pictures and hope, with some luck, that one of them turns out to be in focus!!

He allows me a few seconds to admire him before he takes flight. He heads out towards the middle of the lake. His flight pattern seems routine and consists of a few wing lifts followed by a relaxing glide.


I'm watching him as he glides over the lake but suddenly his body language changes to reflect an urgency to quickly move in the opposite direction.
I now realize why, it seems the lake's resident eagle (one of them) had other thoughts about the osprey's presence.
I couldn't believe what I was seeing or hearing. Obviously, a disagreement emerged between these two. I managed to keep taking pictures. I wasn't sure what I was capturing but isn't that one of the thrills of trying to photograph wildlife? Unfortunately, as they continued their disagreement they also drifted from the range of my camera lens. I kept them in sight, watching and listening along with several boaters who also witnessed this event. Eventually each raptor went their own way...
So, what makes a great morning? I guess one definition might include, getting to see a wild Osprey and a Bald Eagle, actually having your camera with you and oh yea, finding that location , location, location!Check out my post about eagles on October 1! Did you know if you click on these blog pictures you will see an enlargement..lol I just found that out!! Obviously I'm a newbie!!

THERE'S ALWAYS ROOM FOR ONE MORE!!

Splish, Splash they were taking a bath, all on a weekday morn!

The loud chorus of those squeaky , whistling cowbirds was what drew my attention to our backyard birdbath. At first I only saw four birds, then a fifth arrived followed by a sixth.

Each seemed to have their own version of rub a dub dub! One chose the deepest part of the bath, aggressively splashing and flinging droplets of water everywhere.

One little guy seemed to just want to stay by the rim of the bath and glide the sides of his head, left to right, over the water's surface, coaxing the dust and dirt off of his feathers. ..and that little fluffed up body on the right, I wondered what he was thinking?
Another chose the quick hop in and hop out approach tucking his head and beak into his fluffed feathers.. Was he preening or just trying to avoid the sudden splashes that were raining his way?
I don't think I've ever seen this many birds use the birdbath at one time. It is not a very big bath. It was funny and entertaining and only lasted a few minutes. They flew in as little individuals, bathed as a group and seemed to only exhibit one rule, no matter how big or small the bath, there's always room for one more!

SEEING DOUBLE

Was this my lucky day or what? Once again I'm back at the lake hoping to catch a glimpse and possibly take a picture or two of a great blue heron. I was making my way to a small inlet where I knew the heron might look for fish. I'm paying more attention to where I am stepping because of the abundance of poison ivy and briers. The harsh chattering of a nearby kingfisher makes me look up and there they were, quietly perched, perusing over the waters below. One looking to the east, one looking to the west.



I tried to remain as quiet as possible but I'm sure they spotted me before I saw them. That chattering kingfisher definitely gave me away, but if it hadn't been for him would I have looked up in time? My hands are shaking, as I can't believe my luck and I'm hoping that VR feature on my lens is working at peak performance and does its job!



I center, pray and shoot and at this point there are no words... just the flapping sounds of their wings lifting them and I'm not really believing that I'm watching two eagles soar over my head.



I finally move to the shore and sit down as they disappear from my view. I've totally forgotten about the blue heron, as I scan through the shots I've just taken. Several minutes have lapsed when I notice a broad-wing bird approaching me. Wow, it's one of the eagles and not only is it coming back to the same tree, he brought lunch! He lands and seemed to be waiting, was he looking for his mate, or a place to quietly dine or just giving me one more opportunity to photograph the image of a magnificent creature. Whatever his reason, I was happy to oblige!