Some mornings the sun rises into a clear sky, but when we walk out on the wetlands we may encounter fog. This produces some stunning effects for landscape photography.
Fog shrouds the inhabited side of the canal, opposite our local wetlands:
The sun tries to break through:
Last week, just after sunrise, a "fogbow" formed over the wetlands:
Shooting in between the high blades of grass and through the fog produced a natural vignette and a two-dimensional rendering of these Black-necked Stilts:
Two Mottled Ducks enter the lake...
...and swim under a blanket:
This Garden Spider's web is weighted down by dewdrops:
Photographing wildlife can be a challenge. This photo of a Little Blue Heron is a poor exposure but I liked the composition:
Fog muffles the background as this egret lands on a small tree:
This doe probably couldn't see us, and we could barely see her:
After a foggy start, the sun did come out. Now the camera does its work without any tweaking. Still air provides nice reflections of a Great Egret...
...as it catches a tiny minnow:
A Red-shouldered Hawk watches from the side of the path:
A male Northern Flicker stands out against a blue sky:
Close by is a female flicker (no mustache):
The lack of butterflies is concerning. Does this have anything to do with the massive anti-mosquito campaign which followed Hurricane Irma? This is a Gulf Fritillary:
Hurricane-felled trees along the canal have prevented us from following it along on the "wild side," to the right. A homeowner association (HOA-approved) fence identifies the civilized side:
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Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,
Linking to FENCES AROUND THE WORLD by Gosia
Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy
Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James
Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni
Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart
Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue
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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On our morning walk we were treated to a "mirrored sunrise" in the western sky. The rays of the rising sun were broken up by clouds to the east, and they converged towards a vanishing point on the opposite horizon (November 16, 2017):
The next morning the male Bobcat again appeared, but this time only briefly and at a distance. He stalked away along the barrier fence:
Hurricane Irma spared the local Bald Eagle nest tree when she struck on September 10. The nest itself suffered minimal damage. This how it looked on September 15, just after the winds subsided:
On October 25, upon returning to Florida after a month at our second home in NE Illinois, Mary Lou and I checked on the welfare of the eagles. We arrived at the nest at about 9:30 AM and watched for a half hour. We found the female (Jewel) rearranging sticks on the nest:
At about 9:50 the male (Pride) suddenly flew in from the left side of the nest. There was no vocalizing. I do not think he brought in any sticks but it happened so fast that I cannot be sure:
They both got back to work on the nest for a few minutes...
...but Pride then flew up to the nest support branch to the right, as Jewel continued to work on the nest:
On October 31, this adult eagle flew over our local wetlands, about 1 1/2 miles SE of the nest:
During the first two weeks of November we saw that more material had been added to the right side of the nest to repair the storm damage:
This past week we found both of the adults on the nest. They were moving sticks at first, but settled down close together for a moment, The male (Pride) is in the foreground:
Notice the nictitating membrane of Jewel, the female. This translucent "third eyelid" extends out from the corner of the eye, lubricating and protecting it (click on image for enlarged view):
On average, the pairs at this nest have deposited their first egg in early to mid-December. It was heartening to see Jewel resting deep in the nest for longer spells. Hopefully she is starting to feel "broody," a behavior which increases during the week or two before egg-laying. Only the top of her head was visible on November 19. Pride is roosting just to the right of the nest:
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,
Linking to FENCES AROUND THE WORLD by Gosia
Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy
Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James
Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni
Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart
Linking to Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) by NC Sue
Linking to ALL SEASONS by Jesh
________________________________________________
Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display
________________________________________________