Monday Musings: Just Be

August 31, 2015 Tiny 55 Comments

She is almost blind. Lives in her little apartment at the sanctuary. She is safe, and well cared for. Now that she cannot manage on her own.

There is some sadness in her. Maybe a fleeting memory of her youth. Soaring high up in the bright blue skies. Carried by the winds over green forests and sparkling seas.

But most of all there is contentment. Quiet enjoyment of life. And appreciation. The light breeze moving her feathers. The sun warming her old bones. And the love of a human, who takes her out on walks, touching her heart. Precious moments to treasure. To just be.

Nature, Photography

The Record Breaking Fishing Trip. And the Joy of a Bath.

August 28, 2015 Tiny 63 Comments

I was still quite far away. But could see two dark brown spots with white crowns against the early morning bright blue sky. My two favorite Ospreys. I hadn’t spotted Mama Sandy or Papa Stanley for quite a few days, and was getting worried about the nasty wound Sandy had on her leg last week. But there they were, peering down into the bay waters from the roof of Marriott Resort.

I was walking closer. Suddenly I saw the one on the lower roof fall straight down. Immediately followed by a loud call from the roof top. It looked like a free fall, wings pointing straight up. I stopped in my tracks, but couldn’t see the surface of the water from where I was. I scanned the sky over the bay. And there it was, against the rising sun, a silhouette of an Osprey flying back on shore with a fish. I took a blind shot. Just as evidence of the fastest catch I’ve witnessed. Ten, maybe fifteen seconds tops.

Now I had to find out who it was. And where the breakfast would be served. Although I was on my way back home after a two and a half mile walk, I turned around and retraced my steps back towards the Sailing Center. Then I saw it.

An Osprey eating breakfast on a lamp-post quite far away. With a helpful cleaning crew close by. I was too tired to walk all the way to the lamp-post to be on the “right” side of the sun light. So I just zoomed all out. And saw it was Sandy. Her wound was still faintly visible, but healing well. What a relief!

Happy after seeing her lightning fast dive, I walked back towards the resort. And found Stanley peering down too. At me.

He seemed to enjoy his spot on the top of the world. Instead of taking care of sick Sandy in some secret location, like I had feared. I smiled at the thought, and hoped to catch his breakfast dive. But it soon became clear to me that he was not in a hurry. He was more interested in watching me at the parking lot below than scanning for fish in the bay. So I decided to remove the distraction and walk home. Stanley could get his breakfast. And I could get my second cup of coffee.

Around mid-week I took another walk later in the day, and started at the salt marsh. Lots of Great Egrets were enjoying the quiet afternoon.

And I also spotted both the Mayor and the younger Great Blue Heron.

Rosa was at home too. She always volunteers a nice pose, doesn’t she? A Black-crowned Night Heron was in deep meditation. Or maybe just thinking of breakfast.

From there I walked to the beach. And had the pleasure of the company of an American Oystercather and a few Brown Pelicans.

I noticed the high tide had made a temporary swimming pool by building an extra sand bank between the beach and the ocean. I watched a Royal Tern thoroughly enjoy her bath. I prepared a gif image to let her show you how it’s done (if the gif doesn’t play, please click on the image).

Little later, the sun started her dive into the ocean, offering brilliant colors on the evening sky.

I wish everyone a great weekend, and hope T.S. Erica doesn’t invite herself to visit the salt marsh early next week. We don’t want to meet her.

Much love, Tiny

Photo challenges, Photography, Poems

Today Was a Good Day ~ A Haiku

August 25, 2015 Tiny 48 Comments

Present each moment

From sunrise into sunset

This was a good day.

***

You can find other responses to this Weekly Photo Challenge here.

Photography, Poems

Still ~ A Haiku

August 23, 2015 Tiny 32 Comments

Sit still and listen

Calm harmonies of Nature

Summer’s last whispers.

Nature, Photography, Wildlife

Papa Osprey’s Photo Shoot. And an Illicit Visitor at the Salt Marsh.

August 20, 2015 Tiny 70 Comments

The sun was barely up on my first day home after the trip when I stepped out in the garden. Without even a cup of coffee. I just had to go see my feathered friends before starting a busy day. And he was right there. The Little Blue Heron, in a shady spot under the palm trees.

It was wonderful to be welcomed home by one of my friends from the salt marsh. The beach was quiet. And the rainwater “lake” was gone.

The salt marsh looked fresh and misty. And I saw the water levels were almost back to normal. Little islets stuck up from the water, just as they used to.

Most birds were still in their sleeping quarters, but Mama Sandy was already having her breakfast at the nest. She had a nasty wound on her left leg, but looked okay otherwise.

When I came closer, she greeted me in her typical straight forward, but friendly manner. I thought she even smiled.

I found the young Great Blue Heron (GBH) close to the osprey nest, as often is the case. He didn’t bother to look at me. He might be familiar with my view on his attacks on the nest earlier this year.

The Tri-colored Heron, who had temporarily moved elsewhere during the floods, was back home. She was happily hunting for her breakfast in the shallow waters.

And just when I was about to leave, Rosa, the Roseate Spoonbill flew in. It’s always nice to see her. And it looks like she might think the same about me 🙂

I continued my walk to the bay side, and marveled at the European Starlings greeting the sun on a lamp-post next to the park.

I decided to check if Papa Stanley would be at his resort. He was at home. Still sleeping when I arrived.

He soon discovered me and decided to pose for a photo shoot. A rare treat, and so very kind of him.

I thought he was quite handsome. That was a great home-coming.

I got another opportunity to get out for a quick walk this morning. I discovered that the “beach lake” had reemerged after yesterday’s short, but intense storm. Many birds were enjoying rainwater baths and the special menu the fresh waters had to offer.

And some, like this juvenile Black Skimmer, were just plain tired of all the excitement.

While the young GBH was frolicking at the “beach lake”, the older one, the Mayor, was back in charge at the salt marsh.

I bet he was not happy to see this illicit fisherman trying to capture the fish that belongs to the residents. I was not happy either.

I wished Sandy had been at the nest and given him a small lesson. But luckily, as soon as I started walking towards the park HQ, he packed his gear and left. Once he was gone, I came back to greet the Great and Snowy Egrets who were enjoying the sunshine in large numbers, and then walked back home.

So much excitement, as always, at the salt marsh. Thank you for coming along. We all wish you a wonderful weekend!

Nature, Photography

A Short Hike along St. John’s River

August 18, 2015 Tiny 60 Comments

Just a brief post to say hi. I’m back home and trying to catch up on all the wonderful posts you, my friends, have produced while I was away. I had a whirlwind trip, but managed to get in a couple of hours of hiking on Saturday in the Timucuan Ecological & Historical Preserve along the St. John’s River in North Florida.

This huge and very interesting preserve represents one of the last unspoiled coastal wetlands on the Atlantic Coast. It would have required at least a full day or two to properly experience the beauty of its salt marshes, coastal dunes, and hardwood hammocks.

And to explore 6000 years of human history within it boundaries. This preserve marks the place where one of the Timucuan tribes met the first French explorers in 1562. Sadly, this meeting, and the French and Spanish settlers that soon followed, represented the beginning of the end of the longstanding Timucuan culture.

The preserve also houses an exhibit of Fort Carolina originally built by the first French settlers on the river bank.

We didn’t have the time to reach the wetlands where I could have found birds to “shoot”, but I could hear them everywhere in the jungle-like forest.

The only bird I managed to capture on this short hike was a Turkey Vulture who enjoyed the winds above the river.

Stopping along the river we spotted several schools of dolphins, most of them too far out for me to get a picture.

The preserve also has ongoing ecological research projects in the many different types of habitats it houses. We stumbled upon one of the vegetation projects on our hike through the maritime hammock.

It was a compact hike, but gave me a taste of what this preserve has to offer. I hope to return one day with better time to explore the beauty of its habitats, and its birds, properly.

I hope your week is going great. Get out and enjoy nature! Tiny – here leaning on a “twin” tree in the hardwood hammock.

Nature, Photography, Wildlife

After the Big Rains. Long Lineup to the Smorgasbord.

August 13, 2015 Tiny 54 Comments

Okay. The relentless storms are over. But I don’t even know how to begin to tell the story of the delightful bird invasion we’ve had around here this past week. The fresh water pooled up on the beach during the rains has been like a magnet for the shorebirds, particularly Black Skimmers and terns, among them many juveniles. They’ve been foraging in whatever little is left of the “beach lake”. (Click on the pictures for larger versions)

Many Black Skimmer parents have been encouraging their teenagers to start flying. That’s been quite amusing to watch. Like this mom and her baby. Mom nudged the baby asking her to practice flying. But she’d only flex her wings halfheartedly. While her pop, a few feet away, would dig in the sand impatiently, and “bark” at her to go up in the air already.

And the beach has been swarming with Royal Terns, Sandwich Terns and gulls. Some practicing synchronized preening. Others fishing. And yet others arguing with their parents.

And the tiny Sanderlings have brought their whole extended family to enjoy the beach.

Where they were mixing with Willets and American Oystercathers. So many birds!

And for the first time ever, I’ve spotted a baby Ruddy Turnstone. She was tentatively examining the beach with her mom fairly close by.

The same has been true for the park next to the salt marsh. Long lines to the smorgasbord at shallow ditches still filled with fresh rainwater. Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Spoonbills, Ibis, Night Herons, you name it. All sharing the rare treat of fresh water.

At the salt marsh, Mama Sandy has taken charge. I guess the Mayor is on vacation as I haven’t seen him since last week.

Sandy has been sitting at the front edge of the nest following the developments with a keen eye. For the most part things have been going smoothly, but I noticed some competition about great scanning posts among the many egrets. At least forty of them.

Sandy also kept an eye on the skies. And when I followed her line of sight, I saw a Red-shouldered Hawk flying high above the marsh.

I was hoping the hawk didn’t spot the ducklings performing synchronized diving in the deep waters.

Rosa, the resident Roseate Spoonbill, had not cared to venture out of the marsh to see her cousins feeding in the remaining floodwaters elsewhere in the park. She was at home, in the shade under the osprey nest as usual.

I hope you enjoyed the many birds saying hello to us here on the beach and at the salt marsh. I’m flying away too for a few days (this is a scheduled post). I’ll try to stay in touch on my mobile devices. In any case I’ll catch up early next week.

I wish you all a wonderful weekend. Remember to enjoy what nature has to offer. Fly high!

Photography, Poetry

Dreams ~ A Haiku

August 10, 2015 Tiny 33 Comments

On soft August nights

Summer dreams of the ocean

Toes dipped into waves.

Nature, Photography, Wildlife

Flooding. Deserted Salt Marsh. And the Mayor’s Speech.

August 7, 2015 Tiny 66 Comments

After 21 straight days of storms that dumped over 20 inches of rain on us, I’m happy to report we’re seeing the sun again here on the west coast of the “sunshine state”. When the rain finally stopped on Monday afternoon, I went to check out the flooding. And to see if I could spot any of my feathered friends.

The beach and all the trails to the park were flooded. The new “Beach Lake” was even bigger than last week. As the rain had stopped, some boys tried to play ball at the shallow end of it. Lots of splashing.

It was still gloomy, but the sun tried to show its face from under a hefty cloud cover. I didn’t want to repeat my wading exercise from last week, so I walked to the salt marsh on the street and the partly flooded walkways. The only bird I found on the usually lively bay shore was this Willet bathing in the floodwaters.

And I spotted Papa Osprey. He was perched on a lamp-post far away, shaking his feathers and looking quite disheveled.

Entering the park, I saw flooding everywhere. All low-lying areas were under water, and the doggy park just north of the salt marsh had become a water feature for the birds.

Otherwise the salt marsh was deserted. I walked around looking for my friends, water sloshing around my boots. The only birds I could find, in addition to those at the doggy park, were the young Great Blue Heron and Mama Sandy. The heron was walking in the high grass, and Sandy was roosting at the nest. She was clearly tired of the rains. Just like me.The water level in the marsh was too high for many of the birds to hunt there…and still rising. So they had evacuated.

Yesterday afternoon, after three days of sunshine, I went back there to check how things were progressing. The flood waters in the park had receded considerably, but the marsh was brimming with water, and the beach was still flooded.

To my delight, I found that many residents had returned. The old Great Blue Heron, the Mayor, was surveying his little village at the west end of the marsh. He was addressing the community. Saying it was safe to return, I gathered.

I had to laugh when I saw the crowd on the fence of the doggy park. They were listening to the Mayor while trying to dry up in the sun. The park was too soggy for the dogs to come back, so it was a safe place to roost.

Egrets and Ibis were perching on trees and bushes in big numbers. Like white dots sprinkled all over the marsh. And the Roseate Spoonbill was enjoying some shade at her usual spot below the osprey nest. She kindly agreed to a photo shoot.

The young Night Heron was back too, drying his feathers next to the deep water. It looks like he’s become a permanent resident. Decided the salt marsh was a safe place to grow up.

The tiny Tricolored Heron surveyed the water levels at the east end of the marsh, looking a bit anxious. She probably understood it’d be some time before she could go hunting there again. The grassy little pools where she’d normally go fishing were now part of the “lake”. Full of big, scary fish.

The Mottled Ducks were happily cruising the waters, and so were the Moorhen families. With kids of all ages.

And Mama Sandy was perched in her “watch tower”, monitoring the busy air traffic between the bay and the beach. I saw the young Great Blue Heron fly over the nest, and heard Sandy give a stiff warning. She has no tolerance for fools who’ve attacked her nest.

Before going home, I had to check on Papa Stanley too. He was back in his resort, looking much more put together. And really paying attention to me. I felt tiny under such scrutiny.

Life at the salt marsh is slowly returning to normal. We all wish you a wonderful weekend and thank you for coming to see us. Much appreciated. Just like the sunshine.

Monday Musings, Nature, Photo challenges

Monday Musings and Weekly Photo Challenge: Inspiration

August 3, 2015 Tiny 55 Comments

Birds and children can fly. Yet they are grounded in the present moment. They don’t live in the past that is no longer here. Or in the future that has not yet arrived. They soak in the experience of now. And dance to the natural rhythm of life. They inspire me.

And so does everything in nature. When the earth gently rolls on its side, night becomes dawn. Light peeks over the horizon. Inviting me to a new day with all new possibilities.

The sunrise colors are vivid. Soft pastels of Grace, and bright colorful streaks of Hope in what otherwise could appear dark. It’s an inspiring moment to take in. To be alive.

And so the day beings. With colors I choose to see. Thoughts and reflections I allow to touch me. And open my heart beyond my limited mind. Inspire.

“The garden of the world has no limits except in your mind. Its presence is more beautiful than the stars, with more clarity than the polished mirror of your heart” – Rumi

And when the earth gently rolls onto its other side, I marvel on the softness of the evening. And the golden colors of the sunset. Yet again, I inhale inspiration.