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Later

Bullfrog at Terrapin Nature Park.

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Hugh

The Sandy Point sunrise was better than usual-nice colors.

I went to Terrapin for a while, and it got hot quickly. I stayed long enough to see 10 Snowy Egrets, but there wasn’t much else. I’ve often wondered how the heat affects birds.

I don’t see many frogs, so I got a nice surprise as I was leaving.

Sunrise at Sandy Point.

This Red Winged Blackbird was chattering loudly.

It was the day of the Snowy Egret .

I watched this Great Blue Heron fish for a while, but he wasn’t having much luck.

Bullfrogs usually spook easily, but this one waited for me.

Solitary Sandpiper at Terrapin Nature Park.

Posted on July 21, 2016 by Hugh

Yesterday was so bad I didn’t post even the few images I got. Today was much better. I read somewhere that wildlife photography is the most difficult, and I can see why. You have virtually no control over the subject, and good images can be hard to come by.

The sunrise wasn’t much, but wading birds are showing up in better numbers now, and I expect the rest of the Summer to be decent.

The Marsh Pond at Terrapin.

Snowy Egrets are showing up in good numbers now.

Two Common Terns were fishing in the pond.

I like the light and the surroundings on this Red Winged Blackbird.

Ospreys don’t seem to fish in the marsh pond as much as they used to.

This Black Crowned Night Heron moved a little closer this morning.

I haven’t seen a Solitary Sandpiper since last year.

Dragonflys are prolific near the water.

Common Tern at Terrapin Nature Park.

Posted on July 19, 2016 by Hugh

I started at Sandy Point again, and got a so-so sunrise. There were a few egrets around, but not much else, so I headed to Terrapin, as usual. Things are definitely picking up there, and I expect it will be a hot spot soon. I was pleased to see the Black Crowned Night Heron again.

CBEC was rife with biting insects, and not as many birds as usual, but the tame Fox showed up in the parking lot again.

Sunrise at Sandy Point.

I spooked this Great Blue Heron when I arrived at Terrapin.

This Black Crowned Night Heron was in the same spot as last time.

Snowy Egrets should be plentiful until Fall.

This Great Egret posed at CBEC.

This Killdeer was foraging on the road into CBEC. I took these shots from the car.

There’s plenty of Green Herons around, but they spook easily.

Common Terns are just starting to show up.

I still don’t know why this Fox poses so willingly.

I don’t often get this good a look at a Snapping Turtle.

Great Egret at Terrapin Nature Park.

Posted on July 18, 2016 by Hugh

The Sandy Point sunrise was good enough this morning. The weatherman had promised high heat and humidity, so I planned a short morning at Terrapin.

The wading birds are showing up in numbers now, and I even saw a couple of Least Sandpipers, ‘though they didn’t pose for me.

Sunrise at Sandy Point.

5 Snowy Egrets were feeding in the same area as yesterday.

This Great Blue Heron has been finding a lot of snakes.

This Red Winged Blackbird seemed to be surveying the area.

5 Snowy Egrets were joined by a Great Egret.

Yet another egg laying turtle.

Snowy Egrets at Terrapin Nature Park.

Posted on July 18, 2016 by Hugh

It’s been a quiet week… Seriously hot and humid here, and damn few birds wandering in front of my lens. I’ve managed to get out, but it doesn’t take much of this weather to make me long for the A/C at home.

This is always the slowest time of year, but I’ll soldier on ’til things improve.

The Marsh Pond at Terrapin.

This seems to be a juvenile Mockingbird.

A Red Winged Blackbird in flight.

Still plenty of Wood Ducks at Artemesia.

There’s never a shortage of Red Winged Blackbirds.

Several Cattle Egrets were following the mower at Terrapin.

I wondered if this Snapping Turtle would interact with the Snowy Egret.

I found 9 Snowy Egrets at Terrapin.

Diamondback Terrapins are still laying eggs.

Red Fox at Chesapeake Bay Environmental center.

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Hugh

I found a decent sunrise at Sandy point this morning, but not much in the way of birds.

Neither Terrapin nor CBEC was much better, with few birds and most of those too distant for good pics.

Tomorrow is another day.

There was a nice sky this morning at Sandy Point.

You can always shoot a Red Winged Blackbird when all else is failing.

I spooked this Great Blue Heron when I tried to get a little closer.

Two Ospreys were hanging out but not doing much.

My first decent Dragonfly of the year.

This is probably the same, nearly tame, Fox I saw a week ago.

Black Crowned Night Heron at Terrapin Nature Park.

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Hugh

I went back to the Eastern Shore this morning, in hopes of finding some wading birds, and had a little luck. Previous year’s photos suggest they start appearing about this time, and it appears to be so.

The BC Night Heron is the first record for this bird at Terrapin!

CBEC was a little slow, but I’m going back soon, and I’ll bet things improve rapidly.

This Great Egret was the only wading bird at CBEC.

This Orchard Oriole was also at CBEC.

A flock of 8 Snowy Egrets flew over at Terrapin.

This Red Winged Blackbird is a female.

I found three Green Herons at CBEC.

I didn’t realize this Great Blue Heron had caught a snake until I uploaded the image.

Belted Kingfishers have been very scarce this year.

It was still a little dark when I found this Black Crowned Night Heron.

This Turtle was crossing the path at Terrapin.

Great Egret at Lake Artemesia.

Posted on July 10, 2016 by Hugh

It’s been a very slow few days. I’ve managed to get out each day, but lousy weather and a lack of birds didn’t give me much to post. I tried Artemesia today, and ran into Graeme. We circled the area for a few hours and didn’t really do all that well, but I’m posting what I’ve found lately.

I expect things to pick up very soon.

Views of Lake Artemesia.

It wasn’t easy to catch up to this Eastern Kingbird.

This Cardinal was singing loudly.

This Catbird was at Schoolhouse Pond yesterday.

I’ve seen fewer Red Eyed Vireos than in previous years.

This Great Blue Heron was at Governor Bridge.

A not very good Blue Jay.

This Chickadee was foraging right in front of us.

I don’t recall getting a Mockingbird in flight before.

These Great Crested Flycatchers were having a dispute of some kind.

I found this Red Winged Blackbird at Terrapin.

The first Great Egret of the year at Artemesia.

This Snapping Turtle was at Schoolhouse Pond yesterday.

Indigo Bunting at Greenbury Point.

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Hugh

Heat and humidity are making for short days lately. It’s hard to find birds at all, and I’m too old to cope with 90% humidity like I did in Vietnam, nearly 50 years ago.

I was out for about two hours yesterday and again today, but nothing exciting turned up. Even the bugs seem to be hiding from the heat.

Red Winged Blackbirds were all I could photograph yesterday.

Yellow Breasted Chats are numerous at Greenbury.

You can always count on an Indigo Bunting at Greenbury.

This Blue Jay flew by at Terrapin yesterday.

Great Crested Flycatchers nest at Greenbury.

I find individual feathers intriguing.

Today’s bugs.

One of the larger Snails I’ve seen.

This may be a young Green Tree Frog.

A few Bugs at Truxtun Park.

Posted on July 4, 2016 by Hugh

We had rain early, so I didn’t get out until 9:00. It looked like more rain was coming, so I just made a quick tour of Truxtun, looking for bugs. I really expected to find more, and there wasn’t much variety.