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:



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:



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



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



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:







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



A young Virginia Opossum peered down from the branches:



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



...and settled into the lake:



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:







Now it reflects on how to catch a fish:



Two Tricolored Herons discuss the catch of the day:



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




A Gulf Fritillary basks in the morning sun:



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:"

 

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



A male Soldier butterfly imbibes the Biden's nectar:



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

 

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:



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



The Northern Parula warblers will also be saying goodbye:



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



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



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



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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

Wild Bird Wednesday

My Corner of the World

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

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Crops & Clips: Birding bonuses

We venture out on the local wetlands before sunrise nearly every morning. As the rainy season approaches we must keep an eye on the weather.

Rain threatened on April 10:

The next morning, skies were crystal clear. About fifteen minutes before sunrise (and only a half hour after it officially became "full"), the Pink Moon was plunging into the lake. Note the shadow of the earth a few degrees above the distant horizon. 

The moon is not really pink, but it was so named by Native Americans because it signaled the spring season when Pink Phlox would blanket the landscape. The pink in the atmosphere in this photo is probably due to the presence of ash and smoke particles produced by a nearby wild fire:



Depending upon the season, the  birds we see are mostly predictable. I never have high expectations but am open to discovery and simply enjoy the sounds and sights of the birds and other wild things as they awake and welcome the cool morning air. Yet, almost every morning offers an opportunity to see something new.
 
A Gray Squirrel, perched on a neighbor's fence munching on an acorn, wishes us luck as we pass by: 

 
 
One morning this past week I was photographing two pairs of Green Herons as they cooperatively built their nests. One member of each pair (presumably the female) sat on the nest site and accepted sticks which were gathered by her mate:


This pair took a break and cuddled up:

There were some tender interactions as the sticks were brought in and put in place. Here, a male presents a small stick to his mate as she stands over her newly laid first egg:


She accepts it and he gives her a friendly peck:

Usually shy and reclusive, a Pileated Woodpecker landed on the ground near me and searched for some sort of food at the base of a Live Oak. The bird's red forehead and face stripes identified it as a male. Before he was startled by my movements, he provided a brief photo opportunity:



The Cattle Egret, pure white for most of the year, gave us a treat as it took on new bright orange plumes at the height of breeding season:


The Bald Eagle chicks escaped a threat to their safety. A major fire broke out in the Everglades Preserve, only about 3 miles west of our home. Smoke darkened the sky overhead until the winds shifted away from the nest area. This is the view from the site of the eagle nest:

The eaglets are safe and sound. This is the larger of the two, probably a female and the older. Female Bald Eagles hatch from the first egg about three times more frequently than males and are larger than males in all stages of life:

The female parent was roosting nearby. Her feathers are worn and stained:

Common birds provide new perspectives on their beauty. A Killdeer wheels over the lake:

A Blue Jay musters its troops to gather and face some real or imagined threat: 

A close look at a Florida Tree Snail exposes its beauty. True jewels of nature, they may show all the colors of the rainbow, and no two are exactly alike:


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Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni


Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart


Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

Linking to GOOD FENCES by Gosia

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jesh
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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
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