Beautiful Morning To Be Out and About

Sitting at the shoreline for a short time this morning. No doubt what this was! A distant picture but sure looked nice against blue sky.

These three female Mallards also flew over.

My plan this morning was to hike some deeper woods . At the last minute I talked myself into a shoreline seat ..... lol


The moose  above was a surprise  being mid morning. Goes to show you that the larger mammals do move mid morning. You just need to be in the right place at the right time !

Jim

Reservoir Was Calm

Last Friday was an ideal day to spend the morning on the reservoir .

The day started off with a light fog that burned off with the first rays of the morning sun.

It wasn't long before I was out onto the open reservoir. The plan today was to do  little fishing ( maybe) and a lot of eagle looking. As the suns first rays hit the west side tree line, I watch for the white head of a mature eagle roosting .

It wasn't  long before seeing the glistening white head of a mature eagle off in the distance.

Heading south down the reservoir  this large bolder was the resting area for a creche of young Double-crested Cormorants.

The second eagle of the day is pictured above squawking. The morning would total four eagles with only two that where close enough to get a picture.

On the ride back a distant loon with chicks presented a picture. I had to do some serious cropping of this caption.

Sure was a nice day to be out on the water

Jim

Damp Morning , Nice For Walking

Hiked a NE Gate this morning in anticipation of seeing a bear . The heavy rain ended around 6:00am which made for ideal conditions to walk quietly.
Unfortunately no bears to be found this morning.

While watching the reservoir an immature eagle took a look at the floating loon nest.

I also hiked to several swamps hoping to see a moose. No Luck !

Approaching one of the swamps I stalked  within a few feet of this porcupine feeding. Got pretty close before being detected.

It didn't take long for it to take to a tree for safety.

Jim

Swamps Can Be A Lot Of Enjoyment !

A little patience sitting watching over a swamp can offer many animal sightings . The moose above was the bonus for the morning, Staying alert caught this young female cantering along the wood line of a swamp. She wasn't about to stop until I gave her my " Hey I am over here call" She stopped just long enough for a few pictures.

This Black-billed Cuckoo Bird offered a quick picture before disappearing into the under story.
This is what I call a " Evidence Picture ". Picture quality is marginal, but shows enough detail to identify what it is.

Sometimes you need to really focus and watch for detail. On the backside of the branches a River Otter watches me.

Out of no where swoops down a Flicker lands on the branch in the water, takes a quick drink and off it flies.

Heading up the hill from the swamps edge, this male Eastern Towhee offered a picture.

Not much on taking pics of flowers. This stunning single Red Lilly was sitting by itself in the middle of nowhere.

It certainly was a good morning out.

Jim

Swamp Watching This Morning

Watched dawn settle in on this NE swamp this morning. It was actually cool with few biting bugs. That all changed when the warm sun settled in. I sat for several hours. Probably a record for me! Not much wildlife activity so I moved on.

Poking along the edge of another swamp I caught a glimpse of orange in the distance. A nest of three Tree Swallows entertained me for a while. This is the first time I recall seeing an external nest.Typically Tree Swallows nest in holes in trees.

Jim