We ended up at the Blue Grass Fish and Wildlife Area again this weekend....
I keep hoping for more visiting waterfowl passing through. This was a new bird for me....a Coot. Even I could figure this one out from the pictures in the book :-) He was willing to pose, but not come very close.
I cropped this beyond where I should, just so I could see the details. That large white bill and white tail are were pretty distinctive!
There were also several nice killdeer along the edge of the same lake.
We got a few shots of this one before they flew off.
I really like the tall grasses and the way they pick up the sunlight.....in case you couldn't tell by my new header!
We drove around several of the lakes looking for birds.....
....we saw several Great Blue Herons.
They had installed perches on some of the pits for them to sit on, but this one was in the water.
This was a long skinny pit with lots of those tall grasses.
We parked by a gravel road that was blocked to all but foot traffic and walked down to the nearest lake.
No idea what this bird is.....from another view, I would say a sparrow...it has a sparrow looking wing and back area. I was just happy to see it and it can go unidentified.
We walked down to the lake edge on this one. No water fowl around, but a lovely view anyway.
I liked the cat tail fluff and Mike was having fun squeezing them and making them "erupt".
More tall grasses....they tower over me.
The road back to the car seemed long....the large tree on the left at the top is the one with all the birds that I'll be showing in a minute.
2 lovely Buckeye Butterflies courting on the road in front of us.
Someone with smaller prints had passed through......raccoon?
There were 100's of blackbirds in the trees chittering away. This was a small tree covered with them.....
.....this large tree was so full and noisy you could hear them long before we got to the tree! Mike tried to spook them so I could take a photo, but they prefered staying put for the most part. 20 or so would fly out and then come back, but there were 100's of them in there.
My favorite view and the one that I cropped for the header photo.
I think that these stripper pit lakes and the Howell wetlands have definitely become my two best "discoveries" of this year! Maybe next spring we'll have a boat of some sort to explore with!
I keep hoping for more visiting waterfowl passing through. This was a new bird for me....a Coot. Even I could figure this one out from the pictures in the book :-) He was willing to pose, but not come very close.
I cropped this beyond where I should, just so I could see the details. That large white bill and white tail are were pretty distinctive!
There were also several nice killdeer along the edge of the same lake.
We got a few shots of this one before they flew off.
I really like the tall grasses and the way they pick up the sunlight.....in case you couldn't tell by my new header!
We drove around several of the lakes looking for birds.....
....we saw several Great Blue Herons.
They had installed perches on some of the pits for them to sit on, but this one was in the water.
This was a long skinny pit with lots of those tall grasses.We parked by a gravel road that was blocked to all but foot traffic and walked down to the nearest lake.
No idea what this bird is.....from another view, I would say a sparrow...it has a sparrow looking wing and back area. I was just happy to see it and it can go unidentified.
We walked down to the lake edge on this one. No water fowl around, but a lovely view anyway.
I liked the cat tail fluff and Mike was having fun squeezing them and making them "erupt".
More tall grasses....they tower over me.
The road back to the car seemed long....the large tree on the left at the top is the one with all the birds that I'll be showing in a minute.
2 lovely Buckeye Butterflies courting on the road in front of us.
Someone with smaller prints had passed through......raccoon?
There were 100's of blackbirds in the trees chittering away. This was a small tree covered with them.....
.....this large tree was so full and noisy you could hear them long before we got to the tree! Mike tried to spook them so I could take a photo, but they prefered staying put for the most part. 20 or so would fly out and then come back, but there were 100's of them in there.
My favorite view and the one that I cropped for the header photo.I think that these stripper pit lakes and the Howell wetlands have definitely become my two best "discoveries" of this year! Maybe next spring we'll have a boat of some sort to explore with!
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21 comments:
Fantastic photos and the new header looks great.
Wonderful! For the bird - my best guess is it being an Eastern Phoebe. Definitely not a Sparrow.
And the pawprints. Not a racoon. More in the direction of a cat, I'd say. Bobcat?
Regardless - that's a place I'd love to explore!
Cheers, Klaus
Lovely photographs of a pretty place Mary. That Coot looks just like ours but ours has a red knob on it as well. I love the herons and your unidentified birds looks like it might be a flycatcher of some sort. It should be easy to identify with that white rings around the eyes. That grass is very pretty and makes a lovely header.
Beautiful fall photos. Love the grass plumes. I remember hundreds of hundreds of coots on Lake Guntersville when we lived on Preston Island. I don't think anybody hunts them.
Marnie
I am just itching to go down to that Blue Grass--it is so appealing from your photos. Do you see many people there?
Klaus: Maybe I should have put the other photo of the bird in, too, but they were such poor shots. I'd swear the back is sparrow-like....brown and splotchy. I really didn't know about the prints...I guess raccoon prints are longer. A bobcat would be cool....maybe it was just a feral house cat! We saw deer tracks too, and lots of scat with seeds in it all along this road....a road to a favorite watering hole, apparently.
Joan: My bird book shows red on the coot bill, also, but mentions ones without, and it definiely looks like it otherwise.
FAbulous shots! I LOVE the new header!!
You have a beautiful area for explores too! But the Creator's work, no matter where, is the work of a Master artist ... He can't be outdone!
Regarding the window feeder, the lady at the bird store told me the trick for a good, firm stick to those suction cups. Clean the window surface and make sure it is dry. Rub your fingers over the suction cups a couple of times each. This puts a little, natural oil from your hands on the cups. Then firmly press the cups to the window and count to ten slowly before releasing pressure. I followed her advise and they have been holding the weight of the seed and the Flicker just fine!
As for the "Little World" I was telling D, as we walked through the woods, what a marvelous place for the fairies! There were so many wonderful places for them to play in!
Love your new header! That place looks wonderful. Superb photos as usual.
So many birdies in one little tree! Delightful!
Very attractive report, and especially the new header.
Great shot of the butterflies too!
Mary: Really neat shots of nature, nicely done.
I went back and looked at your sparrow again. It looks like an American Tree Sparrow. Unfortunately the best way to tell is by the very dark spot on their breast. Look for that to make a positive ID.
Marnie
Let me add my compliments to all the others.I especially like the grasses and the Butterflies.Looks like you have a super photo spot,enjoy it and all that it brings with it.
Thank you everyone!
Rose: Yes and no....sometimes each lake has at least one fisherman on it in a boat or on the shore. Saturday we saw several cars passing through just like we were, going from pit to pit. I think the largest two lakes are usually the most crowded. But not super crowded by any means. I would think that during the week when many people are at work would be a good time. Finding good spots to get near the lakes is a bit tough unless you want to hike. They keep it wild with grasses, as you can see! The map I posted earlier this month is accuate and shows all the roads and parking areas and boat ramps.
Wow, Mary, you really hit the jack-pot didn't you. You saw so many interesting birds. I LOVE your new header too. That area definately looks like someplace I'd like to walk.
I don't think I've ever seen a wild Coot.
Great trip, great birds, wonderful photos Mary! The new header is beautiful!
Becky: I had not seen a coot either, so I was pretty excited to see something new!
Eve: This really is a great place and the grasses excite me as much as the birds.
You know how much I love water so I love the looks of this place. I really enjoyed your photos. They're wonderful! :-)
Lovely images Mary and I particularly like the butterflies, such unusual colours.
Wonderful!!!! I just love coming to your blog. You have the lovliest photos on here and always enjoy your commentary.
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