Crops & Clips: Flashback to March, 2013

Once again, this is a monthly reflection on past experiences, memories from three years ago. I will continue the "scavenger hunt" for photos which represent a few selected themes: Living CRITTERS of all kinds, beautiful SKIES and REFLECTIONS, as well as MACRO images and GOOD FENCES. I have met this challenge for the past 14 months in a row, so let's see how far I must travel into the month of March, 2013 to achieve my goal!

We began the month of March, 2013 in Illinois, helping our daughter and son-in-law as they each recuperated from independently acquired broken legs. Roly broke both legs in November and our daughter broke one of hers in January, so he is finally able to drive. They needed help caring for our two granddaughters. We were happy to oblige, but admittedly it had been a long cold month and another snowstorm rolled into Chicagoland.

Their back yard was a winter wonderland for the birds. A female Northern Cardinal peered around the corner of the feeder:





There were flocks of American Tree Sparrows:



A Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco perched on the feeder support:



A Black-capped Chickadee and a male House Sparrow waited their turns:





This first year male Red-winged Blackbird tried to dominate the gathering:



Agramonte, the older Tibetan Mastiff, had grown a full mane and looked more like a lion than ever:



Sagua, his little "sister" was also very much at home in the snow:



Back in Florida, we soon traveled to enjoy a few nights in Marco Island on Florida's southern Gulf Coast. On the way out we visited National Audubon's Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary :





Seeking Painted Buntings, we were not disappointed:



A Red-bellied Woodpecker visited the feeder:



A Common Ground-Dove cleaned up any seed which spilled out:



Another highlight of our Corkscrew visit was this Barred Owl:



I've only reached March 10 and have found my MACRO of a wild Iris at Corkscrew: 



Marco Island was a delight, and quite a change from Illinois! On the beach we saw lots of birds, including Semipalmated plovers...



...a tiny Snowy Plover...



...Red Knots (this one wearing two bands, one with a blue flag which we later found had been applied in New Jersey back in 2005)...



...and an Osprey enjoying a fish:



At Rookery Bay Preserve, this large Gopher Tortoise crossed the road in front of us:



On the way home, a stop at Big Cypress Preserve yielded a nice shot of a Carolina Wren:



Clearly visible from the Big Cypress boardwalk was this nest containing a juvenile Bald Eagle, ready to take its first flight:

Back home I found a very photogenic Prairie Warbler, and Yellow-crowned Night-Herons were performing courtship displays in the local rookery:





This Red-winged Blackbird was in full breeding plumage as it creaked its "song:"



My first SKY photo was taken on March 18 in the local wetlands..



...and on March 20 I captured a nice REFLECTION of a pair of Mottled Ducks:



That day, our Mango tree was in bloom and the butterflies were out:



Zebra heliconian:



I still am not sure whether this is a Pearl, a Phaeon or a Cuban Crescent:



The month ended with a bit of drama, as the lone eaglet in our local nest fledged on March 25 and went missing until it reappeared at the nest on April 2. The parents left food on the nest to entice it. Here a parent bird roosts, awaiting its return:
  


Our Son-in-Law serves on the Board of CASA (Court-appointed Special Attorneys) of Kane County, Illinois. Mary Lou and I joined them at the annual Gala. This photo does not show the splints and casts on their legs or their canes. Thankfully they both healed very well!



= = =  = = =  = = = =  = = = = =

Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

Linking to GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa). 

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart
________________________________________________

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

________________________________________________