Day on the Beach

Laughing Gull

The past couple of days have been very, very windy.  Still, we braved the breezes to sit on the beach and relax after days of working on the house.  Laughing Gulls think people are meal tickets.  They were sadly mistaken in our case, but at least I got some good shots as they crept closer and closer before flying off in search of better opportunities.

Cormorant

Enjoying the beach yesterday was a challenge.  White caps as far as the eye can see, wind blowing over chairs and tumbling cups and shells and sand.  Still, we insisted because ... well, we could.  This cormorant was a delightful surprise.  Facing the wind he stretched out his wings to dry them in the breeze.  I got fairly close to him but not close enough to scare him off.  It's his beach, too.

The longer we sat the lower the sun sank behind us, casting an unusual glow onto the waves.  The gusts sent choppy ocean waves roaring toward the beach in rapid succession, each on the heels of the other.

We were transfixed and could have sat there for hours if not for the temperature dropping. There was a wind chill cutting through our sweatshirts, for after all, it IS only April.  With lowering temps, rising winds and an ocean spray beginning to hit us it was time to put the camera back into the safety of its case.

But first....just one more shot....

Well so oky doky according to my last post I was heading west to spend time with my mom and check out some preserves close to Florence and Muscle Shoals. I never got the chance to see the preserve dang it, but I had some pretty cool birding experiences! Sadly, my camera never left its case. It was just one of those trips.

Tuesday, after lunching with my road trip buddy Carroll we were driving to the lake and spied a huge "V" formation high overhead. "Look! The geese are flying north!" "Ummm....those don't look like geese to me - too fat and heavy." OMG....we were seeing a huge flock of about 60 American White Pelicans bucking some gusty headwinds heading north for the summer. By the time I found a shoulder and could pull off they were quite far away but we got to see them! Pelicans! Migrating in a "V"! It's a sight I'll never, ever forget. Thankfully, other photographers are more prepared and have good shots so please thank Martin Kopecky for the above image.

Wednesday, Carroll calls me with an excited voice. Alert! Alert! The red breasted mergansers are migrating back north! Naturally, I didn't get to her house in time. Please thank some person identified as Soenke for the above image so you'll know what they look like. Our photographer buddy Steve up in Glouster recently took some outstanding photos of them as well. Check him out by clicking here.


Thursday morning I was enjoying early coffee with my mom. The sun came out! It was so beautiful that morning! Through her living room window I began seeing large black birds lifting over the lake front homes, mine among them. The cormorants migration had begun! Without access to the water I could only watch as they skimmed the lake's surface like speeding bullets before lifting above the treeline and heading north. This went on for quite some time as this migration show consists of hundreds and hundreds of cormorants. From my vantage point the birds were quite small, and any photo would have been dark specks back lit by the sunrise. It was enough to simply enjoy nature's theater. Please thank Carolyn at Picasa for the above image for this is exactly what they look like skimming above and lifting from the water.

So........what to blog? Clearly, I'd experienced nothing of blogging interest - or that I had documented my very self. With everyone blogging about spring flowers it seemed it was time to check out our new (old) backyard to see what I've inherited.


Some sort of viburnum? It's a small tree that's been conked on the head by something so it's all broken off and rather ugly. Still...part of it is blooming these lovely things!

The sweetest smelling narcissus I've ever ... smelled! SOOOOOoooooooooo beautiful!

Sigh. My favorite springtime flower!

We have no grass. We have wildflowers, weeds, moss and fungi. Here's one of the wildflowers.

I hate privet but I have one. At least the blooms are pretty.

Another wildflower.

And another wildflower. I thought they were the same flower until loading the images on the computer. Clearly different, both beautiful. There's some vinca out there, too, but I don't like vinca either. Looks like I have some work to do! So that's my blog for today. Enjoy Spring!

Flying Squirrels

Southern Flying Squirrel
(I took this photo)

Our good friends Mike and Cathy woke at 3am this past November to frantic scratching and scrambling sounds in their walls, right behind their heads. They're back. Teeny tiny big-eyed flying squirrels live in the woods that surround their home and on the mountain that clambers up behind them. Occasionally, these little nocturnal cuties get in their attic and into their walls. Seeking warmth? Perhaps a little companionship? Not being a flying squirrel expert and never having seen one personally, until now of course, I head to the World Wide Web. There's a website just about...you guessed it...flying squirrels! Link through and amuse yourself with the data and high cute factor should you so choose this wintry day. The photos of baby flying squirrels are so cute! (...there's that word again..."cute.")

Cathy calls the next morning to tell me about their long night rescuing these wee furry beasties, telling me they plan to release them elsewhere in the forest. I couldn't go along so Mike drove them by for me to see. Lots of "awwww!" and "ohhhh!" and "how cute!!!!" drifted along the breezes of our driveway as the family gathered to see them.


Mike sent me the release photos later. He said they are so fast it was hard to release them and then get a decent picture but he forwarded a few of the best to me to share with my blogging buddies.

He told me this guy hung around a little and chattered at him from above. He would circle around the tree trying to get a better photo but the squirrel would circle around as well. It was a Circle Game for which the squirrel was much better adapted.

Mike bade his farewells to these adorable rodents and trudged home.....only to implement Operation Flying Squirrel Rescue several more times before the winter cold set in. He's gotta find and fix that hole they've discovered before spring! All release photos compliments of my friend, Mike Kearney.

I'll be at the lake today through Sunday and may not be able to post in the interim. The Weather Service is predicting SNOW tonight and tomorrow and us Southerners do NOT "do" snow. That means hot toddies with my mom as we catch up, some movie watching and naturally some vino. The new Timberlands are packed so who knows? Maybe a road trip will ensue and I'll actually see the white pelicans this time!!! My buddy Carroll said the Cormorant migration went through yesterday on Wheeler Lake. If you've ever witnessed it you'll never forget it. For HOURS long v-lines of cormorants skim above the waves from the west, heading eastward for some reason. The black swath of bird bodies flying quickly and with such purpose is an amazing sight. Dang it - I missed it this year.

I'll see you guys on the flip side.

Mental Health Day

Yesterday I took a Mental Health Day. Turning off the computer I donned hiking boots, grabbed bottled water and my camera and headed out into the wilds. Dave Matthews crooning in my ears, my shoulders began to relax the further I drove. The day was slightly overcast but temperate, only requiring a light jacket. There was no plan necessarily, except hoping to find bald eagles, or maybe heading to the state park to watch the deer. Lately, my photographic efforts tend toward the hunt and capture of some elusive creature rather than shooting static landscapes. It's a phase - always happens during the migratory season when you never know what bird you'll see out the window. This cute little female bluebird stopped and literally posed for me. Is she cute, or what?

Case in point. We've been innundated with several varieties of gulls on our lake. I'm not interested enough in them to track down what species I'm seeing, but they are very entertaining. About this time last year we had what we called The Weekend Of The Gazillion Gulls. We always have lots of gulls, but for three days it looked like a snow blizzard on the lake every single second for three days. They were everywhere, dipping and darting, floating on the surface, perching on boat houses and slips. Mostly Ring-Billed Gulls (I DID look these guys up, it was such an unusual event), which are quite large. Their calls were constant and loud; we could hear them in the house. ANYWAY, I'm digressing. Yesterday my husband is staring out the window toward the lake and said "What are those birds DOING?" A bunch of gulls were feeding on what we guessed to be a school of minnows. The loons were trying to cash in as well. Here's one shot of many. Okay. I had to get outside. The birds were calling me. Back to my mini-road trip. Pulling into a large gravelled area below the dam, the designated bird watching area was practically deserted. Sounds of gulls reached my ears when the car's engine was silenced. Aaaahhh....how peaceful. Gulls and cormorants and coots were floating around in front of me - the usual dam birds. (LOL)

I grab camera and keys, locking the door began to walk around. Immediately, I spy something unexpected and almost couldn't breathe - the American White Pelicans were here!!! Folks, this is rare. This is only the 2nd year I've been fortunate enough to see them. Amazingly, they were completely unfathed by my presence and I got some great shots. Here are some good ones.

They kinda speak for themselves, these photos. What beautiful birds! I was extraordinarily blessed to see them, and get close enough (with my 100-400 zoom) to immortalize them and share with friends. Fishermen and their boats began coming to shore as rain was moving in, their presence disturbed the pelicans who flew closer to the dam. The rain and their movement away was a signal it was time to return to the real world, leaving my pelican pals to enjoy their fishes.

Watching these huge white birds I thought about our friend John, Born Again Bird Watcher, who is sick with pneumonia. This post is for him - get well soon, John!