Happy Mother's Day

To God be the Glory  ~~  Great Things He Hath Done

Spring is Back and so Am I.......

 Just like clockwork...  the Grosbeaks return to my yard.. I spot the Female on the lattice

 no mistaking that bright red breast streak that ID's the beautiful male RB Grosbeak

   The Indigo Bunting makes his appearance in the bushes

      and breaks bread with the Grosbeak

     I love to see how the Grosbeaks are competitive at the feeders

Actually my platform feeder broke over the winter so I just poured the seeds into a basket planter still hanging on the deck.

They seemed happy with that dinner arrangement.

  But they constantly chase each other off

 Displaying that beautiful patch of color underneath of the wings... yellow for female

   Red for the male

    

     

The brown Thrasher is also back

    Surprise that it was....  My husband spotted this gray Fox in the 

driveway and called me.  

   Spring or not, this is not something I see in my yard so I was thrilled

    He looked like a healthy specimen...   and I felt blessed to capture him with my camera

He went up over the dirt pile

picking up his pace as he went and then disappeared in the field beside my yard

To God be the Glory  ~~ Great Things He Hath done

Wildwood Park Nature Center

Many come to Wildwood Park to see the flowery pageantry of the American Lotus

Cream to Yellow flowers and seed pods can grow to 6" to 10 " across

Great Egret  forage among the lotus for amphibians

Looks like he is singing

Blue Herons are often seen sharing the lake with Egrets

Here you can get close to Great Blue

and observe the preening of his feathers

Wood Ducks are  a common sight also

A baby I came across on a log

The little cutie didn't stay long

He went off to join his mom and dad

The turtles like to sun on logs

My big surprise was this young Green Heron standing on a snag

As I walked down the path I almost missed him

I knew he must be a juvenile because he stayed put

Oh My ! What big feet he has

and what a beautiful eye

You just barely see the blue green on the top of the head

To  God be the Glory  ~~  Great Things He Hath Done

Great Blue Heron

My usual shots of the Blue Heron were in the water
standing stick straight waiting for a fish

Or an unusual sighting in a tall pine tree... They do nest
in the tops of trees.

The flying shots not so easy to get

It had always been hard for me to catch the Great
Blue in the air

on this trip I lucked out big time. While watching
for Eagles this gem of a bird came flying down the
creek...

I was able to get all his wing movements

as he soared and flapped his wings

The legs straight out in back of him

at times looking like a jet plane

The largest and most widespread heron in North America,

If you've never heard them calling... They have a deep
hoarse croak and it is loud

When I heard this one it reminded me of a dog barking

You will find them along creeks, rivers, ponds and even
at the ocean from Florida to the Caribbean

I just loved this trip and the BIF action I was able to capture

To God be the Glory ~~ Great Things He Hath Done