Crops & Clips: Flashback to August, 2017

I had only 419 images in my archives for the month of August, 2017. Yet, in retrospect, it was a very active month for us, including  5 flights and lots of family, fun, and  photos. As usual, I peered through the retrospectoscope and searched for images which depicted favorite memes-- Critters (especially birds), skyscapes, reflections, fences, flowers and scenes which speak for themselves.

We started out the month at our second home in Northeast Illinois, where a falcon and doves symbolized peace.

An American Kestrel...

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... was joined by two Mourning Doves:



Local butterflies included a Painted Lady:



We then flew back to Florida on August 5, visiting the local rookery, where the Yellow-crowned Night-Herons had finished breeding. Their legs had turned dark and their crowns have lost their golden hue:



I could not resist capturing a closeup crop of this one's face after it had splashed after a fish :



An immature Great Blue Heron occupied a high perch:



A wild Pink Phlox brightened up the barren gravel path:



I was experimenting with my new Olympus E-M10 Mark II, a mirrorless four-thirds camera with a 75 to 300 mm zoom lens, which I planned to take on our upcoming trips. It is much more compact than my full size Canon 80D with its massive 420 mm prime lens system. I was pleased with its low-light performance, 15 minutes before sunrise on August 9:



The Olympus produced this nice detail of Melaleuca trees next to a flooded ditch:



A hand-held shot of the full Moon was remarkably sharp:



Sunrise on August 9:



We were off to the Texas Panhandle on August 11 to celebrate the wedding of our grandson at the chapel on the grounds of WTAMU (West Texas A&M University) in Canyon, where he was a pre-med student:



Our son and newly enlarged family:



The happy couple, after the ceremony:  

 

We visited nearby Palo Duro Canyon State Park: 



Barn Swallows nested on the porch of the Park headquarters:



Rock formations at Palo Duro Canyon resemble imposing architectural structures:



American Bison near Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge:



On August 16, Corpus Christi, Texas was our next destination, where we stayed at a condominium on the Padre Island beach.

Golden Padre Island sunrise (August 17):





Willet:



Piping Plover:



Ruddy Turnstone and Sanderling:



Night fishing with our daughter's family off the pier at Aransas Pass:



Port Aransas harbor:



The Lighthouse at Port Aransas, Texas on August 18, 2017. Little did we know that, one week later, Hurricane Harvey would make a direct hit and devastate this harbor:

 

From Texas, we flew back to Illinois on Aug 20.

This Great Egret roosting near the Fox River made me feel as if already back in Florida:



Hoping for one last sighting of the Lark Sparrows in a field near our condo, we only saw a nice male Dickcissel:



We arrived back at our permanent Florida home on  August 25. In our back yard, a Tricolored Heron hunted and a fish disturbed the mirror surface of  the lake:



In the local wetlands, a White-tailed Deer buck was in breeding condition:



On my birthday, fall land-bird migration had already begun, as evidenced by the arrival of this Northern Waterthrush...



...and a Blue-gray Gnacatcher:



A large feral hog boar, which usually fled any time we approached, caused concern when he ran across in front of MaryLou, who froze in her tracks. They can be very dangerous, so I started carrying a defensive weapon:



My photo does not do justice to the metallic silver spots on the undersides of the wings of this Gulf Fritillary:

 

A colorful sunrise from our back patio:




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Linking to:

Fences Around the World

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

Camera Critters

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Natasha Musing

Our World Tuesday

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World

Timeless Thursday

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Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
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Crops & Clips: Flashback to July, 2017

At the beginning of each month I enjoy looking back at photos from three years previously, to refresh old memories and perhaps anticipate what beauty awaits this year. Especially, I look for favorite dreams, memes and themes-- critters of all kinds (especially birds and butterflies), flowers, clouds, skies, reflections, fences... and images which speak for themselves. This month's harvest makes me miss our summers in Illinois (or anywhere besides being locked down at home).

We spent the entire month of July at our (then) second home in northeastern Illinois. We watched our favorite grassland birds, and mourned the continuing loss of  their habitat. A family of Sandhill Cranes climbed on a pile of dirt where their prairie home was being converted into a housing complex. An unruly blackbird added to their discomfort, but only the colt paid attention to the attacker:

 

A Lark Sparrow perched on a sign advertising a home site. These birds had not been verified as nesting in Kane County until MaryLou first sighted them and we saw their fledgling. Later the nest was discovered and photographed by others. This entire area was staked out for development:

 

Documentation photo of young Lark Sparrow being fed by parent:





We visited Nelson Lake preserve as often as possible. This is a path through the prairie:



Wildflowers were abundant. These are Purple Coneflowers:



That's MaryLou beyond the mass of wildflowers:



Cedar Waxwing on a sapling in the prairie at Nelson Lake preserve:



The diminutive Henslow's Sparrow finds refuge here, where controlled burns are rotated to provide its exacting habitat needs. It usually nests two years after a fire, in the layer of dry grass which is packed down by the second winter's snow. They have greenish heads and are tiny and elusive:





Other small sparrows which nest more widely at Nelson's Lake are the Grasshopper Sparrow...



...Savannah Sparrow...



...and the rather plain-looking Field Sparrow which has a pink bill:

 

Dickcissels were abundant. This pair were tending a nest and the female was waiting for me to depart before delivering a meal for their chick:



Male Dickcissel:



American Goldfinches brightened the scene:





Common Yellowthroats sang along the trail:



The boardwalk and pavilion at Lippold Park:



Mallards preening:



We checked the Bald Eagle nest near our condo. The two juveniles had fledged, and one flew by:



One of the parents stood guard:



Fox River floodplain:



Common Buckeye butterfly:



American Lady butterfly:



A Painted Lady "attacked" me:

Agramonte, our Granddaughters' beloved Tibetan Mastiff, now 13 1/2 years old, is not doing well this year. He can barely climb the stairs. The girls hold out hope but must face the fact that he is failing. Three years ago he was sleeping on the cool floor as usual:





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Linking to:

Fences Around the World

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

Camera Critters

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Our World Tuesday

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World

Timeless Thursday

________________________________________________

Please visit the links to all these posts to see some excellent photos on display
________________________________________________