Tag Archives: Dawn

Pre-dawn Glory. And Morning Gymnastics. Mama Osprey Style.

November 6, 2015 Tiny 54 Comments

Summer came back. And so did work. But this morning I pretended to be an early bird, and got up before sunrise. I had to go out for a walk, at least once this week. So there I was having coffee on my terrace when the first light showed up at the horizon. The bay was calm. And the sky was on fire. Quite a reward for getting up early.

The salt marsh was still in darkness, but with my light-sensitive birding binoculars, I could see Mama Sandy’s white head at the nest. Last night when I checked on her just when it was getting dark, I saw her there too. I wonder if she has started to sleep at the nest already. Claiming it so nobody else gets any foolish ideas.

A little later, when I approached the salt marsh from the beach, it was already basking in the morning light. And Sandy was still sitting there. The little prick in the right corner of the nest.

On my way over to greet her, I spotted Mr. Mayor, the older Great Blue Heron. He was inspecting the marsh, and handsome as always.

The youngster had also arrived. Presumably for breakfast. But he didn’t like to meet me. He is right in thinking I’m a bit biased about his escapades at the Osprey nest last spring. So he took flight when I approached.

Then I spotted the Reddish Egret. He was scanning the marsh, but wasn’t up to any tricks. Too early, I guess. He hadn’t even gotten his feet wet.

I was looking for Miss Rosa. She is usually an early bird. And there she was! Shuffling water with her “spoon” to locate the right breakfast items. She lifted her head and nodded a greeting. Such a good mannered bird, and very photogenic.

When I arrived at Sandy’s nest, she was keeping a keen eye on the skies and sounding a few alarms. I didn’t see anything alarming. But then I also didn’t have her vantage point. Or her assignment to guard the nest.

I think she was yet to fetch her breakfast. She flexed her wings and did some morning gymnastics. But she didn’t fly away while I was there. I made a short gif image of her routine. Just in case you’d like to try it. I’m sure it will strengthen your wings.

I didn’t have the time to see if Papa Stanley was at his resort. But I’m sure he’s okay too. Hopefully I can find some more time to spend outdoors over the weekend. With that I wish you all a wonderful weekend. Keep moving!

Nature, Photography, Wildlife

Sunrise Walk with Surprises. Both Good and Bad.

July 6, 2015 Tiny 63 Comments

This morning I woke up to a glorious pre-dawn glow. I felt I needed exercise and decided to head out for a walk. While it was still cool. That’s a relative term here in Florida, of course.

Clearwater Bay Florida before sunrise — Pre-dawn sky over the bay.

This first morning after the July 4th weekend, I wanted to check on the birds after all the fireworks on the beach and around the bay on Saturday, and even on Sunday. I was hoping my feathered friends had been huddling in the salt marsh during the festivities, and not flying in the path of any of the hundreds of “rockets” reaching for the skies.

july 4 fireworks clearwater florida — July 4th fireworks over the bay.

The salt marsh was quiet and serene. Just me and a few birds. And the sun trying to peek over the horizon, while the moon was still hanging on high up in the sky.

sunrise at the salt marsh Sand key Park Clearwater Florida — Sun peeks over the horizon at the salt marsh…

vaning moon at sunrise Sand key Clearwater Florida — …but the moon lingers on…

Many of the residents were sleeping in their hidden night quarters, but the Great Blue Heron was already patrolling the shallow waters.

great blue heron at sunrise Sand Key Park Clearwater Florida — The Great Blue Heron is an early bird…

And so were the Florida Mottled Ducks. I think these might’ve been juveniles from the brood I spotted in April.

two mottled ducks at sunrise Sand Key Park Clearwater Florida — …and so are the young ducks.

I also spotted a bird that I couldn’t identify. My friend H.J. thinks it might be a Mississippi Kite – thank you!

Seeing the empty nest reminded me that I thought I’d seen Mama and Papa Osprey flying together on Saturday afternoon. I’d had my binoculars and made a positive ID on both.

empty osprey nest sand key park clearwater florida — The empty Osprey nest, now barebones after the storm mid June.

I decided to walk onto the bayside to see if I could find them. I walked past the Sailing Center where Papa Stanley used to have his feeding perch when Sindile was still in the nest. He was not there.

sunrise on the bay at the sailing center sand key clearwater Florida — Sunrise on the bay…

I admired the bay basking in newly acquired sunlight, when I spotted Mama Sandy on a lamp-post close to the sea wall! She’d gone away when the two older chicks left the nest, about three weeks ago. I’d been right when I saw the two of them. She was back!

female osprey with a fish at sunrise sand key clearwater florida — Mama osprey is back! I missed to check what she was looking at…maybe it was Papa flying by.

She was turned towards the rising sun, drying her still wet feathers, and eating a big fish with great appetite. And she didn’t look like she’d been on vacation. Her crop looked empty, and she had lost even more weight from the time I last saw her. She may have followed the chicks and been teaching them how to fish…getting very little food for herself.

female osprey eats fish at sunrise sand key clearwater Florida — Mama Sandy at sunrise, still wet after her breakfast dive.

Now she was back to keep an eye on the nest, exactly like last year. I left her eating breakfast and walked across the marsh back to the beach.

sunrise sky on Sand Key beach clearwater florida — Early sunrise sky as seen from the beach.

In addition to many gulls, I spotted a Ruddy Turnstone, and a Willet. Both were running back and forth at the water’s edge, busy getting breakfast.

ruddy turnstone on sand key beach Clearwater Florida — A Ruddy Turnstone on the beach.

willet on sand key beach at sunrise clearwater florida — A Willet in the waves.

But I also found something left behind by much bigger, and supposedly wiser, bipeds.

fireworks paraphernalia left behind on the beach clearwater florida — Fireworks paraphernalia left on the beach…

TNT Dark Revenge. Very close to a clearly marked Sea Turtle nest. Frustrating, and dark indeed. I’m just hoping the bangs didn’t disturb the 100+ eggs recently laid there by Mama Sea Turtle.

sea turtle nest on the beach clearwater florida — …next to a marked Sea Turtle nest.

Mother Nature is amazing, but her caretakers not always so. Luckily She is quite resilient. Constantly producing new life for us to enjoy. Like this blue-eyed juvenile Ibis and these fluffy Moorhen babies, both spotted over the weekend.

juvenile ibis sand key park clearwater florida — A juvenile Ibis.

moorhen chicks and mom sand key park clearwater florida — Moorhen chicks listen attentively to their Mama.

Thanks for coming along. Have a great rest of the week.

Nature, Photo challenges, Photography

Weekly Photo Challenge: Early Bird ( 8 Images)

April 20, 2015 Tiny 66 Comments

This is a weekly photo challenge I couldn’t resist! Sunrise is the time I feel nature comes to life in most vibrant colors. Unfortunately I’m a night owl, so it’s not very often I can catch the early bird. But lately, just for pure fascination with the early light, I’ve gotten up in time to peek into nature when it’s waking up.

“The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun”. -Christopher McCandless

So here are a few images from this morning and a some (not earlier published) from the last couple of weeks. I hope you enjoy. Have a wonderful week.