35sparrows

Butterfly Break

Hello there! Hope you don’t mind my taking a little break–a butterfly break!! This has been a pretty good year for butterflies around here. I was happy to see monarch butterflies in my own yard. The flowers I planted a couple years ago are paying off. Do you have plants in your yard that attractContinue reading “Butterfly Break”

Take a Tern on the Royal Side

To be honest, when I took these photos, I may have thought these were interesting looking gulls rather than the royal terns they are! They look like balding old men to me. The royal tern is about 18-21″/46-53 cm. During breeding, it has a black crest that covers the top of it’s head, but thisContinue reading “Take a Tern on the Royal Side”

Whimbrel

Well, here is another bird I had never heard of before this summer! What a beautiful bill!! This is another photo taken from the boat and I did not know at the time what exactly this bird was. The whimbrel is a shorebird that’s larger than most, at 17″/43 cm. Notice how the bill curvesContinue reading “Whimbrel”

American Oystercatcher

This season has been shorebird heaven for me! While visiting Cape May, NJ, my friends and I took a boat ride to explore what shorebirds might be there. Whoa! Were there shorebirds!! There were many American oystercatchers like the one above. They were walking along during low tide, poking their bills into the sand, foragingContinue reading “American Oystercatcher”

ParulaPalooza!

What a surprise to come across this Northern Parula from the Cape May Hawkwatch Platform! It took awhile for me to shift attention to this bird, as we were there to look for raptors! As nice as the raptor viewing was, this little bird caught my heart. The Northern Parula is a small warbler atContinue reading “ParulaPalooza!”

The Perfect Perch

Before this past summer, I had never heard of a double crested cormorant. When I first saw one at Great Falls, VA, I was fascinated by this black duck-like bird floating around on the Potomac River. As the summer drew on, it became apparent that double crested cormorants are wherever a body of water is.Continue reading “The Perfect Perch”

Take a Tern!

September has taken a tern for the better for me any my travel buddies! We just got back from a long weekend on Cape May, NJ after hearing that it is a great place to spot migrating birds. No kidding! I haven’t even gone through all the photos taken on this trip. Hopefully you willContinue reading “Take a Tern!”

Think Blue

As I’ve said before, I love blue heron as a new birder & photographer! They are big. They are beautiful. They don’t usually move very fast. They are a dream for practicing bird photography with! In fact, earlier the same morning this photo was taken, I got what I thought would be fantastic shots. IContinue reading “Think Blue”

Think Green

Thinking green today–green heron! Prior to May, I had never heard of a green heron. Now, I am quite taken with them! They are pretty plentiful around lakes and marshy areas. We spotted this beauty in a swampy area beside the C&O Canal Towpath at Great Falls Park, Maryland side (The Potomac River runs betweenContinue reading “Think Green”

My Mother’s Legacy

The above photo was taken by my mom, whom I lost to breast cancer eight years ago today. She was an artistic person who loved all animals and nature. When she retired and moved from Virginia to Maine, she began taking photos of what she saw, whether it was the lupines in her yard, aContinue reading “My Mother’s Legacy”