-
Early Summer: Outer Banks
What a treat to enjoy the vast, changing landscape of the ocean for a few days…
Morning 
Osprey 
Pelican 
Just a few blocks away from the wide open, salt-sprayed spaces was the Nag’s Head Woods Preserve, a place of clinging, muggy air; wetland chirps and croaks from all manner of unknown (and unseen) creatures; and green scum covering everything from the water surfaces to the turtles and, yes, the beaver — the first beaver I’ve seen live, though in our area we see the signs of beaver activity often.
It was an amazing place, and it hosted far more wildlife and plant life than we were able to see. As may be apparent from the pictures, we were racing a cloudburst, and the walk was accompanied by rumbles of thunder and general eeriness.
Still, I think my favorite environment was the beach. The grandeur, the invitation to reflect on possibilities, and the good spirit of others made it a wonderful week.
-
Spring Sights: Pond Walk
Wild geranium Though it’s now late August, these pics are from a walk back in May.
Eastern phoebe 
Great blue heron 
Dandelion 
Lupine These days, mature milkweed, asters, sunflowers, and the sound of walnut leaves fluttering to the ground replace these fresh spring colors and sights. It’s nice to review the “baby pictures” of this summer as we transition into fall.
-
Sapsucker Stories
Dad greets Mom 
Shift change 
Mom ready to hold the fort for awhile 
Dad needs some fresh air 
Youngster 1 
Youngster 2 pleads for food 
Mom gets ready to launch for more food 
3 youngsters 
#1 ready to fledge 
Mom feeds #1 after a successful first flight 
3rd or 4th youngster still looking for delivery 
We have enjoyed being able to observe this woodpecker family in a dead tree in the back yard. At first we thought they were downies, but before long it became apparent that we were seeing Mr and Mrs Yellow-bellied Sapsucker switching off the incubation of the eggs. How many were there? How long would it be before we saw youngsters?
Eventually they switched from incubation to feeding, and by mid-June the pace had picked up tremendously. The nest cavity emitted urgent cries for food constantly. Then finally, using not the front door nest cavity we’d been observing but a secret trap door to the roof, Youngster 1 emerged! #2 and #3 followed soon after, each one eventually taking off to sail to a nearby walnut tree. We saw 3 in all, but the mother appeared to still be feeding a 4th chick that didn’t launch till the next day.
We’re kind of in sapsucker withdrawal now, since they don’t return to hang out at the nest cavity. I spotted one yesterday, looking like a small piece of moving bark as it moved up a tree trunk. I trust they’re all making their way in the big, unprotected world now! Hopefully we’ll enjoy some sightings over the next few months.
-
Fall
I have a number of photos taken over the summer to post. But for now, let’s think about the wonders of autumn.
Leaves covering the earth, even in a grove of evergreens.
I photographed this prospect in spring. It has quite a different character now. This little guy was perched in exactly the same spot as he was in spring, too, but drowsier.
I didn’t expect turtles, but there were some out on our walk the other day.
My daughter commented on the smell of fall. It’s true. Fall has its own odor, and I’m aware of it even though I’m not a good smeller and often don’t notice odors. It triggers a sense of great satisfaction edged with bittersweet.
It’s been some summer for our country, and there’s a weariness and worn-outness that goes along with it. I felt it was being reflected in the sights on our fall walk.
-
Marley
My daughter took these pictures of the leucistic hawk nesting nearby. A few years ago, we named her Marley, after the ghost in A Christmas Carol. She’s a magnificent, powerful hawk.
One day last summer as I stood at the kitchen window, she swooped into view and landed at the base of the bird feeder, then took off and disappeared into the woods. It all happened in about 3 seconds; I didn’t see what she got, but I’m guessing a chipmunk. She left a gray squirrel mid-munch on the ground a few feet away, looking as dazed and disbelieving as I felt. If I hadn’t been standing there at that moment, eyes trained on that spot, I’d have missed it.
My daughter’s taking some great pictures. She’s inspiring me to learn more about how to use all the features on my Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ-300. Her camera is a Canon SX70 hs.
So far we’ve seen just one chick. In this picture, just a bit of its fluff shows at Marley’s feet.
-
Bloom where you’re planted
This brick held down the black plastic on our garden over the winter. When I removed it to get the garden ready, it was cheering after the long isolation of the pandemic to see little plants growing in their separate cells.
-
Out my window
We spend a lot of time at this table, enjoying the wildlife passing through. Today I took my camera and joined my daughter outside at the picnic table to wait and see who showed up from a closer vantage point.
We have at least three male grosbeaks. This one looks the most polished. But the award for the most blotchy goes to this guy. Maybe he doesn’t have all his adult plumage yet:
This one looks like a mixture of the two — a few speckles, but close to the elegance of the first one:
Naturally there are plenty of rodents around, too.
More visitors arrived than I could photograph, but it was peaceful being out there and having the creatures eventually realize they could go about their business and we wouldn’t hurt them.
Rain finally drove us inside, but I’ll look forward to more times of enjoying the back yard and learning more about my camera at the same time.
-
Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge
Before starting out to visit the refuge, I practiced on a few earth-dwellers in our yard.
It’s nice to know the critters have good personal hygiene…
Our aim in visiting the refuge was to see birds — usually raptors and waterbirds. The entry in seemed promising as we saw a bald eagle perched in a tree.
But generally speaking, it was the yellow warblers that stole the show.
We heard chestnut-sided warblers and yellowthroats, and we were hoping to see a cerulean warbler. The yellows were the only ones who cooperated, though. Good thing they’re so beautiful.
There were a few more common sights as well.
We saw several ospreys, some geese, a couple of sand hill cranes, some orioles and some cedar waxwings.
Returning home, we marveled again at the number of species frequenting our bird feeder. The most unusual visitor is the pileated woodpecker, but we’ve enjoyed the orioles this year as well.
There’s always a group of squirrels and chipmunks feasting on the dropped seed. This one kept rushing the others, and my daughter decided to fly her drone out from the kitchen window to see if it would startle him enough to have better manners.
He was, obviously, unfazed and applied himself steadily to eating.
-
Mother’s Day
We set out bright and early on Mother’s Day. It was clear and cold, and we had the woods to ourselves.
We weren’t sure what this bird was. It made no sound, was about the size of a female cardinal, and hawked insects. My daughter and I snapped some photos, and when we got home and looked in the bird book we realized it was a great crested flycatcher. This photo is posted not as an example of a good photo, but as an example of how the camera is an aid to figuring out what things are. It’s a damage-free hunting tool.
Black-throated green warblers were singing around the creek. No great pictures, but we enjoyed seeing them all around, feeding along with some yellow-rumped warblers. Here, the camera magnified something too small and high to see clearly, and enabled me to see its markings. Again, an example of a camera as a tool in nature study, even when the result is not a good photograph.
The glen was lovely, though choked with blown down trees.
The trillium is blooming, along with other vegetation.
On the way home, we observed another mother — a leucistic redtail keeping her chicks warm.
-
Walk in the park
