I combed the archives of photos taken three years back and searched for images which reflected favorite memes: critters of all kinds (especially birds), skies and clouds, reflections, flowers and fences, as well as scenes which speak for themselves. We spent the entire month of November 2017 at our principal home in Florida and saved 340 images.
On the first day of November, a Great Blue Heron allowed my close approach before lifting off over the local wetlands:
A male American Kestrel roosted on top of an Australian Pine and then took flight:
At nearby Chapel Trail preserve, a Cattle Egret chased insects attracted to a Longhorn cow:
Great Egret roosting lakeside:
An immature Little Blue Heron struck a nice pose as it foraged energetically:
Before sunrise, a Great Egret made a graceful landing against a pink sky:
Another reflected as it occupied a blooming Melaleuca:
A "fogbow" over the lake:
From a distance I thought this heron had captured a large snake, but it was an amphiuma. I watched as it dispatched it and then swallowed it whole (November 5, 2017):
The Two-toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma means) can grow to a length of 3 feet or more—one of the largest salamander species in the world. Two-toed Amphiumas have tiny, nearly useless front and hind legs with two toes on each leg:
The local pair of Bald Eagles were busy restoring their nest on November 11:
I caught a distant view of a Bobcat as it strolled along the barrier fence on the "road to nowhere:"
Most of the migrating warblers had passed through by the end of October, but the Pine Warblers made their usual appearance in early November. This was a drab immature female...
...and a somewhat more colorful immature male:
Nearby, a beautiful female Northern Cardinal:
Female Northern Flicker:
A glimpse through the foliage of a White-eyed Vireo (well-named!):
Female Painted Bunting, our only truly green songbird:
This was one of the few White-crowned Sparrows recorded in our County, on November 14. (Actually I reported and photographed 1 back in 2012, the first County record of the century, then 2 in 2014 for the highest count ever). This immature bird will trade the dark brown on its crown for bold white when it molts into breeding plumage:
A Red-shouldered Hawk flew off:
This Gray Squirrel seemed to be eating flowers of the exotic and invasive Melaeuca tree. They smell like turpentine and must taste awful:
Garden Spider in her orb:
The canal which separates the residential area from the Wounded Wetlands, November 24:
Chapel Trail Nature Preserve boardwalk, November 28:
Hi Ken,
ReplyDeleteSuch fascinating avian wonders.Each one as wondrous as the other!
I love the squirrel especially, as though posing for your candid camera.
And the Incy Wincy spider, delightful. :)
WordlessWednesday is live in my neck of woods. Hope to see you there.
https://natashamusing.com/2020/11/adieu-autumn-flowers-wordless-wednesday-natasha-musing/
verey nice photos, not sure which one I like the best
ReplyDeleteA wonderful series of Stunning pictures. I love the birds in flight. Great captures!We used to have herons in our backyard and I love to watch them swallow rodents whole. Enjoy the rest of your week
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is WOW! So many wonderful photos. To think that I spent most of my life in the outdoors not noticing much of anything but the very obvious rocks. At least I'm noticing it all now.
ReplyDeleteThey look so majestic when they're in flight. I appreciate all the learning. Thank you for such a breathtaking dose of awesome.
ReplyDeleteYes I also will give you a big WOW! Kenneth. Never seen a fogbow so that was interesting and I love the shot about it with the reflections. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and stay safe.
ReplyDeleteHello, ken
ReplyDeleteThe wading birds are some of my favorites, I love all the shots of the Heron eating and Egrets. Great captures of the Kestrel, Bald Eagles and the pretty Flicker. The Female Painted Bunting is a gorgeous bird, great photo. I love the sky photo and scenes. Great post! Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, stay safe! Enjoy your weekend!
Hello. Awesome photos. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThe photos of herons and egrets brought back memories of our years living on the VA eastern shore and many trips to the Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge. I was never able to capture such awesome flight photos, so thanks Kenneth for the memories. We also had similar orb weavers in our VA gardens and their webs were very impressive. That squirrel did seem to be enjoying the flowers.
ReplyDeleteHello Kenneth
ReplyDeletea good idea to look through your archives and hard drives
so you show us great pictures
I was very happy to watch them
Greetings Frank
Really love the shot of the bald eagles though all the images are amazing. The flowers must not taste like turpentine to the squirrels. Hope your weekend is going great so far!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photography. I really like the photo of the American Kestrel, and also the White-eyed Vireo. Well done!
ReplyDeleteHello, Ken. I am very impressed with the pose of the young egret .... she seems to be deliberately taking pictures to show off his physical beauty for you.
ReplyDeleteVery beautiful!
One word for all your photos from your archives...extraordinary!!
ReplyDeleteThis week, I want to send my thanks to you for sharing your post with us birders!
Your flashback is certainly impressive, Ken!
ReplyDeleteA terrific collection of superb photographs. And, if I guess correctly, each represents a pleasant memory.
It's a new week! There are birds just waiting to be photographed!
Great collection!
ReplyDeleteHerons are majestic.
The bobcat looks like a leopard! My goodness! And the crane with the pink sky shot is magnificent. You have some great ones there!#Allseasons
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos as always Kenneth! My favourite is the egret landing against the pink sky, wow! What a photo! :)
ReplyDeleteNice shots! The egret and the longhorn is pretty cool. :-)
ReplyDeleteFabulous shots!
ReplyDeleteFantastisc captures. Thank you for sharing. I enjoyed reading.
ReplyDeleteHave a good week.
Stay healthy and well.
Fascinating!! I especially enjoyed how you know the exact type of each of these species of birds. The photos are impressive too.
ReplyDeleteThe leggy herons and egrets look like they could be awkward gangly critters, yet how graceful and beautiful - lovely shots!
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining us at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2020/11/a-letter-found-at-world-war-ii-memorial.html
I can't get enough of your incredible bird shots, especially the small ones in trees/on branches! Thanks for posting them every week.
ReplyDeleteYou have some stunning captures here, Ken. Especially the second one: AMAZING! Yeah squirrels seem to be always hungry. At our property they dug even into the ground, with nothing leafy or nutty closeby:) Many thanks for sharing this beautiful post with All Seasons!
ReplyDeleteSmiled at your experience in San Diego, almost rammed by a battleship! You must have an extra angel on your side!Have a fun rest of the week, Jesh
Those egret photos are simple amazing brother Kenneth! I really love how you captured it on different scenes and actions but my favorite was the one perched and looking very very sharp! The photo with the longhorn cow is so beautiful! I have never seen a long horn cow ever except on pictures of some postcards from Texas :)
ReplyDelete