3 Stop Challenge

I'm getting ready for a simpleThanksgiving by cutting some of my herbs, drying it, then chopping it up in a coffee bean grinder....nothing is better than fresh herbs. This is sage..I'll be putting that in my cornbread dressing...it's called dressing when it's served on the side, not stuffing. So I learned on a cooking show I watched. It's going to be a small affair this year my family is in Colorado! BUT my son will be here with me. :o)

ebird has a monthly challenge each month...you can win stuff normally it's a Zeiss Scope which I would LOVE to win --this month enter 3 checklists all from one day and you are in the drawing to win a Cornell Labs Ducks ID workshop...so I checked out all the birds at my place first, got 16 species, in the  yard, woods, and the field.  Here is some of what was around.

This bird was here a few days back he is not on my checklist for this challenge...but I wanted to add him to this post so here he is...the

 Hermit Thrush.  

    hermit thrush

Also not on this checklist was this:  I've been hearing a Screech Owl...I love the way they make those little soft trills...not the whiney but the little trill... to me I visualize little circles going up into the twilight as they trill away...One wintered in a tree cavity around here a couple years ago and when I sat outside at dusk I could hear him/her.  So I've been doing Cavity Searches!! 

                                   

                                                     UGH no owl here ....

Or here either!! GRRRRR these fuzz balls are taking over all the cavities in the yard!  So I'll have to keep looking...other birds in the yard were busy making a living...like  a pair of House Finch in the poplar trees out back

Still having major problems with the zoom on my camera so trying to deal with it, was hoping for some big Black Friday Deal but so far, nope.  

But things are looking up as I continue to be able to keep using my old camera, it's just not as awesome as it was when it was new!  Speaking of looking up and new...my wintering Pine Warbler is here to hang out right in the same area where he is every single fall/winter, in the exact same trees.  He is outstanding! Welcome home my friend.

                                                        pine warbler

It's nice to be outstanding in your field...that's what I was doing, out standing in my field, when I saw this little guy flitting around up there...and then this next shot I  thought I'd missed the bird, but he is there do you see him?



                                                 chipping sparrow 

We had a cold snap so the Eastern Bluebirds come to roost back in the bird houses where they nested in summer...caught this one out catching some sun rays...these bluebirds live in family groups so there was males, females, and some first winter young. 
                                                                           

                                                                   Ruby Crowned Kinglet 

I felt I had seen all I was going to see in the yard so I left to look for a horned grebe that had been reported at the Wateree Dam.  I didn't find the grebe it would have been a good  one for my county, but not a lifer.

Along the way I pulled off the road when I spotted this Logger Headed Shrike hanging out in a young pine tree tract...this one didn't count toward the challenge cause the deal is you start a new checklist when you get out of your car...like you stop bird, get in the car get out bird, etc...so this one I took from the car it was just sitting there!

I was on my way to the Dam, but I decided to stop and photograph a cemetery!  A small one but it needed to be done, It was on the way so I stopped...and low and behold the area behind the cemetery was birdy so I found..

More Ruby Crowned Kinglet, 

A few Carolina Wrens, an Eastern Towhee, a Northern Cardinal, a White Throated Sparrow, Blue Jays and before you know it I had 6 species for my second checklist!

Once I finished up the cemetery it was past 2 pm so I continued on to the Lugoff River Access just below the dam of the Wateree River.   Here is the dam and the Duke Energy Power Station attached.  

And I got 19 species there!  Which was fun.  Nothing new and like I said no grebe but I did enjoy poking around.  

The Wateree River:

Lots of Great Blue Heron's fishing and this one swallowed like an 8 inch sunfish! See the huge bump in his upper neck area...he just flipped it up and down it went...

Flickr Ate my Photo

This Great Egret found a honey hole and he stood there just gorging on minnows...one right after the other like eating Nacho Chips!

Flickr Ate My Photo

Watched this Osprey watch out for the wires!

Duke Energy has declared war against this bird...

                                                                  The Black Vulture...

I saw these horrible things...and I just don't see how they honestly think this will help?? It's just plain stupid!! 

Embrace the bird, encourage more birds of prey to the sight or just leave it be!

 That's the effigy...a dead Black Vulture hung up to rot in the sun...The USDA...in the bird eradicating business?  

This made me sad and mad I'm in a constant state of FLUX'd these days...

I try to stop yelling and move forward...

to the good stuff I found...I was happy to see all these GB Herons against the fall colors..

Flickr Ate My Photo

And other birds I was able to photo the Northern Cardinal 

And the River Cane was hiding great numbers of White Throated Sparrows just arrived for the Winter here in the SC Midlands scratching around in the leaves. I caught this one just barely.  Center just below that white leaf.

And a cute little Tufted Titmouse all fluffed up to the oncoming evening, as it now neared 4:30 and it gets dark at 5 so away I went...

Flickr Ate my Photo

That's it for now Hope you all have a great visit with your family...if you celebrate the holiday. We will not be having a bird on our table but we will walk away from it stuffed!! 

LoL, it's not working...in fact they seem to be sitting there enjoying the antics of this inflatable as it twists and turns in the air. A place to roost with entertainment too!

PEACE

Every day is a new Adventure.

Snow Day in DixxeLand!

Today was a snow day! I had to go out to the mailbox something I do almost every morning to send off my Ebay sales...I walk out in my PJ's cause chances are no one is gonna drive by...I had to put on my hooded coat today tho!  SO here's my walk back from the mailbox, the broken limbs are still in the driveway from the ice storm last week..

My daffodils  trying to bloom---

AND lots of birds huddling nearby the house looking for a meal...so I enjoyed snapping a few photos then stashing my camera under my coat till another one allowed a shot...

the yellow shafted northern flicker

the cute little chipping sparrows

the American Goldfinch

Pine Siskin...

Tufted Titmouse...

a really miserable looking northern cardinal

waiting for his mate to get a suet snack

the colorful underside of the Flicker

The Girlz curled up together inside...on one of the area rugs...

and Casey didn't want to get out of his bed  He huddled even closer in case I was about to insist he go outside, he can hold his water FOREVER!!

How do you spend a snow day??  We may get more on Thursday!

PEACE

Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.

Carolina Sandhills Visit

The weather is so nice we wanted to see what we could find in a nearby wildlife refuge.

Carolina Sandhills NWR is a spot we visit several times through out the year. Its very close by... I never see any wading birds as they keep the water too deep for that.  I wish it could be better regulated for wading birds and waterfowl. It seems they worry more about the long leaf pine trees.  That's all good and well but doesn't all this burning make the water acidic? I'm just wondering out loud...cause I don't know.

a recent burn area

Around the ponds I can hear lots of songbirds, and some allow a photo...but most are hiding...

A curious Pine warbler came out to see me, but hiding way back where no clear photo was possible was the Common Yellow Throat. One area has a photo blind, I flushed some wood duck upon arrival no shot of them...but these geese were floating nearby.

These geese are wild and migrate, not like the geese at Oak Grove Lake who nearly knock you down for a hand out...the woods are coming alive with all the color its almost like fall with the maples, and oaks budding out.

The Yellow Jasmine is our state flower its in full blossom now...usually it creeps up a tree to the top and blooms high up...this one is out on the edge of the woods.

 A little chipping sparrow got curious and wasn't too scared to get his picture made!!

  The fields are getting green, yellow, and lavender from the small meadow flowers that emerge very early... One bird that was out and about was the Kestrel.  I saw several, so I guess they are looking for small rodents and insects. 

He wanted nada to do with me, 

a crop here of his fly by...

Back by the ponds, the Eastern Kingbird loves to go after the flies over the water...here's a great look at his feathers! 

and his front side...

And we ran this fox squirrel up a tree sometimes these are solid black, or we get this grey/red/black/white variety! They are bigger than the normal grey's and they have a longgg fluffy tail, and move along in an undulating fashion.  See his masked face? These fox squirrels are not as well adapted to interaction with humans I've never had one let me get close...

Had a cool bird in the yard this week, the Black and White Warbler. 

I've got a bad case of spring fever!! Pollen is everywhere that lends to a physical case of spring fever 

aaaa-choooooo

PEACE

Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.

Good Grief!

....sort of an addition to my last blog is this weeks blog.  Before 9 am I'm not only up and filled my bird feeders, I've also cooked enough food to last 3 days!  Just simple stuff a pot of red beans rice is on the other burner, and in the oven some corn, potatoes, then in the microwave a bag of steaming broccoli, and then some tea bags on the boil....

not a good shot of the downy? woodpecker at the suet, due to being taken through the glass...

The reason for all this flurry of activity so early?

...it's snowing again!! AND they say its an 80% chance of ICE later so we could lose our power...at least we will have food cooked to eat and if we dont lose power we have our meals ready to warm up and eat.  We caught up some drinking water and got our lanterns at the ready, and thats about all one can do in prep for the loss of electric.  Now we wait and see..

The birds  are not happy campers it will soon be time for our spring birds to start nest building!

The new wood on the benches

This snow is a very wet and heavy snow...its almost like slush, the temp is 34 degrees...so once it dips tonight it will be ice for sure.

...oh well nothing we can do about that.  

in unrelated news, I found this awesome hard shell camera bag at Goodwill, my Kodak fits in perfectly!  I paid $2.85 I bought it for resale but when I saw how well it fit my camera Im keeping it!

PHOTO?

Here's a short video of the snow..its pretty coming down.
 

              

                                            Today is my son's 33rd! happy birthday JT.

PEACE

Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.