My Birds, Part II

Nice ones Al !

very nice. Such cuties

I would love to see some Horned Lark, great shots of them.

Great photos once again! I do hope you'll soon find your deal for the 1D4.

How beautiful they are!

Hey I'm back. Thanks everyone.

Here's a couple shots of the Red-tailed Hawk. These are the first and only images I have of this Hawk. As usual, it was not in the open for me, but I am happy and surprised it sat there long enough for me to get a few shots. These shots are from my visit to Bombay Hook

Here's the 2nd image

Beautiful Hawk, Al.

Nice Horned Lark and Red-tailed Hawk photos, Al. I didn't see any Horned Larks this winter. Unless they are on top of the snow, I have a hard time picking them out. I noticed that you got your photos on the road.

My last trips to Bombay Hook and Blackwater were uneventful except for a Red Fox. I did get some nice photos of it. I went to Patuxent this past weekend for the first time since September and saw absolutely nothing. There are a lot of trees down and one was lying across the road to prevent you from going back to the end (Bailey Bridge). Better days ahead. I hope.

The Osprey are arriving here in Anne Arundel County and the eastern shore but I haven't seen any nor have I been looking for them.

Nice ones of the Red-tailed Al !

Gorgeous shots Met!

Thanks everyone.

Yeah Charley things have been pretty slow at my spots, too. I have some new spots that I will explore this season down in the LaPlata and Indian Head area. One spot claims to have Prothornatory Warblers nesting every year so I plan to make some trips there for sure.

Yes would love to see "your shots" of the Prothonotary Warbler!

Yesterday, I decided to explore a few new wildlife areas (Myrtle Grove WMA, Mattawoman Creek and Small Wood park). As luck has it, the day started off not in my favor; 1st it was snowing (I was going out no matter what though to do some recon work) and secondly, I left my tripod sitting in the garage (thought I put it in the truck until I went to mount my rig – no tripod). So all my shots were handheld for this trip. I just don’t get it, Saturday it was sunny, cool but otherwise a beautiful day for bird photography, yet on my one and only day I have to do what I enjoy, it snows and last week it rained. I think I need to change to going out on Saturdays, ahh but Sundays are so peaceful with less people – folks seem to sleep in later.

But, all was not lost as I found a few new places to explore and hopefully get some lifers this spring and summer. Also, I found an Eagles nest where there are no people and no restricted access; it seems I will have this little gem of an area to myself (hopefully). Well, I will post a few shots from my trip Sunday. Btw, I spotted 5 adult and 1 juvenile Eagles, 3 pairs of nest building Ospreys (2 in very good shooting distant, as a matter of fact, you can walk right up to the nest; hopefully the park will restrict such close access though), lots of Cormorants and Wood ducks, some Pied billed grebes, Scaups, Vultures, Wild Turkey, Hawks (Red-tailed), Pileated WP, sparrows. I did not get shots of most of them though.

I will start with the Eagles. The fist shot is of the nest. Can anyone tell if they will take residence; it seems like it’s ready for a family and both were sitting down in the nest and this one pop up and perched for this not so good photo (just wanted to get a pic of the nest).

Here's one of the soon to be parent that was flying around the nest. I left after this shot because I don't want to spook them.

Here's one of the Osprey nest. It is on the boating dock and if the docks were open, you could literally walk right up and touch the nest (there's one on each end of the docks. Hopefully, the park service will restrict access as boats can literally park next to the nest. This 1st shot is of the female in the nest.

Here's a shot of the male eating a fish on the dock. The nest is just behind him.

He sat there and ate the fish while the female made her noise. After he almost finished the fish, he jumped into the nest, but he did not leave the fish. Here's another shot of him feeding.

Here he is flying around with the fish.

Another flight shot with the fish. After a couple of laps, he flew into the trees and out of sight. I guess to finish his meal; poor misses.

Just as I was leaving General Smallwood Park, I spotted this Red-tailed Hawk sitting in the tree. I stopped to verify with my binoculars. I decided to try my luck at try to get some photos. I knew I wouldn't get within a mile of him/her as he bolted when I opened the truck door, but I was hoping he'd fly around so that I could get some shots. These are the best, but they are the best I got on that day. The Red-tailed Hawk in flight.

He just kept swooping around and around and around

last one of the Hawk

The last set is of the American Black Vulture. I was on the road to General Smallwood Park and spotted these Vultures on the side of the road. So I pulled over and captured a few images. Now, I know the Vultures are not the prettiest birds and some would not dare photograph them, well, i am the opposite as I like to photograph all birds as they have their own unique personalities.

American Black Vulture

These last 2 images are also of the Vulture. I was heading down to the docks, when I just happened to look up and saw this one sitting on the roof of the building.

Last shot of the Vulture

Absolutely fantastic, Al. It sounds like you've found a photographer's heaven there. I'm soooo envious of how close you can get to the nest. I'm looking forward to your next visit there. And here's hoping for finer weather and a better memory.

Wonderful shots Al. I love the Vultures just as well too.

Thanks Margarett and Pelletory. Margarett, I will make sure my head is on the right way on my next outing.

Take care.

Met, all your photos are always so clear and sharp. I'm with you on photographing the vultures, awesome shots! Love the osprey on the dock. I can't believe the nest is so low.

Excellent photos, Al. Despite the weather, you had a great day plus you explored new territory. I've never been there.
I had to look up who General Smallwood was and found that he was the highest ranking Marylander in the Revolutionary War. And, Mattawoman was named by the Algonquin Indians which means "where one goes pleasantly". So, hopefully that held true for you. This has been sort of a disappointing past three months (for me) so maybe Spring will make up for it.

Anyway, it looks like you got some great spots to re-visit.

Great sets Met!!

Thanks everyone. Charley, I agree the past 3 months have been pretty slow for me, too and that's one of the reasons I decided to explore new territory. I have many more new spots to explore, too. One place I plan to visit more often is Monticello Park in VA for the migrating warblers.

Here are some shots I got the past weekend. You know it's spring when these guys/gals return - Tree Swallows. There's a spot at Merkle Wildlife area that I can always count on getting up close and personal with these birds. In these shots, I park my truck right next to where they perch and as long as I stayed in the truck they allowed me to photograph them. The Bluebirds perch at this spot to but they are a bit more shy than these guys. Both the Tree Swallows and the Bluebirds always seem to fight over the bird house just to right of these photos - an interesting sight to see. The Bluebirds are some tough little birds that don't back down either.

This one was sitting on this pole preening itself and never even care about me clicking away. At times, it just looked at me like - is this good enough for you.

Last shot of the Tree Swallow

I went to a local park (Cosca Regional Park) hoping the Purple Finches were still there, particularly the males (already got shots of the female). I planned to spend a couple hours there waiting for them before I visited Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary. When I got there I saw 2 finches and thought man my day is starting off right, except they were the male and female house finch. Then as a started looking around the area, I spotted 2 male purple. They eventually gave me the opportunity to capture some images. After they left 2 females came around. So within an hour, I had met my quota, so I was off to Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary. Hopefully this is a sign of my luck this season.

2nd image of the Purple Finch

Last image - Purple Finch

Beautiful, as always, Al.

Thanks Margarett. I see I am not the only one up in the wee hours of the morning.

While I was photographing the Purple Finch, she popped in for a photo op.

Female Red-bellied Woodpecker