This time of the year it’s a bit easier for this night owl to get up and witness the sunrise. The silent hour when nature is waking up brings incredible colors over the bay and beautiful reflections in the clouds over the ocean. Peace reigns.
Creatures living in harmony with nature start their day. Some sit and enjoy the sunrise, others get on with breakfast preparations.
Papa Stanley returns from his first fishing trip of the day, one of many to come …
A few minutes later, he nods off on the lamp-post just outside the marsh border. As we know, taking care of babies is quite tiring for the parents. He has eaten the fish head and takes a short nap before bringing the meaty parts of the fish to Mama Sandy and the kids.
And so the day has started. Late morning yesterday, when Dylan and I were spying on the osprey family from our terrace, we finally spotted a little chick! Or perhaps two? The first born should be almost two weeks old now. Here is the first grainy family picture of 2018. We hope for better ones soon.
Throughout the day many other birds made appearances. My assistant and I went on a short walk in another park nearby and spotted a Limpkin, a Double Crested Cormorant and a couple of White Ibis.
We also found two different blackbirds…
…and a few turtles enjoying the water and the mild spring weather.
Later on, around sunset time, we walked through the bay side to the salt marsh and discovered a beautiful Snowy Egret enjoying the low tide and the last rays of sun.
We noticed that Sandy was on her dinner break at their usual lamp-post table. She had left Stanley to look after the kids.
We also spotted Ms. Rosa! Long time no see. There was just about enough light to see that she still looks great.
She forageed around the shallow water as we watched her. Then ended up posing for another picture with Mr. Blue-winged Teal.
The younger GBH was watching the osprey nest, as he had been for the past few nights. But Stanley seemed relaxed. He might know the youngster has now grown up and adopted better manners. The latter was evidenced by a short nod in our direction.
Before we knew it the sun had gone down and the marsh filled with shadows. We saw some movement in the bushes but it was too dark for pictures.
We enjoyed the peace of the evening for a while on ‘my’ bench. When we finally wanted to leave, the park gate had already closed. We had to use our secret escape path out of the park. Dylan led the way in the moonlight. He had done this before.
Thank you for visiting us between the sunrise and the sunset. And Happy Easter to all who celebrate! I leave you with my one of my favorite sunset pictures from our beach. Sail well into the new week.
TINY LESSONS BLOG 
Lovely pics, as usual Helen. Sounds like a wonderful way to spend and end the day!
Thanks Michelle! That how we two spend our ‘leisure day’ – lots of time in nature.
Wonderful! Beautiful! 💕
Thank you kindly, Carrie!
No one takes pictures like you do, a delight as always. Happy Easter to you too.
Thank you, Susan. Glad you liked our day with the birds.
Happy Easter Helen! Beautiful captures 🌈💕🌈🐇💚
Thank you kindly, Karen!
What a lovely day with gorgeous images captured.
Thank you, Maverick!
Lovely photos and commentary, as always. Thank you.
Glad you came to visit us!
That was a lovely ending, Helen; the sailboat and the beautiful sunset colours! Back to the early morn; such a delight of colour.
Wonderful to see the first image of the little one/s! Mama and Papa are such a great example of parenting. I always have such a sense of honour when Stanley presents the juiciest, meatiest pieces to his little family. So endearing…
I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a vibrant red on the Ibis; quite eye catching and surprising.
Great images, Helen. Thank You for sharing them. It’s always a delight!
🙂
xoxoxo
Thank you for your wonderful comment, Carolyn. It is great to see the new generation of ospreys grow up under the insightful care of Sandy and Stanley. Dylan and I just checked on the nest, but could not see any chicks as Sandy was shielding them from the sun with her wings. It’s probably the warmest day of this spring here today. We’ll check back at lunch time shortly 🙂 The Ibis are “very red” right now, even at the salt marsh, probably because it’s nesting season right now. Dylan and I send you hugs. XXX
Gorgeous 1st and last pic! So happy you got a peek at the baby. Some day I’d love to see a limpkin!
Thanks Kelly! The sunrises and sunsets can be gorgeous here. I had only seen one limpkin at the salt marsh a couple of years ago, and there it was at the little lake in a preserve 5 miles from home. I hope you’ll see one soon.
Terrific shots . . . from sunrise to sunset. We saw a Spoonbill this week too ~ hadn’t seen one in a few weeks.
And welcome to the new chicks!
Miss Rosa now comes to the marsh every evening…not a lot of light for photos, but it’s lovely to see her. I still have not confirmed the number of chicks…now that it has warmed up, Sandy is shielding them from the sun all the time.
First born. Again. So amazing.
Yep. The circle of life is quite amazing.
Thank you from my heart! What a trip, once again😃It was a wonderful day with the nature’s happenings. Perfect pictures and the story. How can you know all the birds? You and your assistant are great❤❤
My assistant is well trained by now. Yesterday he saw a duck before I did, but did not rush to catch it 😀 I have learned to identify most birds over the years, but still don’t know all the small song birds. Dylan and I send hugs ❤
Thanks for sharing your beautiful day with us!
Thank you for visiting us ‘down south’ 🙂
You’ve captured such amazing colors! And it’s always great to see wildlife is still out there!!
Thank you kindly, GP! Glad you enjoyed the day with us.
Absolutely stunning pictures again, Helen. I am so happy to see that the chicks are here! I look forward to watching them grow and learn through your delightful blog.
Thanks Kathy! I’ve been trying to find out the number of chicks, but right now when the sun is so strong, Sandy is effectively shielding them with her wings, so no luck so far. If I don’t see you over the weekend (DC trip now) before you leave, have a great trip to the ‘stans’!
Hmmm…from this batch I think the Snowy Egret most grabbed my eye, though that sail boat was stunning too!
Thanks Kathy! The egret was quite stunning in the low light.
Sunrise to sunset; what a beautiful record of the day. 🙂 This night owl usually only gets to bed about 3 hours before sunrise. 😦
I know it’s difficult to get up before the sun…I congratulate myself every time I do – apart from times when I have to go to the airport early, like this week 🙂 Thank you for visiting us, dear friend.
Outstanding photos sweet Tiny. The pink feathers on Ms. Rosa just amazes me, such a beautiful pink. I am looking forward to seeing Sandy and Stanley’s babies when they are big enough to get a good look at them. Hope you and Dylan had a nice Easter. Hugs and nose kisses from all of us. Have a great week.
Thank you dear Mags! Miss Rosa’s pick color comes from the food she eats. Those little crustaceans feed on algae which contain pigments that impart this beautiful red/pink color. As to the number of osprey babies, we are still just guessing. Sandy is shielding them from the strong sun with her wings and we can’t see them now. I have to try to “hit” their lunch time 🙂
Amazing how Miss Rosa gets her color. Thanks for letting me know that. I will be looking forward to seeing how many babies this time.
That last photo is a stunner, so different than your usual ones!
Thank you Hien. I love the sunsets on our beach, but haven’t posted pictures for a while. Happy you liked it.
A bird feast, Helen. You and trusty assistant have done us proud. AGAIN! Love all those starlings in a line for starters. And I’d never seen nor heard of a Limpkin before. And as for Ms. Rosa – what very fine feathers. Then you gave us the moon too. Lovely!
That very lamp post is a popular sunrise spot for many of the smaller birds. This limpkin was a second for me ever, one came to visit the marsh a couple of years ago. Miss Rosa is so bright pink right now that it’s easy to spot her even in dusk…she’s there almost every evening. Dylan and I love staying there late after our dog park visits…so peaceful. Thanks Tish!
A peaceful place – and much needed, I’m sure.
Beautiful images as always Helen and it is so lovely to see Ms Rosa again! Her face looks a bit older and I wonder how she fared during the hurricanes. We hope you are enjoying your Easter weekend and much love to you and Dylan from all of us here :o) xxx
Thank you, Xenia. Our Easter weekend was quiet, nice dinner with friends, but we didn’t go see the grandkids because here it’s a normal length weekend – work/school on Friday and again on Monday. I agree that Miss Rosa looks a bit older…I have no idea where she went during the hurricane, but happy that she, like most residents, survived. Dylan and I send you all hugs and nose kisses!
Smiling … A wonderful collection of photos from you, Helen, with the help of your Assistant, of course! Quite an adventure at dusk. I love the new arrivals as well as seeing Ms Rosa again. I’m looking forward to see what unfolds with the Ospreys. 💛
Thank you, Val. We love our dusk adventures around the marsh after Dylan has had an opportunity to run with his friends at the dog park. And we hope to learn soon how many chicks the Osprey family has this year. The sun is quite strong now and Sandy is shielding them with her wings…no peeking heads to be seen 🙂
What amazing and assorted wildlife you have. You truly live in heaven.
Thank you, ZL. I appreciate my environment every single day…all the wildlife and the nature surrounding us.
I am getting ready to get off work and enjoy my environment – tarmac, concrete, delayed buses and backed up metro. 🙂
I’ll be there tomorrow and just realized I’ll need to take my winter coat.
Oh… first grainy family picture of 2018!! Beautiful captures, Helen. 🙂
The last photo of sunset is breathtaking!
Thanks Amy! I hope to get some pictures of the osprey chick(s) from the ground soon, but it might still take a couple of weeks. Until then we’ll be spying from afar 🙂
The clarity is amazing, Helen! 🙂
Excellent pictures Tiny! Your birds look very healthy and beautiful. 🙂
Thank you my friend. I am happy everyone seems to be doing good 🙂
Enjoyed your peaceful time experience with the many beautiful creatures. I do hope you had an enjoyable time at Easter also. Always love sunrise and sunset colours they are so glorious and remind me of the Psalm ‘The heavens declare the glory of God…’ The baby osprey looks to be doing well, how amazing another generation in such a short time, it seems so recent that the last years baby fledged. I always enjoy your gift of storytelling. Have wonderful week my friend!
Thank you my friend. I agree that the sunrises/sunsets are like declaring the glory of God, so amazing colors in the skies. I still don’t know how many chicks the osprey family has, but when I return from a work trip this weekend, I hope to find out. And soon enough they will be visible from the ground also. I wish you and yours a wonderful weekend.
all those birds and wildlife and sunrise to start the day
Thanks for visiting, Ritva.
How delightful Miss Rosa was finally ready for her closeup – Happy belated Easter to you and all at the Marsh!
I though of you when I saw that Miss Rosa has started to visit the salt marsh every evening. She stays until after dark and just enjoys the peace and quiet, just like Dylan and I 🙂
Miss Rosa is in tiptop color. Beautiful. Wonderful pictures. Love that sunset!
Thank you, Skip. Miss Rosa is so bright pink right now that it was possible to see her even in the moonlight.
The night owl and her assistant did a great job!Delightful post with mesmerising dawn rays painting the skies and lovely bird stories.Glad to see that the Osprey family is doing well and that Ms Rosa joined the club again.Your full moon photo and the sailing boat wrote a brilliant epilogue for your post.I do hope you had a peaceful Easter Sunday with family and Dylan,dear Helen.Best to you,my friend 🙂
Thank you for you visit and your kind comment, dear Doda. Most evenings Dylan and I linger in the park (not often with a camera) after he has run around with his pals at the dog park. So many birds, including Miss Rosa, come there at dusk to have their dinner 🙂 We had a quiet Easter with a beautiful dinner at our friends’ house, but we didn’t see family because here in the US Easter is only on Saturday-Sunday, work/school on Friday and again on Monday. So I’ll visit them soon on a long weekend to celebrate my granddaughter’s first communion. All the best to you and Happy Easter!
I see.What a great big day for her.First Communion ceremony is a big important day.Enjoy a nice ,family gathering after the Mass.Thank you for your Easter wishes 🙂
Such an array of wildlife you have so close at hand! I especially enjoyed the photos of the turtles – gorgeous. And, of course, I eagerly await the new season of the Osprey Family story 🙂
Thank you for visiting us, Susan. I am eager to know how many ‘kids’ the Ospreys have this year, but Sandy is shielding them from the sun her wings half spread so I have not been able to see them. I hope for better luck when I return from a short work trip this weekend 🙂
A belated Happy Easter Helen! Wonderful to see the chicks. So happy for their ‘arrival’. Ms Rosa looks in fine form. It must have been such a happy sighting to spot her in all of her pink glory!
We have been seeing Miss Rosa come to the marsh for dinner every evening, but usually I don’t carry my camera on our routine ‘dog park trips’. She is so brightly pink now that we can spot her even after sunset. Thanks for your visit and kind comment, Sue.
Thank you for taking us with you on this magnificent day, Tiny! Every photo is wonderful, and the sunrise images are especially astonishing!
Wonderful! This is nature! Absolutely great! Thank you for sharing this moment! Have a nice day and best wishes from Studienreise ! Yours, Nora 😉
Beautiful sunrise and sunset photos, Helen. Those chicks are adorable, and their dad is so attentive to their well-being. Ms Rosa is a real beauty. I wish we had one in our backyard. 🙂 Happy weekend to you and Dylan. xx
Wow. Great shots!
A chick or two? YAY! Your love of nature shows so well in your posts, Helen! Your photos are stunning!
I rarely am up for sunrises, but I love seeing them and sunsets. Thanks for sharing Helen. 🙂