A very Blustery Day...

Im continuing to unearth many of my old post photos and made a wee bit of progress...It's a way to deal with the combo rainy weather and cold air.  Texas is under a deep freeze we just dodged the bullet on that one, our temps hung at a balmy 39F while they got the icy cold temp drop and it sent them straight to hell no power, frozen water, slick treacherous roads. But for the grace, there go I...so I must not complain because you guessed it, could be WORSE. 

What it does mean is I have been housebound for 5 straight days!  I birded from the back porch trying to photograph rare birds, at least now they are rare; 8 days ago they were not...and even with clear photos no confirmation from ebird, yet lists with no photos confirmed.  Are US Senators now ebird reviewers? 

it was taken thru the screen wire and the pouring rain but you can clearly see what it is.  

Any reason for not confirming this as 2 Purple Finch has no merit.  So the Purple Finch and Pine Siskin, didn't get the memo to leave on time.  Probably due to the cold wet weather, they said no thank you to heading north and who can blame them?  On the 6th day I drove.  Finally this happened...

clouds lining up to get the heck outta here,,,

My favorite Vernal Pool took a beating when the owner decided to cut down and bush hog the edges...there used to be trees all along that far side, now gone....don't think the Green Herons that nested there last season will appreciate that but a couple of killdeer did...

 We are now promised 4 days of sunshine, if we don't get it well lets just say the local tv weather guy is gonna be getting a lot of hate mail...lol "do something" well the thing is we need to stop calling it global warming, and just call it weather change.  The birds don't leave, the sun don't shine, and the deep South freezes.  Is it possible we are in a cycle that is taking us to a new Ice Age?  It is highly possible, since in 2012 we finished up a 26,000 yr cycle.  We are clueless about what could be on the horizon.  

a farm field, full of water...

Then the wind blew HARD and it pushed those clouds outta here!! 

                                   share croppers cabin Lee Co, SC

The flashing yellow light town of Patrick, SC. along my route today...under a chilly blue sky. They have a cell tower!

Since the wind was not going to allow me to scan trees looking for birds, scanning water may be easier was my thinking so I went back to Paul Wallace Lake, 

A brisk wind continues...so I parked right here and opened up my lunch pak and had snack...I arrived just before noon, after the snack I went for a walk, before the chill drove me back to the van to warm up I found a few things to report...

One was a Yellow Rump pumping this tail?  NO It's a Palm Warbler, FOY on that one...

This Mallard Female, showed me  her pretty eye,

T his Ring Bill Gull was not flying he was riding a current in the air...

After this I moved the van to the other side of the lake, just in time to see a huge flock of Common Grackle fly over...

Hundreds of birds....

Then my attention went to the water Ring Necked Duck still around,  

I spotted an otter about that time one quick look and he was gone, I could not relocate him in this choppy water...got one really awful photo of him when he gulped down some air before diving...

The lake was also full of American Coots 

And more Bufflehead than my last trip...this one allowed me to get close...

On the way home I stopped at the site of Dizzy Gillespie's boyhood home...the house is gone so it's like a small park surrounded by small humble homes...he was born in this town of Cheraw, pronounced Sure-Raw. 

 Standing water so I didn't walk around and  get my feet wet. I will stop again on a dryer day. 

Back toward home I stopped to show you the Great Pee Dee river in flood stage...

for your viewing pleasure...

And a Kestrel on the wire is always fun the wind had his feathers in a ruffle. 

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.

Last weekend of Jan

On Friday  I drove back to Lee County.  Y'all heard me blog about the Beaver Pond there was ruined when they killed the Beaver, and so for a long while I couldn't even bring myself to go back and when I did found an alligator in the pond...That was such a devastating thing...they destroyed a productive environment builder and it was immediately replaced by a savage beast who will eat and destroy the balance of the wetland.   Anyways my soapbox is always handy.   The pond is doing okay with all the rain but if we have a dry spell it surely will drain...

Beaver Pond 

Anyways my main goal is to check on the Eagle nest.  Been watching this pair for at least 3 yrs...and they have at least one chick in the nest, I can't see the head popping up yet so there may be more. 

think I got too close...

One hunts while one waits, and the arriving parent has a fish in the talons...

I love this wetland it's such a shame it is not being protected... enjoyed it while I had lunch from the van 

It is not near as birdy as it was when the beaver dam was in place...but others were there...

Red Bellied Woodpecker

Carolina Chickadee

The Red Shouldered Hawk 

Great Blue Heron 

                             It's South Carolina, soooooo yes we have Palmetto Trees...or they could be Sable Palm they are similar. 

Nearby is a Ashwood Lake, the dam broke there a couple years ago, and everything disappeared, but they repaired it and now it's returning...Im happy they have it posted no Fishing.  So they repair a man made pond and destroy a beaver natural made one? Only humans would do such a stupid thing.

Pano of the live oaks 

I saw Cormorants, PB Grebe,  C Geese, and Ring Necked Duck.  Also Yellow Rump Warbler, American Goldfinch, and other perching birds.  And heard Barred Owl, the second of the day heard one at the Beaver Pond also. 

                                                Goldfinch love the Sweet Gum seed pods

Saturday
 I made it up to Marlboro County and to Lake Paul Wallace in the town of Bennettsville.  

scoping the lake..:o)

The lake had a lot of individuals Coots, Ruddy Duck, Ring Necked Ducks, Pied Billed Grebes, Cormorants, and a few Bufflehead and Geese. 

Ring necked Duck

Ring Necked  female foreground 

Pied Billed Grebe 

                                                       Double Crested   Cormorant 

                                                                   Bufflehead 

I took a long walk on this causeway that splits the lake into 2 lakes.  

A couple Ring Billed Gulls have paired up..

 

A large raft of Ruddy Duck more than 200 ducks in this group its amazing how small they are compared to the coot which is a small duck also...

Ruddy above 
Coot below 

Ruddy Female 

A few Great Egret were hanging out near the edges of the lake..

Ruddy Male no blue on the bill yet..

And in the surrounding trees, 

Northern Mockingbird

Ruby Crowned Kinglet

and a tree full of American Robin

The sky clouded up and the water grew moody so I packed it up for the day..

And then it rained the next two days...so 

Until Next Time...

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.