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gave the Osprey a break today and headed off to find the black crowned night heron ~ success!

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Aside from all the different avian seen at the refuge, there is abundance of flora. Year after year I find myself drawn to this musk thistle.

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I could watch these skimmers for hours.

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birds of a feather ~

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We were awaken at 5 a.m. by the sound of rain hammering the roof. Once the puppies heard us stir we knew our day was off to a start. Thirty minutes later the pups were had been outed, watered, and fed and the rains had subsided. The decision was made to check on the Spring migration.

After stopping for a quick bagel to go, we were on the road heading south. The day started to lighten from the rising sun only to reveal a dense fog. We continued on our way.

Upon arrival at Forsythe the air was moist and thick with no-see-ums and pine flies. The grounds and skies were absent of avian. Oh sure, the usual mass number of red wings were clinging to the reeds, the peeps were digging for their breakfast, which lay hidden under the tar like mud, and the occasional yellow throat could be seen flitting about. The Osprey lay low in their nests with only the top of their heads visible through the heavy fog, there were no Egrets on the hunt and we spied only two terns sitting guard on their posts.

What we did find, were unusual number of turtle strolling along the roads edge and to our eyes delight a massive number of spider webs woven between the reeds and fencing. With the moisture from the earlier rains and the light from the morning sun, they appeared as jeweled lace.
    

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taking a stroll before dinner

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This morning I awoke at the crack of dawn and in between the raindrops 

 headed off to one of my favorite places to see who was in town.

This American Goldfinch was out with his bride looking for some breakfast.

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As the temperatures rise and Spring arrives, I look forward to the annual migration. This morning I ventured to the refuge to see if there were any early arrivals.  Although he is not a migrate, I did spy this Red Wing Black Bird enjoying his morning meal.

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"one of these things is not like the others"

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With temperatures forecasting to reach near 100 degrees, B and I decided we needed to park ourselves in our beach chairs right at the Atlantic coast line. We were successful at escaping the heat while sitting and enjoying the cool breeze while the ocean water washed over our feet. But as the clock ticked and neared 2:00, the witching hour for the rental return of the 500mm, my heart started to beat faster and I could feel the depression creeping over me. It was soon time, not only to leave the surf and sun, but to bring the lens back.  We dragged ourselves off the beach.

It’s not all bad, we’re packing up the girls and heading back over so they can enjoy a good game of tennis ball retrieval while cooling off in the ocean. And I’ll bring my 300mm to try and capture some fun shot of them playing in the waves.

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Admittedly, I am not certain what kind of flower this is. It was growing along the 8 mile roadside path at the Refuge. I really liked it and I thought it looked like pink pearls.

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Cuisse de grenouilles ~ with promises of seeing some more amazing birds, I was able to convince Phriend to go on yet another photo field trip to the Refuge. I had heard rumors of the Black Crown Night Heron's visits. No sooner had we started the 8 mile drive and off to the left was a treat waiting for us.  While it was a bit unsettling to watch, it was nature at it’s best.

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The American Oystercatcher, true to it’s name, specializes in eating bivalves. While they are fair commonly seen here during the summer months, come Fall they move farther south, seeking warmer temperatures. Upon their Spring arrival they get busy building nests and preparing to rise their young. Nests are scratched out in the sand, lined with peddles and sit along the high tide line. The clutch generally contains 2 -4 eggs. Many of eggs fall victim to the seagulls and are disturbed by many other predators, including man. These birds are of concern and are currently listed on the “yellow” list by the Audubon.

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The Marsh Wren being only about 4” is among one of the smaller North American birds. They build enclosed, oval shape nests, made of dry grass, and anchor them to vegetation, only several feet off the ground. Wrens will build upwards of 20 “dummy” nests in an effort to avoid predators.

It is one difficult bird to photograph, it is not seen for long as it forages amidst the dense vegetation. I listened to this little one for hours several minutes before spotting him.

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I hope I am not boring you with all of the avian photos. It is the Spring migration and for the next several weeks the refuge will become a flurry of feathers. These long distance flyers stop here but once a year. This affords me the opportunity to photograph many different birds, some who call this home and others which normally are not seen in our area. I continue to frequent their stopping ground with the hopes of not missing a chance to see them. Today’s bird ~ the Common Yellowthroat Warbler.

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I continue to celebrate National Migratory Bird week day. Although, Redwing Black birds are plentiful at the refuge, I have the most difficult time capturing a photo of one. They are easily frightened and fast to fly off. Yesterday, I was able to sneak up on this little feathered fellow.

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This last Saturday was National Migratory Bird day and in celebration I decided to frequent the refuge. Today being the second trip this week. I talked Phriend into joining me on today’s birding adventure. After bragging hearing about and seeing the photo of the Red Tail Hawk I was able to capture during my last visit, we was hoping to see him again. To our delight, he was perched up on a tree branch.

We walked a small trail where we found 100s of Barn Swallows and Purple Martins. What I later learned was Barn Swallows frequently built their nests directly below that of an Osprey and live in a mutualist relationship with them. While the Barn Swallow often fall prey to many other raptures, the Osprey are exclusively fish-eater. Osprey are alerted to the presence of predators by the alarm calls of the swallows.

Pictured Barn Swallow ~