Refuge Thursday

Another sunny day so back to the refuge.  I've started to use a tripod with my long lens so I feel that I need to be practicing with it - especially when the harriers fly right at me! So having the time, I spent most of the day out there.
Harriers galore, Eagles, Kestrels, Red-winged Blackbirds, Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons..plus a bunch of goofy pelicans!  Fun...

Refuge Tuesday

Today was the day of the white pelicans..about 30 of them flocked together and showed off their synchronized feeding dance!! They are fun to watch and a bit mesmerizing. So a number of photos of them - including ones with a decent sized fish in its mouth.
The Great Egrets were out fishing and fighting off the gulls when they caught a fish. Goldeneyes, Northern Shovelers and Pied Bill grebes scattered around along with White-faced Ibis.
Harriers - male and female - and of course the obligatory Kestrel! Bald eagles - mature and juveniles - floated up above us observing the activity.

Enjoy!

I took three quick photos and merged them into a panorama - never did that with birds before..

They are mesmerizing to watch..

Goldeneyes and Pied Bill grebe

Fascinating..

Male Harrier hunting..

Northern Shovelers

GBH hidden behind the grasses

The gulls really wanted the fish the egret had caught..

Female Northern Harrier..

Around the house

A warmish day, 41, love to see melting snow!Here's a couple of around the house photos..

Bewick's Wren - a common sight in our backyard. Not afraid of much but cautious..

Flowers in sunshine on an indoor plant...brightens up our place.

Blood Moon Revisit

I've wanted to do a composite since I took these photos - and here it is...

Refuge Wednesday

Another cloudy day at the refuge, but that didn't discourage the raptors! Bald eagles, Harriers and Kestrels were out in abundance - especially Harriers. Once again I happened by a spot where one had made a kill and all the others were bugging it!
Enjoy!

Hovering Kestrel..

Male Harrier, aka Gray Ghost..

Juvenile Bald Eagle - quite dorky!  It sat on top of this pole while cars and trucks stopped to photograph it.

Female or juvenile Harriers.. Lots of them..

Blood moon shots

The storm held off long enough that I got to witness the eclipse - fortunately from my front steps! I thought it was going to be too cloudy to see so I didn't set up in advance, these are all handheld at high ISO to get a decent shutter speed.
Good memories! Magical time..

Refuge Saturday

An overcast day without much light and a cold breeze - but it was worth it. Lots of Bald Eagles on the ice and flying around - both adults and juveniles. Perhaps 25 or so that I saw. Tundra swans are out on the ice - a bit far for any kind of photos on a day like today.
Quite a few Harriers and Kestrels, along with 4 Great Egrets - very strange seeing them there this time of year.  Perhaps they were blown off course by the storm. They are usually in much warmer climes.
Lots of hunters and lots of birders, about par for a Saturday when there are low clouds. A lone Goldeneye swam and posed for me in the stream by the road, wary but not scared. Very wet everywhere - my normal walking path was mostly underwater..
Enjoy!

Great Egrets in the grasses..

Adult and juvenile Eagles constantly on the move..

Goldeneye sneaking away from me..

Harriers a-hunting...

RWB - Red winged Blackbirds hang out all winter.

And, of course, the Kestrel posing for a photo....

CROW - Clinic for Rehabilitation Of Wildlife

Last Wednesday we took a tour of the CROW clinic - and found it fascinating!  Here are people, both staff and volunteers, that are devoted to finding injured wildlife and rehabilitating it so it can be released into the wilds again and live as it should. More info at CROW.
While we didn't get the entire tour due to construction that was happening, what we saw gave us hope..for people and for the wildlife.
We also saw some cute wildlife, here's a couple of photos...

This baby alligator was in a container by itself, going and learning to catch things until able to survive on its own.

This dark-morph Red-tailed Hawk had a broken wing that had set already, so now he is an ambassador that the Clinic uses for education..

Billy, the Armadillo, is another ambassador. He's too imprinted with humans to forage on his own.

Sanibel Day 7 sunrise

Another cool morning - 54 - cool for here. An undramatic sunrise but a couple of photo ops this morning.
Enjoy..

The Sanibel Stoop!!!

Sunshine..

When you get tired of shelling...

Mother Nature has a sense of humor...