I guess you all noticed that I changed my publish days to Friday Night instead of Sunday Morning,,,,mainly because email subscribers don't get their email notice till Sunday night meaning they read on Monday morning, so I think Monday morning is not the right time for my blog...a blog about my simple uneventful life is not Monday morning material. Busy people are up and about on Monday...my writing is more for slow down weekend reading. So I will see how it goes as I work on the post a little each day.
Amazing the campground at the Santee Coastal Reserve was FULL...it is a FCFS campground. What happened to the no more than 3 in a group thing? I would not want to be in a full campground right now. There is a visitor's center in this shot somewhere...behind these moss covered live oaks...
Anyway I headed to the Big Well Trail where I was around no one!
The water level was low I figured it would be the opposite with all the rain we had in Feb. The lower levels was perfect for the waders..
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
White form Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Just off the trail a Downy Woodpecker stops to look at me..
I found all sorts of critters I could give my solo attention to...def more than 6 ft personal space given here.
Love the patterns on his body...
SAW many gators of various sizes from babies to over 7 ft...
this one is about 2 ft in length
I ran into 3 people in total on the trails, and no one stopped, all said hello and kept walking as did I.
After lunch I moved the van to the Cape Trail parking area, and walked around the impounds I ended up hiking 5 miles in total, my feet were pretty tired...
Many Glossy Ibis stayed distant but I zoomed for this shot..their colors are so deep and rich.
Monday:
Today it rained but I decided to go out and get some supplies in a neighboring town that has only 2 cases of the CV-19 not the 54 my town now has...I used alcohol to clean my hands when I removed my gloves upon exiting the store. Then I went to my favorite spot the Beaver Pond!
King Fishers were out in numbers on this rainy day...a dull sky didn't bring out those awesome blues of this bird...
And a combo of the Kingfisher and a Great Blue Heron.
This Tufted Titmouse may be feeding young already, while the White Eyed Vireo just got back in town!
A little farther down the road is Ashwood Lake, recently refilled after the dam there broke free in 2015. It's not officially open but I go and park roadside and see what birds are there...some Ring Neck Duck about 15 today, Pied Billed Grebe, and at least 3 American Coots, and some Canada Geese on the water, an Osprey overhead, and at least one Double Crested Cormorant diving below.
Up in the tree by the lake a Savannah Sparrow my FOY.
Had Tree Swallow, Northern Rough Winged Swallow, and Purple Martin flying over the lake catching bugs...lots of competition. I may go back there tomorrow I think I heard a LeConte's Sparrow! There is only one call that has that sound...If it's not raining.
Purple Martin
Tuesday: buckets of rain, thunder and the whole 9...
Wednesday: Went to a couple spots...saw this cool Osprey...
Wednesday: Went to a couple spots...saw this cool Osprey...
It's fun staying away from people...a good week.
PEACE
Every day is a new Adventure.
Even with the bad weather you sure did get around and find lots of beautiful birds that Glossy Ibis is stunning I have never seen one before, not even a picture so thank you for posting him/her. How often will the eagle parents come and feed the little one?
ReplyDeleteat this pointy Jo he/she is on their own, in the case of Eagles the parents leave...so they won't be back he will eventually leave the nest but he can stay as long as h e needs to last yr there was 2 chicks in this nest one left within a couple weeks of fledging, but the other one stayed well into late summer..
DeleteHello, I have seen I-95 backups, we have been stuck in a few of them. It is awful. Your outing looks wonderful, I think we have passed signs for Santee during our travels. The bird sightings were wonderful, I love all the waders, Eagle and the Osprey. The Kingfisher is always nice to see. We have not seen many people out on the trails, lucky for us. Happy Birding, stay well. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteHI Eileen...we lovers of the outdoors are much better off then the "consumers" who spend their free time in malls and stores. I don't know how they are coping. I haven't been in a Mall in so long I can't even recall when or where it was possibly when I went to a movie while visiting Roswell, NM but I used the parking lot entrance to the theater so I didn't really go into the mall...and that was the last theater I've been to as well...I realized it's just too loud for me anymore.
DeleteEnjoy your time out in the great outdoors!
For those of us able to get outside it is really important to do so. Fresh air, birds singing, and the simple pleasure of not feeling confined improves our mental state during these difficult times. I feel for people living in tiny apartments in high rise buildings. The sense of isolation must seem much greater.
ReplyDeleteExactly David, and the ones who use public transport and don't own a car it must be really difficult. I hope this soon will go and leave us all in peace.
DeleteHaha, it IS fun staying away from people. Glad you have plenty of spots to visit over there. All our campgrounds are closed, along with wildlife refuges, trails, and many natural areas. Thankfully I mostly bird weird places no one can close. What bird were you looking for at that first place?
ReplyDeleteOH I realized when I re-read I didn't mention it was a RUFF, every year I chase a Ruff and never get close! No one else saw it either people mentioned in their list comments "no ruff" soooo I didn't really think I'd see it but I needed an excuse to drive down there! Since my visit they have closed the parks here too till Apr 30th! That's insane...like you tho I have other spots like roadside fields!
DeleteMy favourites from this post are the Titmouse and the Glossy Ibis. We get a couple of Glossy Ibis on a wetlands reserve not too far away. But visiting that will have to wait a few months until the travel restrictions are lifted. At the moment our restrictions seem stricter than yours as people are only allowed out for exercise and shopping. No unnecessary car trips. Whilst lockdown is not too bad as we are fortunate being semi rural and having a garden, 12 weeks of this will be a long time. Take care.
ReplyDeleteHi Dave, hope your restrictions are lifted sooner than 12 weeks...that is awful, here they keep adding something every day it's insane, I agree we need to take precautions, but we can't do this every year...and honestly people think they will find a vaccine, but there is NO vaccine for the common flu and it killed 80,000 world wide in 2017-18...so I the idea of a cure is a false sense of security in my thinking. This could become the Apocalypse in the end who knows...
DeleteAnother Series Of Beautiful Photos - Every Enjoyable For Sure - Thanx For Sharing
ReplyDeleteCheers
I might buy “simple” to describe your life, but nobody who sees that many birds and photographs them so beautifully is allowed to use the word “uneventful.” Such a beautiful spot. We’re also heading North(West) and out of this State while we still can ... hope we don’t run into a traffic jam ... some of those cars and that full CG were probably snowbirds heading home. I’m sure We’re not the only ones getting nervous. Stay well, and I hope you can still get outside in your quiet places while this lasts. ...
ReplyDeleteThere's some cracking birds in your photos, I love seeing Herons and Egrets, always so elegant! I'm glad you're able to be out and about, being immersed in nature is good for the soul!
ReplyDeleteSo lovely to see these fabulous birds, great photographs.
ReplyDeleteHope you are doing ok in these uncertain times... I think being out in nature helps.
All the best Jan
It’s always so refreshing to scroll through your blog posts. It’s the only birding I seem to do lately! Stay well!
ReplyDelete