Remembering Mom...
1924 - 2019
MoM and me, 2003
So many memories...a year without you seems like ten.
PEACE
Every day is a new Adventure.
~A Sojourn~ Life on Planet Earth~ header photo-Riley Moore Falls, Oconee Co., SC "Did you ever suffer an attack of a wandering foot caused by the lure of that mystic unknown? There's is no permanent cure, relief only had while making the wilds your home."
Thursday, November 12, 2020
Friday, November 6, 2020
One More Time.
Well I just didn't want to miss out so I came up with more gas money and went back to Bear's Island on Friday. It's such a long drive and down I-95 where it's mostly trucks HUGE trucks going 70 and then people weaving in and out and around the trucks going 80mph. This is why I don't go there more often...anyways I did it and I survived it and I enjoyed it!
Right off the bat I want you to hear and feel how windy it was so check this out...so that was the conditions most of the day. Didn't even try for any thing in a Tree impossible really.
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But I had a good day! I tossed together some humus and flat bread and ate in the car when I got hungry out of the wind...and took some hikes, put on my jacket and hat, it was quite chilly..
Just a few Dowitchers to pluck through...both long and short billed I think more short I enjoyed seeing them fly up then settle again...they move as one big swoosh..
Among them was a small number of Stilt Sandpiper...I didn't get any good photos of them this one I tried to lighten and enlarge, but you get the idea...it's a smaller leaner sandpiper with a slight down turn on the end of the bill...
This is the photo I sent in for confirmation I put these orange dots on so you can see them sort of?
Dowitcher long short? TBD they make it hard when they hide their bills under the wing almost like they are trying to hide their identity.
And I didn't turn in this duck. I think it's an American Black Duck...I see no white on the tail but I was not 100% sure...no body else turned in a Black Duck that day not rare for me, I have seen them here before so I just left it to be my little personal sighting! Sometimes I just don't feel confident.
Here's an unusual pose capture of the Tri Colored Heron. I think the wind caught his wing..
Northern Shovelers were plentiful with the majority staying way back behind tall reeds Im was happy to see a few stray out into the sun...
Roseate Spoonbills also present...and always fun to watch.
American White Pelican...normally we get the Brown Pelican so this was a treat to see..
The American Coot does not have web feet. I have shown you a foot detail before they have LONG toes with flaps of skin on them to help with scooting thru the water..and they dive...but technically they are closer related to Sandhill Cranes according to Cornell labs! They are not as camera shy as most waterfowl..
They eat mostly vegetation...check out this one ...
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The rest of the gang...
The ducks were arriving but the numbers are not there yet, Im sure now that it has turned colder and we had our first frost..more will be arriving,.
Sometimes this was the only view which was no view...
5 or 6 American Avocets were out poking around here's 2 of them...
White and Glossy Ibis were on one far bank ...
And here's a few landscape shots so you can see what the terrain is mostly...
Maritime forest
Reed chocked channels
Big Live Oak Trees..
mowed breaks...
So I hope you have a better feel of what the place is like it's HUGE in size over 12,000 acres, there's a few roads open to the public, and they don't do much to keep the reeds cut so you can see they keep it more a habitat for wildlife to feed and spend the winter months in peace except on hunt weekends!
At time of creating this post the election is still undecided....so I hope we can soon celebrate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------NOTICE:
I made the decision to not keep my old Flickr album so many or most of the photos from my old post may have missing photos, videos, and other media...I am sorry but the constant money grabbing of Yahoo just got on my last nerve.
PEACE
Every day is a new Adventure.
Friday, October 30, 2020
Low Country
It was Tuesday Morning when I got up early and tossed my already prepared lunchables into the cooler for a ride to Bear Island. It closes on Nov 1st till Feb 8th. Encompassing the entire migrant duck season...so annoying, especially since they hold HUNTS during this time but birders are not allowed in. Im wondering why haven't we lobbied the DNR to get Special Birding Days?? Birders are so passive sometimes. Hunters buy a license they buy these tags...so I guess we need to put our money where our mouth is? We need to form our own lobby I guess?? ABA listen up we need more access!
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| Sun rising above the cotton fields |
Anyways I drove the 3 hrs to find the WMA closed to a special 3 day hunt..they never close on week days but this time they did! Damn. So I flagged down one of the workers, he said yes they don't normally but after this week it goes back to weekends...Some of the arriving ducks will end up dead in the back of a pick up truck. ANGER
I was only able to scan Mary's Pond which is roadside...a few mostly Mottled Duck some possible Blue winged Teal female in there...I could not get good light on them...and I saw two female Gadwall among them. A few Yellowlegs waded in the shallows...
Same worker told me Donnelley was open it's the sister site which is much more forest they hunt there too and soon both areas will be closed but open to special hunts. There is a fishing canal on the way to Bear's Island and I always stop there to see what's hanging around, lots of Common Gallinule, or Moorhen as I still call them. They were weaving in and out of this this Marsh Grass.
Also present was Snowy Egret, Tri Colored Heron, and Little Blue Heron...
Up in the trees the awesome sounds of the boat tailed grackles brightened my mood as who can't enjoy that? The ruckus will make you smile no matter if you did get turned away at the gate.
they have a way of sounding like a train wreck...
After this I drove back about 11 miles to Donnelley...and spent the rest of the afternoon there...
I was ready to find a spot to eat lunch so I found a table on the grounds of the "lodge"
Potato salad under a moss covered live oak tree...
This Carolina Wren was not happy about me being there....invader alert.
After that I started my tour by locking the van and walking the road by the rice trunks..me and my shadow (for Eileen) with all the gators, this is why there's not as much birdlife in Donnelley, in the water at least...
each one of those little things in the water is a gator 6 in this shot
This SAFE tree gets a lot of use...
Tri colored Heron, 2 Gr Egrets, a Rosette Spoonbill,
Farther back on one of the little islands I spotted an immature Black Crowned Night Heron...
And overhead some Wood Stork checking for a good spot to land...
The Great Blue didn't seem bothered he waded out in spite of the flotilla of gators
In the back where it was safer a few American Coots, Common Gallinule, Pied Billed Grebe and two Northern Shovelers were feeding....one male
Maybe if I stand really still she won't see me..,
Great Egret
Butterflies enjoyed these I never knew butterfly liked Canna...and so do frogs!
I took one short hike the skeeters were really bad...but I found this Zebra Longwing so happy I did endure the onslaught of bites to see this..he looks like he is worse for wear also...
Canna under the Live Oak..
The new Blogger takes twice as long to make a post and it's all over the place, my little icon normally here at the end disappeared and Im not even going to try to get it back in this post....so just pretend it's here with it's points going on the 4 directions of My Life, My Art, My Journey!!
Hope you enjoyed this peek at some of the Low Country of SC.
PEACE..
Every day is a new Adventure.
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