Photo-a-Day Challenge
The Saga Continues . . .
A week of birds and flowers
Sunday morning I went to the backyard to do my count for the Great Backyard Bird Count and saw that all the Whistlers were once again in the water, but I never suspected the Eagle, never thought he would return.
I was wrong.
I heard a noise high above me and saw the eagle fly from one of our pine trees with something black in his talons. He flew across the lake and landed on a tree limb. My camera only has a built-in 50X zoom so I couldn’t see clearly but took multiple photos and later blew them up on my computer. Although it isn’t clear enough to publish, there’s one photo where I can see black feathers beneath the eagle. However, in a photo moments later, a crow is flying away from the eagle:
And the black feathers don’t appear in any of the later photos. I think the crow may have escaped!
The lead photo is of one of the crows that kept dive-bombing the eagle. There were three that wouldn’t leave him alone. Perhaps, the crow harassment distracted the eagle enough that the captured crow was able to slip away. Moments later, the eagle left empty-taloned.
And, about 40 minutes later, there was a Wood Stork on the lakeshore:
I participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count from 2/18–2/21. Counts are not limited to backyards and don’t have to be stationary. You can count while walking or hiking. I wrote about my count experience here:
For a week, I was looking for the Little Blue Heron that I sometimes find in the drainage ditch next to our walking trail or in one of the three nearby ponds, but he didn’t show up until Monday evening.
With the bird count finished, my Tuesday walk with Syau was easier — I wasn’t carrying my Canon camera while having my phone app open for my bird ID app or for the eBird app for the count. I relaxed and wasn’t scouring the trees for birds. Then, while walking through a neighborhood, I see this Red-Shouldered Hawk sitting on the roof of a van, eyeing us quizzically. Even when I’m not looking for them, the birds find me!
On Wednesday, I took a break from the birds and got several shots of squirrels.
But, on my evening walk, this bird was so elegantly silhouetted against the evening sky, I had to take a photo.
As I headed out on my Thursday morning walk, I caught this cardinal in my front garden.
Nope, that isn’t rain. I was surprised to find this Great Egret in a small pond with a fountain where I’ve only seen ducks before.
At the next neighborhood pond, I found the male Hooded Merganser without his mate. I wonder if she’s nesting. The sparkles in the photo are fountain droplets.
Tulip magnolias are some of the first blooms we see in spring, and ours are almost done for the season. Our azaleas are in full bloom and most trees have bright green leaves.
And, of course, the dogwoods, always a spring favorite. My granddaughter used to call dogwood blossoms tree-snow.
We mostly skipped spring. Already our days are in the mid-to-high 80s (F) and I’ve been busy gardening whenever I can.
We don’t often see American White Ibis on our lake, but three joined the Whistlers Saturday morning.
And in the distance, too far for a good photo, there were two Cormorants splashing about. Can you see the fish that this one caught?
That was my summery spring week. How was your week?
© Dennett 2022
In July 2020, I started the Photo-a-Day Challenge on Snapshots to help combat the virus blues. I take photos every day and choose one (maybe, two) to represent the day. Then, add a one-or-two-word descriptor and some narrative. A simple way to observe and preserve.
However, the Snapshot Editors have decided to replace the Photo-a-Day Challenge with a monthly one, so Weeds & Wildflowers is now the official home of this challenge. If you want to participate and are not a writer for W&W, leave a response below and I’ll add you.
Please note that Weeds & Wildflowers does not have the same word and photo limits that Snapshots has.
Want to join the fun? It’s all about noticing and appreciating your environment and sharing it with us, as these photographers and story-tellers have:
Erika Burkhalter / Eileen Vorbach Collins / Anne Bonfert / Sasha Meyer / Tracy Aston/ Lisa Bolin / Juan O. Aguilera / David Wade Chambers / June Nguyen / Mia Verita / Susan Alison / LensAfield / Barbara Radisavljevic / Diana Lotti / Barbara Dalton / Kim Zuch / K. Barrett / Sandra Barrett / Shruthi Sundaram / Gustavo Mendez / Olive Wilson / Jane Frost (Jane Grows Garden Rooms)
(If you participated in the Photo-A-Day Challenge and your name isn’t listed above, please let me know.)
Thanks!