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Thursday, August 26, 2021

Dusty Blue Moon

Last weekend we celebrated a rare  Seasonal Blue Moon. The usual Blue Moon occurs when there is a second full Moon in a single month. The second during any one of the four seasons is called a Seasonal Blue Moon. The latter is a bit less frequent, but both happen about every two or three years. Both may rarely occur in a single year, as happened in 2018, but this will not be seen again until 2037, a few days before my 102nd Birthday. 

When there is a full Moon, we enjoy getting out early to watch it set into the lake from a vantage point about a 15 minute walk from our home. Best viewing occurs during the half hour before moonset, but on Saturday morning it was too early for us. The  nearly-full Moon set around 6:00 AM and disappeared from the clear sky just as we started out on our walk. 

Steven, a friend and very accomplished birder, accompanied me. As usual, MaryLou broke ranks and power-walked a mile out and we were only about halfway in when, on her way back home, she blew past us in the dark. Steven sought three target birds. The first was the Barn Owl, which we encountered very soon. A pair have been breeding in the hollow tops of dead Royal Palms. I "discovered" them in 2015, but did not find nest #1 until 2019. They occupied nest #2 this past breeding season, raising one owlet which fledged in February. For the past month the pair have been roosting on a third dead palm just to the north of nest #2. This was where we heard and then saw it on Saturday. Much too dark for photos.

A Chuck-wills-widow, the second of Steven's target species, treated us to a nocturnal fly-by. Again, no photos.

We reached the extinct heron rookery before sunrise. An unseen Green Heron called out. Steven caught sight of a cluster of three Yellow-crowned Night-Herons high in a tree and silhouetted against the brightening eastern sky. My best photos were horrible:



As the sky brightened, Steven's eagle eyes spotted (yes, an immature Bald Eagle, but also) what, at first, appeared to be a large nest. On closer inspection, it was a family of Raccoons. As their parents remained curled up asleep in the branches above them, two youngsters stared back intensely:

A few days earlier, on August 16th I had located an Alder Flycatcher near the entrance to the Wounded Wetlands. This was the priority bird for Steven, but it failed to appear this morning:


Steven did locate a Great Crested Flycatcher which I had overlooked:

The next morning I hoped to photograph the setting of the Blue Moon just before sunrise. However, it was barely visible through the murky sky, tinged brown by a huge cloud of Saharan dust:

Other sightings this past week have been a Monarch butterfly on the flowers of Firebush:


On August 16, before the dust storm, we enjoyed a pastel sunrise:

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Linking to:


Nature Thursday

Skywatch Friday

Weekend Reflections

Saturday's Critters

BirdD'Pot

Camera Critters

All Seasons

Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday)

Natasha Musing

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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18 comments:

  1. The moon and the island are both great! Lovely. Also #Allseasons now opens Saturday morning our time (which is I don't know when your time but now :)

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  2. Great photographs. Love the butterfly!

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  3. Greetings and Salutations! Desert moon, excellent photograph. End image is so inviting. Wishing there was a bench around to walk there and meditate or read a book. My fishing days are over. This blog is filled with amazing bird and nature shots.

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  4. Wonderful photographs ..Stevens as well..nice to have a backup..Love the raccoons..sweet. Great sunrise shot with the reflection!! I just took some shots of the no longer full Blue Moon.We will see how they turned out..Enjoy your weekend..

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  5. I was hoping for pictures of the Barn Owls. Everyone over there tells me how scarce they are, unlike here in most years. Never mind, i'll let you off for the splendid shot of those cuddly Raccoons.

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  6. I wasn't sure you did a post this week since you didn't add a link...but, glad I came here from your comment!!
    Such gorgeous images Ken. As always. Love the yellow crowned!!
    Thanks, and happy birding!
    ~Anni @ I'd Rather B Birdin'

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  7. Sometimes a partially obscured moon is even more beautiful than during a clear sky. Beautiful photos!

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  8. Such beautiful photos! The racoons are very cute and I enjoyed seeing the variety of birds.

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  9. Beautiful photos. I only see raccoons in the zoo/wildpark.

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  10. Great photo of the racoons and always love to see a monarch.

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  11. We've planted many, many milkweeds and have been rewarded by seeing monarchs for the first time in a couple of years. They're SO beautiful!
    Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2021/08/smells-good-in-kitchen.html. Your photos are always entrancing.

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  12. Gotta love those racoons! What a breath-taking final capture - gorgeous colours and relections. Thanks for sharing Ken.

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  13. Oh, I love the young raccoons! That's interesting about the blue moons.

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  14. Hello,
    I would have loved to see the Barn Owls. Your YC Night Herons and Monarch images are beautiful. Cute shot of the raccoons. Take care, enjoy your day!

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  15. Beautiful! Your birds are just wonderful and the sky is so serene. It's always a pleasure to visit your blog.

    Thanks for sharing your link at My Corner of the World this week!

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  16. I so want to see those first birds in person. Amazing.

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