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.

Today’s Bugs.

Ruby Throated Hummingbird at Lake Artemesia.

Posted on July 2, 2016 by Hugh

I met Graeme early at Lake Artemesia and we walked the area for about three hours. It was a better day than some, and we found a few good birds.

A few Wood Ducks are still around, a hummingbird posed briefly, and a few others cooperated.

Views of Lake Artemesia.

We saw Goldfinches in several places.

A Great Blue Heron often perches on this unused Osprey platform.

Red Winged Blackbirds are very common, but attractive in the right setting.

This Eastern Kingbird was flycatching in the lily pads.

There are fewer young Wood Ducks.

Mimosa attracts Ruby Throated Hummingbirds when it’s blooming.

In the Gazebo.

Tom and his dog Sam were taking a stroll around the lake.

Tree Swallow at Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center.

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Hugh

Sandy Point was a bust once again, so I headed to Terrapin. I did find a few interesting birds, but they weren’t into posing for me.

CBEC is still hosting half the biting flies of the northern hemisphere, so I rushed through the worst part and spent some time at the lake. The wading birds are still among the missing, and not much else is going on there. I got a few quick images, including a turtle laying eggs and called it a day.

Views of the Marsh Pond at Terrapin.

It’s not easy to get a good image of a Crow.

I was lucky to catch all three Mallards in one image.

This Osprey was the only mage I got at Terrapin.

The Tree Swallow activity has slowed down.

I’ve heard Great Crested Flycatchers at CBEC, but this is the first I’ve seen.

A few Least Terns were fishing in the lake.

This Painted Turtle had just finished laying her eggs and was covering the hole.

Purple Martin at Lake Artemesia.

Posted on June 29, 2016 by Hugh

After a few slow days I decided to try a sure thing, and went back to Artemesia.

In truth, it wasn’t very exciting. The nesting period is about over, and birds are harder to find. I did see a few, but spent most of my time with the Purple Martins, who are still feeding young.