Monday, October 20, 2014

...uh...what?...oh...it's a blog post.


 Meanwhile...back on the mainland...
 The dreams of Kelleys Island are fading and we're back to reality, or as close to it as I can get. We decided to chuck gardening and chores for a trip out to Sandy Ridge Reservation. It was a little chilly and very cloudy that morning. It's autumn in Ohio and you never know how the weather will be from minute to minute. It turned out that we over dressed a bit as it became sunny and very warm. Ya never know around here...

 Frogs like this bull frog were still active and hopping about.
We're still seeing a few green frogs in our little pond at home too!

Neither one of us can remember ever seeing a Double-crested Cormorant out here on our past trips.
He was all alone and far out in the marsh.

 There's always a few flycatchers like this Eastern Phoebe here.

 This pair of grasshoppers (differential sp.) were a little too busy for this time of year.
I guess there's not much else to do if you're a grasshopper though...

 This is a Peeping Tom Grasshopper. Really, that's what he's called.
He was watching the grasshoppers from the above pic.

When ya got an itch, scratch it!
This Great Blue Heron had plenty...

A master stalker...this Great Egret had his eye on something under water...

Splash!
I think he found it!

 A little fishy snack...I'll stick with my granola bar...

 Way off in the back are a couple of duckies...

 Oh look...a couple of Green-winged Teal butts.
They were too busy eating to be bothered by me.

 I'm amazed at the number of Large Milkweed Bugs we've seen this year!
We have them at home in our butterfly garden on common milkweed that we planted for the monarch butterflies.

 Finding this Lincoln's Sparrow was a nice surprise!

 And there's always a gang of Mallards...

 Another good find was a lone Rusty Blackbird along the side of the trail.

 We saw the Sandhill Crane pair wandering and feeding through the back of the marsh.
 
 This is just past the Cranes...beautiful place for a walk!
Just left of center, all the way on the other side is where Bald Eagles have been nesting and raising their family.

White-crowned Sparrows are here for the winter... ick...winter.

 I moved around for a better shot of the sparrows and this is what I got...
Nutz.

 Wood Ducks nest in this area.
Soon, we'll see flocks of migrating ducks of all sorts out here.

 Since I said the "WINTER" word, I thought I better leave you with the last of the wildflowers that bloom at Sandy Ridge...

Until we meet again...toodles!

22 comments:

  1. Your weather may be variable but you still have an amazing variety of birds insects and flowers. We still have lots of ducks to send your way although I think our birds travel further west. Most ducks are still here.

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    1. That's the great thing about being on the shore of Lake Erie, we get a lot of migrants heading south from Canada, eh.

      I'll be waiting for your ducks...

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  2. Wow, there is still a lot of bird activity! That Rusty BB was a good find!

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    1. There's always something to see around here!

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  3. Dave, this environment I too would have left my chores to enjoy the antics of the birds and the bees. To each his own with those grasshoppers, there are the doers and the watchers, maybe they need cable TV as population control.
    I wish I were in your beautiful fall rather than in the heat of what should be spring here but went straight from winter to summer. Love all your birds and beasties.

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    1. I can picture little tiny tv's all over the place showing "The Real Wives of Celebrity Grasshoppers!"
      Thanks for visiting!

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  4. OMG, so many wounderfol photos! YES!
    But i like all, one and one!
    Hugs from Hamburg
    Rivien

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    1. Thanks for the Hamburg Hug! That's my first...other than the hamburger that hugged my shirt when I dropped it...does that count?

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  5. What a wonderful place to walk and observe nature in all it's forms. lovle flowers fantastic bird seen some with great reflections

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    1. Thank Margaret...I can't wait to go back soon to see what else has arrived.

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  6. What a great collection of images. The birds are awesome.. Great sightings. enjoy your day!

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  7. What a great post. Love the Rust Blackbird and the Crane.

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    1. Thank you Adam...gotta love those birdies!

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  8. Wow, Sandy Ridge Reservation is quiet the place and you do know your birds. What an amazing and abundant post. I enjoyed your pictures, your information and especially your commentary. And, as I live in Illinois (the Midwest) I truely get what you mean by variable weather ... and ugh to the coming of winter, though my dog is looking forward to it. Thank you, Dave for a great post.

    Andrea @ From The Sol

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    1. Thanks Andrea...we won't mention anything else about winter...shhh...

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  9. Such a wonderful variety of birds! It looks like a gorgeous swamplands to visit!

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    1. Swamps and wetlands are the some of the best places to bird. Thanks Marie.

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  10. hahahah... good one....I get shots of mid air with nothing in it too...... some days we get lucky and outguess them....

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    1. Some days...I have more branch and twig birds to share!

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  11. Beautiful shots from a beautiful place. Love the well-sighted Lincoln's Sparrow!

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