Thursday, March 5, 2020

Crops & Clips: Flashback to March, 2017 (#900)

We have entered the month of the Spring Equinox, and it is time for me to look over my photo archives for March three years ago. I will keep an eye out to depict favorite memes: Critters of all kinds (especially birds and butterflies) flowers, fences, skies, reflections and scenes which speak for themselves. 

We spent the entire month of March, 2017 at home in Florida. Any month is a good month when it starts out with a male Painted Bunting:

Painted Bunting 02-20170301

On March 3 we got our first look at the second eaglet which hatched out after the parents lost their first clutch in January. (Coincidentally, the eagles lost their first brood this year as well, and are now incubating their second clutch.) Only the top of its head is showing:

Bald Eagle 2 eaglets visible 2-20170303

The proud papa, appropriately named "Pride," flew overhead:

Bald Eagle male departs  20170303

The larger female, Jewel, took her turn and passed so low that I could not fit both her wingtips in my viewfinder:

Bald Eagle female departs 03-20170303

We visited MaryLou's brother in Central Florida. At Paradise Park in Lake Mary we saw a flock of American White Pelicans in a coordinated formation. Although they may seem ungainly on land, they are so graceful in flight:

American White Pelicans 20170306

American White Pelicans 02-20170306

American White Pelicans 03-20170306

Back home, an Eastern Screech-Owl perched out in the open:

Eastern Screech-Owl 01-20170312

A young Virginia Opossum peered down from the branches:

Young Virginia Opossum 03-20170313

A full Worm Moon emerged from behind a cloud...

Moon in Clouds 20170313

...and settled into the lake:

Full Worm Moon setting 20170313

An immature Little Blue Heron is piebald, beginning to change into dark adult plumage. It appears to dance gracefully at the edge of the lake:

Little Blue Heron immature 06-20170322

Little Blue Heron immature 07-20170322

Little Blue Heron immature 08-20170322

Now it reflects on how to catch a fish:

Little Blue Heron immature 06-20170319

Two Tricolored Herons discuss the catch of the day:

Tricolored Herons 20170313

A Red (Swamp) Maple seedling unfurls its delicate leaves:


Red Maple seedling 20170320

A Gulf Fritillary basks in the morning sun:

Gulf Fritillary 20170320

We do not see a riot of showy spring wildflowers. Indeed, you would need a magnifying glass to see the beautiful blooms on this "weed:"

Tiny blue flowers 20170313 

The tiny flowers of Shepherds's Needles (Bidens alba) produce more nectar than any other native plant in Florida:

Bidens alba 20170317

A male Soldier butterfly imbibes the Biden's nectar:

Soldier 2-20170320

A Florida Tree Snail climbs up a reed. There is great variety in the color and patterns of their shells:

 Florida Tree Snail 20170329

A Red-winged Blackbird sings in the marsh from atop a Pond Cypress. The tree's drooping clusters of male flowers emerged in autumn. They will soon be producing pollen for the female cones which develop at the tips of the branches before leaves appear:

Red-winged Blackbird 20170319

A Gray Catbird fattens up on Brazilian Pepper before migrating to the north:

Gray Catbird 2-20170321

The Northern Parula warblers will also be saying goodbye:

Northern Parula 20170314

A male Yellow-crowned Night-Heron raises his head and shoulder plumes to impress his lady friend:

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron male displaying 02-20170313

The Common Ground-Doves, lifelong mates, will soon start nesting:

Common Ground-Doves 3-20170314

"Sundial Alley" faces due east, aligned with the rising Sun on the day of the Equinox:

Equinox sunrise 20170321

= = =  = = =  = = = =  = = = = =

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

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

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26 comments:

  1. Awesome! Thank you for brightening my day. :)

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  2. You got it all in this post. Birds, insects, animals, skies!!
    Enjoy your week

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  3. Awesome photos! I like them all very much!
    Best, Julie

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  4. Wow, I saw your sky watch thumbnail, and thought it was stunning and mysterious! Have a lovely weekend!

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  5. What a fabulous post but to me that Painted bunting is exquisite. Have a good day, Diane

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  6. When I lived in California I love to see the pelicans skim over the waves when we went to the beach. - Margy

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  7. beautiful birds and that amazing moon behind the clouds

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  8. Lovely critters, all. It's fun to look back.

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  9. What a gorgeous moon shot. The light is really stunning!

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  10. I'm visiting from Skywatch Friday. Fabulous photos, especially love the Worm Moon. What a strange name!

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  11. Ooooh.Just oooh on that moon shot. TYFS

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  12. Hello, Ken! Gorgeous skies and beautiful flowers. I love the butterfly and birds too. The Painted Bunting is a favorite, but I love them all. Great sighting of the Owl. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend. PS, thanks always for the visits and commenting on my blog.

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  13. Awesome! They are all beautiful!
    Thanks for sharing!

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  14. Hello Kenneth. Wonderful photos. The photo of Eastern Screech-Owl is awesome.

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  15. Incredible pictures! The possum is cute!

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  16. Naturally, the birds here are super (the painted hunting is striking)...but, I must admit the moon shot is spectacular!

    Thanks for joining us today at I'd Rather B Birdin...it's always appreciated!

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  17. That's an impressive series of Florida photographs, Ken!

    How did you get the screech owl to pose in the open? Very nice!

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  18. Painted Bunting have been a bit of a 'quest bird' for me since I saw pictures of them in a kids book a friend of my from the US sent us - one day I will see one in the feather.

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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  19. That are wonderful post with photos!!!

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  20. Your photos are a joy to see. They are full of colour, life and wonder. Thank you for sharing.

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  21. Gorgeous photos. I especially love that little fuzzy-headed eaglet.

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  22. We have a screttch owl in our backyard. He lives in the trees behind our house. Have a great week.

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  23. Oh, what a wonderful trip through your photo archives! I love all the bright colors :)

    Your link-up at 'My Corner of the World' is very much appreciated!

    My Corner of the World

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  24. Beautiful images! Have a good weekend and stay well.

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  25. Chirping birds were like a morning alarm for me when I used to sleepover at granny’s place. She used to have a garden and she would keep food and water for those winged beauties. This mostly attracted birds in so many numbers in the morning. And now I feel I was extremely lucky to have been woken up that way.

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