Crops & Clips: Flashback to September, 2016

Once again I am looking back through the retrospectroscope at photos I took three years ago, They remind me of favorite memes-- creatures of all kinds (especially birds), flowers, fences, skies and reflections, as well as scenes which I found enjoyable and speak for themselves.

We started the month with an interesting exotic find, a Yellow-collared Lovebird (Agapornis personatus). Popular in the pet trade, it is native to northeast Tanzania and also called Masked Lovebird, Black-masked Lovebird or Eye Ring Lovebird. I first spotted this bird from a distance after hearing its unusual call from quite far away atop the spire of a Royal Palm. At first all I could see was that it had bright yellow plumage. I chased it down the path and it posed nicely high up.

Undoubtedly an escaped pet, it looked to be in good shape. Maybe the high southerly winds from the storm bands of Hurricane Hermine* damaged an aviary.





A  colorful male Northern Flicker perched in a Pond Cypress on September 3:



A Blue-gray Gnatcatcher frolicked amid the cypress sprigs:



Prairie Warblers migrate laterally. They have returned inland from their coastal mangrove breeding territories:



American Redstarts are early migrants:



Ovenbirds had arrived. Some may winter nearby:



A Great Egret cast a nice reflection:



An immature Cooper's Hawk flew low overhead:



The sun was just rising as a Bald Eagle passed over  the wetlands:



Merlins spent the winter here. These small falcons are very shy. I obtained this photo from quite a distance:



Alligator Flag was in bloom. A wetlands relative of the banana plant, Its fruits and seeds on zigzag stems will attract Purple Gallinules:

 

On the morning of September 17 the full Harvest Moon settled down over the lake:



View to  the southeast before sunrise on September 20:



On September 22, the day of autumnal equinox, the sun rose directly down "Sundial Alley," next to our birding patch. As this driveway is oriented directly to the east, it helps me to keep track of the seasons as sunrise shifts its way back and forth along the horizon.



An immature Green Heron on the first day of autumn:



Near the end of the month we flew out to our (then) second home in NE Illinois. I had just acquired my Canon 80D camera and this probably is why I processed a record number of photos that month-- over 1,200! It was the height of migration, which also contributed to the high frequency of clicks.

At Nelson Lake/Dick Young preserve in Batavia, one of our  favorite birding locations, a Red-tailed Hawk soared overhead:



The north entry path at Nelson Lake:



I tried out some macro shots with my new camera. Milkweed Bugs were colorful subjects:



A Honeybee collected pollen on a Heath Aster:



Yellow Jacket wasp on Heath Aster:



Aromatic Aster: 



New England Aster:



Red Admiral butterfly:



The south prairie at Nelson Lake:



A pair of Sandhill Cranes, with their colt in between them, took flight over the prairie:



Fast forward to the present (September 2, 2019): Hurricane Dorian has been stalled over The Bahamas for several hours. The threat to south Florida appears to have abated. Our home location is the little red dot SW of Fort Lauderdale: 



*Here is an iPhone photo of sunrise from the back patio of  our home on August 27, 2016. This is the tropical disturbance  (Hurricane Hermine) alluded to at the beginning of this post. Hurricanes seem to strike around my birthday every year! 



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Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Our World Tuesday by Lady Fi

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue

Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jesh

 Linking to Fences Around the World by Gosia

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