Tag Archives: Birds

With Love from Dylan

March 7, 2019 Tiny 76 Comments

I have to start on a positive note so mom understands my observations are made in a loving spirit. We don’t want any misinterpretations of my intentions, do we? All the tummy rubs and ear massages could go down the tube. We don’t want that.

Uh, were was I? Just a minute, have to look at my notes.

So how have you been? I hope life’s treating you well. As to myself, I can’t complain. I still take mom on long walks in the morning and in the evening. Or perhaps I should say walk-run-walks. And they are more pleasant now. You see, mom is much faster and smaller than last year. She didn’t shrink much vertically as far as I can see, maybe half an inch tops, but she’s shrunk a lot horizontally. It’s no longer like pulling a close to 200 pound sac behind me, and now we can actually compete. I’m still faster, but she’s making some progress.

Oh, I almost forgot! I have finally graduated from the Bird Photographer’s Assistant class. My final exam was a week ago. And that was a difficult one: I had to walk past two mottled ducks on a loose leash without scaring them away. And then sit quietly while mom took pictures of them. That was the hardest test. You see, ducks are in my DNA. They must be hunted. But against all odds I did it!

The female looked at me from the corner of her eye but the male pretended I wasn’t even there. Can you believe it? I passed with flying colors! And expected immediate rewards. But mom had none. No treats in her pocket. She made up a poor explanation about going to the dog park and how it was not suitable to carry treats. That doesn’t hold water. She knows, as do I, that I could have eaten them all before we entered the park! I suspect she didn’t believe I would pass my exam because I had failed a couple of times before. I got some treats when we got home. Oh well, better late than never.

Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself. We went to the dog park. This time I was lucky. There were no 75 pound dogs in the small dog park! But all my best friends were there and even a new friend, a brown dachshund named Olli. I have to admit that he is as nice as he’s handsome.

I love the attention we get at the park, but sometimes we have to stand in the back rub line and wait for our turn. But it’s all worth it.

The line’s long, but finally it’s my turn!

And I love running the fence. Barking at bicycles and other strange vehicles with Saki and Eli. And suspicious people walking too close to the fence. We have the responsibility to protect our parents. It doesn’t stop even when we’re off leash and off duty. And since I’m not allowed to bark at home this is the only opportunity to exercise my vocal cords. But Bentley takes his recreation seriously. No running the fence, just calm exploration of the park…and posing for photographers.

My friend Snickers doesn’t run the fence either. He loves to dig. And as you can see, it’s serious business.

Digging requires focus and persistence, my friends.

Sometimes we all pose for mom. She’s very persuasive. Saki and Eli love to impress her by flashing their best smiles.

I’m the most beautiful Shiba Inu girl, right?

It’s easy for them to smile. They are young. No missing teeth. But I’m very self-conscious and hardly ever smile for the camera. I can turn and look at mom when her tone gets desperate. But she should understand that I like to stay behind the camera and assist.

That brings me to the traumatic event of last Saturday. Mom woke up early. We went onto the terrace and she snapped pictures of the sunrise.

I think this was around 7 a.m. and I had no idea what was in store…

She had breakfast, but I didn’t get any. What did I do? And we didn’t go for a walk. What was wrong with this picture? She allowed me to go to the bathroom at the garage corner and then right into her car. I thought we were heading to the Taylor Park to chase the alligators. Exciting! But mom missed the turn. Where were we going? She was tightlipped. I thought she looked a bit guilty. This was not good. Finally we stopped and I saw it! The vet’s office. I wanted to run. To beg. To vanish into thin air. But the only thing I could do was to pretend not to see or hear her.

I don’t see you mom. And I’m not coming!

Mom carried me in, the girls met me…and then I don’t remember anything until I woke up in the afternoon. My mouth was hurting. My gums were sore. I hadn’t eaten anything the whole day and I was hungry. But couldn’t even think of putting anything in my mouth. I was miserable the whole evening. I definitely do not recommend teeth cleaning to anyone. Even the everyday chores are more fun. Like cleaning the kitchen floor from all scraps that mom drops when she’s cooking. Chicken and cheese are my favorites. Anyway, I felt a bit better already the next day. And the following day I forgave her. That’s what love does.

This is a bad day. Can’t we just go to sleep already?

Oh, before I go I need to tell you that I really like my new Photo Assistant job. I get to walk a lot and sniff around in all kinds of interesting places. Last week on Tuesday I didn’t even expect to go on a walk. The weather was iffy and mom said it could rain any minute. But out we went to see the ospreys. When we got to the nest, mom said the mama bird was laying another egg. Ssshhh. I had to sit quietly while mom was watching and clicking.

And then we went looking for the daddy bird. I thought I’d seen him when we passed the Sailing Center, but I kept quiet. I’d get a long walk around the marsh. Many new smells. Finally mom looked beyond the park and spotted the daddy… at the Sailing Center on the other side of the road. Ha!

Daddy Osprey was…all along…at the Sailing Center

I look forward to seeing the osprey chicks. I hope there are many. Ten or even a hundred. I’d like to draw many names from the hat later in the spring, just like I’ve done for the past three years. And get many treats.

That’s all from me folks. Be good now. With love, Dylan.

Birds, Nature, Photography, Travel

A Bird in the Hand. And an Egg in the Nest.

February 26, 2019 Tiny 86 Comments

My iPhone’s alarm goes off. It’s pitch black. I open one eye and see the lit face of my phone and hit Snooze. A thought crawls into my consciousness. This is not my bed and there’s no Dylan next to me. OMG! This is the day I’ve been waiting for. It’s 5:30 a.m. and I’m in Cape Coral. To attend the annual Burrowing Owl Festival. The photographers’ tour starts in 90 minutes. The night owl will meet the owls. Up you go girl!

I open the curtains, go out onto the balcony to confirm my location, put on the Keurig and hit the shower. Yay! At sunrise I’m on my way. Why don’t you come with me on this little adventure?

The small bus is full of photographers. And huge lenses. The knowledgeable guides are Listers. One of them currently tops the North America list of bird sightings in so far this year. They explain what we can expect to find today. And soon we are at our first stop, a field of burrows next to a football field, all marked with little T-shaped wooden lookout posts. The owls are still sleeping. But wait, someone’s out already. Daddy Burrowing Owl has fallen asleep on his guard.

After a while his beautiful wifey comes out too. Oh, so many long lenses pointing at her … at a respectable distance. She turns her tiny head around in swift movements to check on everybody.

And finally her hubby wakes up too, moves closer to his wifey and inspects the crowd.

These expressive tiny owls reach about 9 inches from top to toe. They are too cute, but we need to let them go on with their Saturday morning chores. We move on.

Our next stop is about ten minutes away, at the nest of the Great-horned Owl. And we are not disappointed. Two Owlets huddle next to each other high up in the nest. Aww.

They are curious little fur balls. The older one inspects me thoroughly, but there are no adults in the nest. Where are mommy and daddy? We look around and finally spot an adult a few trees away. And another adult yet a bit further in the woods, but so well camouflaged by branches I don’t get a good picture. It’s comforting to know both parents are around.

What a treat to see the owlets. We move on, drive quite a while and come to a large meadow known to be the home of some of the few remaining Florida Scrub Jays. Last year, we spotted six of them there and being very curious birds, a few got close up and personal with us.

But we heard that this year, unfortunately, only two individuals had been seen there. These birds are endemic to Florida and their numbers are going down fast despite their protected status. We are lucky. The couple comes and finds us. They settle at the top of a bush not too far from us.

They fly around and we enjoy their presence. Finally one of them lands on the hand of a fellow photographer. For one second tops.

Then they fly away together to the far end of the meadow. And we hear the melancholic song of the Eastern Meadowlark.

She moves around in the grass, her tiny head sticking up at times, but finally she flies on the top of a cable box in the middle of the meadow and offers a somewhat clearer view. She is a strikingly beautiful bird.

We spot a few other birds in the distance, like this Loggerhead Shrike on a wire, and then we move on.

Our next stop is a Bald Eagle nest. We don’t see any activity at the nest. We hear that, unfortunately, this eagle couple have been unsuccessful in their breeding efforts the last two years. And now it seems there are no eggs or nestlings in the nest. So sad. Finally we spot an adult flying towards us.

It circles around and then lands in the tree where the nest is.

Then it sits in the nest and observes us. It seems to be getting slightly nervous about our presence and we promptly leave the vicinity of the nest. This majestic bird needs its peace and quiet.

By now it is almost midday. The heat is up and we head to our last stop of the day. It’s another burrow very close to a small road of white sand. An adult sits on the observation post.

And we spot a juvenile’s head sticking out among all the flowers near the opening of her childhood home. As this is the farewell picture of our tour, I’ll make it to a post card from these precious tiny owls. Until next year, be well!

Back home on Sunday Dylan reminds me there’s something we need to do. Right now. And it’s not just going out to bathroom. We need to check whether or not Mama Osprey has laid any eggs while we were gone. We approach the nest and find Papa Stanley sitting on the perch and Mama Sandy standing in the nest.

She’s not sitting on the egg(s), but it certainly looks like she’s in the process of laying her first egg.

Stanley is holding guard and warns everybody flying too close to the nest. Usually he only sounds an alarm when another raptor, mostly another osprey, flies by but today he’s vocal even when a gull flies by. And he’s keeping an eye on us too. Something’s definitely up.

We go back late at night on Monday, on our way to the dog park, and there she is. Incubating her first egg when the sun has just gone down.

And I can tell you she’s still there. Today it’s been raining all day, but whenever Dylan and I check on the nest from inside our dry and comfy home we see a head in the nest. It’s not always Sandy. Stanley is a modern dad, he settles on the egg(s) many times a day to give her a break to eat, exercise and take a bath. I hope there are already two eggs in the nest. But right now there’s no way to tell. Incubating osprey eggs is a long journey of 34 to 40 days.

Thank you for coming along. Mr. D and I hope you’ll have a great rest of the week.

Ps. Dylan tells me he’s itching to blog soon. I’m not sure whether to take him up on his offer. He tends to spill out things that I’ve kept quiet about.

Just Life, Photography

Move Faster! And a Romantic Date Night.

January 20, 2019 Tiny 88 Comments

I feel like a turtle. I just want to continue the leisurely stroll of the holidays. Soak in the sun and contemplate life in peace and quiet. But I feel the push to start moving faster. We are almost three weeks into the new year. Can you believe it?

I hope to make this fresh year more balanced than the past. Alternating work and play, just like in the high intensity interval exercise I’ve become to like lately. I’m envisioning myself at times flying fast like Mama Osprey…

… and then just enjoying life like a turtle. With all time in the world.

So far so good. Dylan and I were exploring the Taylor Park again last week. The Anhinga and the Moorhen were present in big numbers as usual.

And we spotted many feathered friends looking for a tasty breakfast, like this Wood Stork, Tri-colored Heron and Little Blue Heron.

We were trying hard to find at least one gator, but they seemed to be lying low(er than usual) due to the cooler winter temperatures we’re having right now. So instead we enjoyed spotting more birds, like this Ring-billed Gull and a Great Egret.

Then we heard a loud group of Boat-tailed Blackbirds. The males were fighting in the reeds and refused to be photographed. But this female, who is actually brown and may have been the reason of the fight, stepped out to hunt for food. Click.

There are always several Pied-billed Grebes on the lake and I love photographing them.

But this cutie stretched my patience – and even Mr. Dylan’s who had to sit and wait for me. This little one was diving non-stop and staying up on the surface less than a second at the time. It was a comical exercise. There he is. Gone. Repeat. I got numerous pictures of bubbles and rings on the water and some tail feathers at times. But finally my patience was rewarded and I managed to snap a picture. Oops!

That’s when I saw something in the water further out in the shady part of the lake. It was, indeed, a very quiet gator.

After that discovery we ran our last stretch before leaving the park happy with our intermittent “osprey-turtle” exercise.

But what about the salt marsh, you may wonder. We have been there too. After returning from my holiday trip to Sweden, I hadn’t seen much of the Osprey couple. They usually start their nesting season in early January by refurbishing their home, but it had been quiet at the nest. We walked past the nest on our way to the dog park and I thought I could see some signs of remodeling, but nobody was there. And I started to get worried.

The perivious week I had seen Mama Sandy fly by my office window…

… and Papa Stanley eating on a lamp-post close to the nest, but hadn’t seen them together or working on the nest. Knowing that ospreys don’t opt for a divorce at the first sign of disagreement, I concluded there has to be some valid reason for their wait.

Finally last week on Saturday night I saw a beautiful sight from my terrace. Sandy and Stanley were having a date night at the Sailing Center

I grabbed my camera and out we went, my assistant and I. I was hoping the happy couple would still be there and the light would be enough to capture the evidence of this romance. And we were in luck. Both Sandy and Stanley greeted us with a friendly nod.

They were enjoying the last light on the bay side as much as we were…

…and we also spotted a a Snowy Egret and a Great Egret down at the water’s edge.

So finally, and quite late this year, mama and papa osprey had come together to start their nesting season. The sixth one I look forward to observing.

Earlier this week, Dylan and I visited the dog park on a cool, partly loudy day. And discovered the little salt marsh village was lively indeed. The Mayor was in the office and surveyed the marsh in his typical, calm manner.

Further out, in a difficult spot to ‘shoot’, several residents were huddling to seek shelter from the cold wind coming from the north. Even the Clown, aka Reddish Egret was calm, with no intention to perform. Maybe his enthusiasm was dampened by the presence of the Wood Stork, who had only recently given him a lesson.

But he couldn’t help himself, he had to follow the bigger bird into the water and keep him under surveillance.

Closer to the Osprey nest, at the east end of the marsh, Several residents had sought shelter in the bushes. I was happy to see the Snowy Egret had already developed a breeding plumage and to spot both a Black- and Yellow-crowned Night Heron for the first time in quite a while. Most residents seemed to be back from their holiday travels.

To my delight, both Sandy and Stanley were at the nest, which now clearly was under renovation. Sandy was happily munching on a fish, likely provided by Stanley. And he seemed to be musing on the fact that he would be dad again…

…and watched us with great interest. Or maybe it was bride. In any case, I promised myself to make time to follow their, hopefully successful, nesting season in my “turtle time” between travels. Thank you for being here. Be good and keep warm.

Birds, Nature, Photography, Travel

Help! Where was I?

December 1, 2018 Tiny 71 Comments

The answer is here, there and everywhere. And I don’t even know where to begin. Perhaps warm greetings from a chilly NYC, where I’ve worked this past week, would be in place?

I can’t believe I’ve been away from here for over six weeks. Various adventures near and far with my friends visiting from Sweden have filled my days… sprinkled with some necessary work sessions. And then a completely unnecessary bout of severe cold kept me ‘lying flat’ for days. But now I’m upright and on the go again. Feeling thankful for it.

Our nearby adventures included, of course, the salt marsh. This past month that little village has been lively. Many migrating birds have made a stopover there to mingle with the locals.

The Mayor has tried to keep peace among the sometimes unruly crowds, but despite his watching eye, the Clown (aka the Reddish Egret) got into trouble. It started innocently enough. A Wood Stork was trying to catch a fish. But the Clown got upset and flashed his red hair… and that was it!

The larger bird went into attack. And the Clown had to flee!

That was the first time I have seen him retreating. Ever.

He had met his match and settled on a small islet. He was sulking. Or maybe mulling over what just happened.

That day the marsh had more than fifty visitors. Birds everywhere. Some were flying…

Others were running…

Many were fishing…

One or two were dreaming…

Or just mingling and giving speeches…

Mama Sandy was, as always, only watching the nest and the skies. She couldn’t be bothered with the crowds. She knows they come and go.

One day my friends went for a walk with Dylan when I had to take a break … for work. And Tony spotted something special. Sandy had allowed Stanley to the nest although the nesting season was still more than a month away!

I hadn’t seen Stanley for a couple of weeks, so perhaps they had an argument and he’d gone away for a while? To let it cool down. And when he finally returned and brought her a fish as a sign of reconciliation, she allowed him to perch on the nest. Here is the proof. Thanks Tony!

And after that they have been flying a lot together. The other day when I was trying to work while battling a bout of bad cold, they flew several times past my office window.

And one morning I saw them working together. They were chasing a huge Bald Eagle away from the salt marsh. I had no camera, but Dylan is my witness. They took turns to dive on the back of the eagle until it got tired and flew to the other side of the bay where it lives.

But I spotted a juvenile Bald Eagle on one of our trips to Taylor Park. It was trying to fish, but gave up after several unsuccessful attempts and flew back into the forest.

My friends liked Taylor Park too. So many birds always show up…
…just to disappear like magic.

And it is quite a thrill to spot a gator lurking around and looking at you…

We got to see many more of them on an airboat ride with Captain Duke we did in the central Florida swamps.

In fact, we were guests in their very special world.

We spotted numerous huge old ones in and out of the water…

And deep in the swamp, we saw a baby gator who had dared to come out of the nest hole all alone.

It was a great journey through the St. John’s River swamps, or the ‘real Florida’ as our captain put it.

Of course we spotted lots of birds as well, but it was not easy to capture them on camera while speeding through the waters.

It was an adventure deep into nature my friends appreciated.

Although they flew back home a couple of weeks ago, you can still participate in more adventures right here in the coming weeks.
Thank you for coming along to the salt marsh, the Taylor Park and to the central Florida swamps. Have a great weekend. Lady Liberty says hi.

Photography, Travel

Walking Stockholm. On the Water.

August 2, 2018 Tiny 85 Comments

The inner city of Stockholm, Sweden, is a collection of islets connected by bridges. Soon after Stock(log)holm(islet) was founded in 1252 more and more islets were connected together by log-bridges. So even today water is a dominant feature in the city and its surroundings. Please come along on a 7-mile tour by foot, guided by my sister’s dog Pebbe, and then a short trip by boat to learn some of what summer Stockholm has to offer in terms of waterways.

We’ll start our walk along the Canal of Karlberg. This canal runs in the western central Stockholm and connects two lakes. On its shores we find lots of greenery, water lilies and other wild flowers.

Along the canal we spot fishing boats, hostel boats, houseboats and, of course people kayaking and paddle boarding. Pebbe is a great guide and keeps up the pace. Photo stops are carefully timed.

We also find some familiar birds and cute wild rabbits, who live under one of the bridges.

We pass some beautifully planned new developments right on the water.

And walking back we spot the Karlberg Palace that now hosts the Military Academy.

By this time we have walked about four miles and stop to rest along the canal before heading home through Solna – another three mile walk.

Once in Solna, we marvel about the 2014 building of the year, Aula Medica of the Karolinska Institute, a Medical University, by Wingårdh Architects. It houses a 1000-seat auditorium/lecture hall and catches the eye with its unconventional, modern architecture.

We walk home through the little forest surrounding these new, and old, buildings. I hope you’re doing fine after this seven mile walk. The fact that this July turned out to be the warmest in 265 years in Sweden should not make you sweat. But I am exhausted and Pebbe wants to sit for a bit too.

After resting for a couple of days, we’ll embark on a short boat tour in the very heart of Stockholm, now on the eastern side.

We go out right along the most exclusive neighborhood in the city, the gorgeous old buildings on Strandvägen.

And far away we spot a landmark, the Kaknäs observation tower.

We pass the Nordic Museum and the Wasa Museum that houses the only 1700-ship ever salvaged (mainly) intact, the 64-gun warship Wasa that sunk on her maiden voyage in 1628.

Next we pass the largest amusement park in Stockholm, Gröna Lund. We used to visit this park frequently when our son was small. It now boasts several new rides that I wouldn’t even imagine trying out … and still a few old ones that look more familiar.

Then we glide past more peaceful sights, like the Fåfänga park …

… and continue a bit deeper into the archipelago, in good company.

I leave you with a hint of my next post about a nostalgic trip to Finland on a ship like the one below.

I hope you enjoyed Stockholm on the water as much as I did. Thank you for coming along.

Birds, Nature, Photography

Bubbette Says Hello. To Alberto.

May 28, 2018 Tiny 65 Comments

The season’s first subtropical storm, Alberto, will soon be making landfall on the northern Gulf coast, now packing 65mph/105kph winds. Yesterday it was churning past us about 135 miles out on the Gulf. It didn’t come here, but the “low” associated with it has brought rainy weather and gusty winds already much of last week for us. And although we now see glimpses of sun every now and then, the winds are still very gusty. As far as I know, Miss Bubbette has not yet fledged. I think Mama Sandy has put her under strict orders not to try her wings in this weather. On Wednesday, Thursday and yesterday when we had some dry weather, Dylan and I went to see her.

On Wednesday we found her alone in the nest keeping a low profile. Mama Sandy was flying overhead and sounding loud warnings.

I realized she was chasing away a male intruder who had ventured too close to the nest.

Sandy soon returned to the nest and I understood she had flown away in the middle of her lunch. She continued eating. Bubbette had probably already eaten, but asked for more so Sandy was feeding her a few more bites from her own lunch. Mother’s love.

After finishing her lunch, Sandy flew up to the perch. Bubbette continued her wing exercises.

We walked around the marsh and saw a few friends. Miss Rosa was visiting…

… and foraging together with a Snowy Egret. A Yellow-crowned Night Heron was hunting too, which is rarely seen in the middle of the day.

And Mr. Moorhen was checking out his territory. Otherwise the marsh was quiet.

On Thursday we went out again quickly between the rain showers. Bubbette was exercising her wings again. She did not take off the nest, but ‘flew’ onto the highest branch in the nest.

And she was hungry. She had, indeed, learned the most common osprey song: Gimme Fish.

And she knows her “head bob”, so typical for ospreys. Mama Sandy just sat on the perch. After a while she took a short flight towards the bay. Perhaps to check if Papa Stanley was somewhere close by eating the head of their lunch fish. You see, I had witnessed a small brawl between Sandy and Stanley the previous night when watching the nest from my living room. Stanley had brought a fish and was sitting on the perch when Sandy suddenly flew up and literally pushed him away. I had no idea what he’d done, or if he would still bring in fish for that matter. I have not spotted him at the nest since.

The sky had filled with clouds and we left Bubbette and Sandy to wait for their lunch.

Yesterday I went out to the terrace to take a picture of the nest through the rain. I was thrown off balance several times by the strong wind gusts. No wonder Sandy doesn’t allow her girl to get airborne as yet.

Later in the afternoon when the sun came out, I looked at the nest again…and could not spot Bubbette! I thought the poor girl might have taken off in the gusting wind, which made it difficult to fly even for experienced fliers. I took my camera and went out Dylan in tow. The wind hit us hard.

We arrived at the nest, but could only see Sandy on the perch. The wind was blowing so hard that it forced three Anhingas on their way to the bay to land at the marsh.

Still no Bubbette in sight. This ‘osprey granny’ was starting to get worried. We walked around the marsh and spotted Harry, the younger Great Blue Heron.

And a tiny, juvenile Green Heron, who was trying to keep her balance on a low branch.

A male Red-winged Blackbird had to flap his wings to stay put on his sturdy tree stump. Normally he would land in the middle of the marsh on one of those slender bushes, but I guessed he didn’t like the idea of ‘swinging’ in this gusty wind.

When we approached the nest again, pushing against the wind, I still didn’t see the osprey chick, but a pregnant Mama Moorhen walked by.

Suddenly I heard a faint song…fish, fish. It was Bubbette! But where did the sound come from? Dylan and I stayed quite a while close to the nest looking around. Finally we gave up and decided to walk home. When on the side-walk, I looked out to the nest again, and saw her. Phew.

She had been lying low in the nest cup all along, probably ordered to take shelter by Mama Sandy. It is windy today too…and the fledging watch continues. Thanks for visiting. Happy Memorial Day and have a great week.

Birds, Nature, Photography

Hello There! Wanna See Some Birds?

May 18, 2018 Tiny 72 Comments

What do you do when you stumble right into a birder’s paradise with a 50mm lens and both your birding lenses are over 200 miles away? Simple! You take pictures with the lens you happen to have on your camera. This happened to me recently when I was visiting my grandies and their parents in North Florida. On that Saturday morning, my 8 years old granddaughter proposed that we’d go to visit the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine. Hmm. I had seen lots of alligators in Everglades and crocodiles in Africa, but thought we’d have a nice time together watching the alligators. So it was a “yes” from me. Little did I know that we would walk into a zoological park with hundreds of wild birds nesting at its outskirts.

Everywhere I looked, I saw trees heavy with numerous nests, babies, juveniles and their parents, some still incubating. I was a kid in the candy store.

The air traffic was lively with birds still bringing in additional nesting materials.

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And then there were mothers and babies, little chicks and big chicks…some of them luckily a little closer to the path we were walking.

And some colorful scenes of residents resolving differences, which is to be expected in such a tightly built neighborhood.

Some incubating moms and protective dads ready to fight off any intruders.

And a few birds whom I don’t see very often. Like this Cattle Egret inspecting her eggs.

And others, who I usually see at the salt marsh…

I could have stayed there for days…if I’d had my birding lenses and a tripod. We moved on and there were some exotic birds to see too, like this Scarlet Macaw from South America..

…a Sulphur-crested Cockatoo from Australia…

…and the Black Crowned Cranes from Africa. Lots of wonder for the girls, including this girl.

Surprise, surprise…this Alligator Farm also housed alligators and crocodiles of all shapes and sizes. Here just one lazy exemplar enjoying the midday sun.

And there were caravans of ducks and turtles, small and big.

We thoroughly enjoyed the park, particularly the nesting colonies. And I promised my self never to leave home without one of my long lenses. You never know where the birds might find you.

Speaking of home, we had some business to do earlier this week. My photo assistant in particular. We received 21 proposals for names for the osprey chick and the lottery had to be arranged. But it wasn’t the same procedure as last year. On Tuesday night, in the middle of writing a legal report, I decided it was time to have some fun. The names were printed and cut into long strips, suitable for wrapping around exactly 21 yummy treats.

While I was doing this at my laptop, Dylan parked himself right next to my chair and paid close attention.

Then I placed the ‘name-wrappped’ treats in Dylan’s toy basket which was doing service as the ‘hat’. As you can see, the names were on the inside so Dylan wouldn’t be able to read them. Just when I was placing them in the ‘hat’ he rushed close, seemingly ready to grab all 21 pieces. But I shouted “not yet” and he dutifully backed off…

…for at least one full hour. He wouldn’t touch the treats. When I moved them closer, even put them under his nose and asked him to go ahead, he moved further away.

He just looked at me as in saying make up your mind mom. We circled around my office for 20 minutes. He wouldn’t pick a treat. Finally I gave up and placed them on his ‘mattress pad’ and put them on the floor …

…he backed further away. Whatever I said or how much I pleaded didn’t matter, he wouldn’t touch the treats. I moved the pad with the treats into the living room. Same story. I was about to give up and pronounce the Osprey chick “Nameless”. But that didn’t sound right. So I poured the ‘name treats’ into my hand and asked him to pick one. I had my camera in the other hand (sorry for the shaky pictures) and finally he came forward…

…and picked one!

I was going to remove the ‘name ribbon’ from his mouth, but he did that very aptly himself. And I could see Jackie P. at the end of the ribbon when it landed on the rug. When he retreated, the name of the new Osprey girl came in full view: Bubbette by Jackie P. from To Breathe is to Write!

Congrats to you, dear Jackie! The beach towel will be on its way next week. I am sure it will arrive in time for summer weather in Canada. I love that whimsical name. This osprey girl is very energetic and bubbly 🙂 So… let me present to you Miss Bubbette as captured on Wednesday night on our evening walk. Both her parents were in the nest with her…

…but she wasn’t shy to do her flying exercises. Sandy ducked as her wings swept back and forth right above her head. You go girl!

This weekend my assistant and I will start our fledging watch. We’ll bring you the breaking news as soon as she is airborne. Sorry for the oversized post and thanks for visiting. Miss Bubbette and the rest of us wish you a wonderful weekend.

Birds, Photography

Happy Mother’s Day!

May 13, 2018 Tiny

Happy Mothers Day Roseate Spoonbill ud160

Nature, Photo challenges, Photography

Papa Osprey’s Fake Wings. And a Flying Mattress Delivery.

May 10, 2018 Tiny 86 Comments

It’s good to be away, particularly if you can spend some quality time with your grandkids. And then happen to stumble on a bird photographer’s paradise. But that’s for the next post. Here only one picture of last weekend’s adventures. As a ‘teaser’.

But first things first. News from a place where I belong. There have been some new developments at the salt marsh since we last spoke, and a quick update might be called for. The youngest member of the Osprey Family is now over seven weeks old. Dylan and I went to check on her yesterday morning and arrived at the nest right after the family breakfast. Papa Stanley was sitting in the nest with the chick but Mama Sandy was nowhere to be seen.

Stanley greeted us with a friendly nod, but the little one was busy observing the skies. Then she realized it was time for her daily exercise routine. Stanley suddenly got wings sprinkled with white feathers, typical for osprey chicks. Those ‘fake’ wings made me smile.

The chick should be fledging in less than two weeks and I was happy to see her ‘wingersize’ vigorously. That’s when Sandy’s head popped up from the back of the nest and I realized she had been there all along. She was busy working on something.

Soon Stanley decided it was time to retreat onto the perch. Or maybe he just wanted to show the chick how it’s done. Actually flying.

And Sandy decided it was time to run errands. She flew away in the direction of the bay.

The chick was alone in the nest, but under tight supervision by Stanley on the perch. She was looking into the distance after Sandy.

And I was focusing on taking pictures of her. Suddenly I felt something fly right over my head! And a second later Sandy landed on the nest. With a new mattress for the chick. Lightning fast express delivery. No lines at the mattress shop as the whole trip took less than two minutes.

I was not the only one taken by surprise. Typical Sandy, always fast and efficient. When she wants something she goes and gets it.

She landed in the middle of the nest, right on the spot where she wanted to place the mattress. Then she had a mother-daughter moment with the chick. Nothing needed to be said.

But the chick understood mama would like to see some more exercising…and she went for another set of wing flaps. She still looks quite tentative in her movements and stands with her legs wide apart. She’ll need several practice sessions a day if she’s going to fledge in the week after next.

She is a beautiful osprey girl and she’ll need a name. So Dylan and I will do the ‘same procedure as last year’ and have a lottery. The prize will hopefully be worth putting on your thinking hat: a 60″/152 cm round beach/picnic towel featuring Sandy and Stanley. And the drawing itself, to be conducted by Dylan on May 15th, promises to be exciting…and super fast. We’re talking about treats here.

Rest assured that the names already submitted by some of you are safely in the hat. Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend. We hope to hear from you. Much love.

Birds, Nature, Photography

Sshhh…Mama and Baby Are Sleeping.

April 15, 2018 Tiny 77 Comments

This week has been sunny and warm, until today. And it’s been busy. Exacerbated by my laptop’s moody behavior. On its fourth birthday, it decided to go on strike. Not to work at all. I had to use all my tech wiz skills to wake it up. Since then it’s been misbehaving to the point I ordered a new one. And have to set it up later today. But before I say goodbye to this old blogging veteran, I want to give you a short update from the salt marsh. I’m asking it to cooperate for one last time.

Finally yesterday, my assistant and I had an opportunity to get out and check on the osprey chick. We arrived soon after the family brunch. Papa Stanley was still on the perch, guarding his little family from intruders. The baby was sleeping and Mama Sandy nodded off for a while as well. She shielded her baby from the sun and the wind that was already picking up.

But soon Stanley saw a danger in the skies (beyond my horizon) and sounded frequent loud warnings.

The chick woke up and peered out from behind the baby gate with its head lowered. Sandy became alert too, but nobody came close to the nest.

The salt marsh appeared deserted. The only other bird present was the Reddish Egret. And he was completely absorbed in his hunting dance.

At sunset time Dylan took me for another walk. He loves to walk on the bayside and look down to the water. I don’t mind such a detour because I often spot birds enjoying the low tide next to the sea wall. And we were lucky. Two Oystercatchers were looking for supper.

And a bit further away, a Great Egret was enjoying the last rays of the day.

The sun was still up when we reached the salt marsh. We found the younger Great Blue Heron, aka Henry the Troublemaker, on his usual spot staring at the osprey nest.

And a beautiful Snowy Egret was looking for her evening meal. And checking us out.

A Yellow-crowned Night Heron had woken up to get his breakfast. He was planning his hunt on the little islet that also serves as the Mayor’s office. The Mayor was nowhere to be seen.

When we approached the Osprey nest we heard the typical whistles of the Red-winged Blackbird. Finally I spotted one smack in the middle of the marsh.

Then Dylan alerted me to a lovely Mourning Dove walking right on our path. It was not eager to meet us and hurried away.

We found Stanley on his guard post. He nodded a friendly good evening to us. But Sandy was hunkering down over the baby and we could only see a few feathers sticking up.

Just before dark we finally reached the dog park and my assistant got a well deserved rest after walking around the marsh and running back and forth at the park.

When we returned to go home it was already dark. Stanley had gone to his sleeping quarters, but we saw Sandy in the nest beautifully silhouetted against the sunset’s after-glow.

This afternoon the skies darkened and the storms arrived. Right now I can hardly see the osprey nest from my terrace through the heavy rains. Gray walls of water are swept sideways by the strong winds. I went out quickly and took one picture. Sandy had placed her baby in the nest cup and was shielding it from the elements with her wings. Even her head was down. Possibly to reassure the baby that this too shall pass. She knows her stuff.