An Otter Has Been Seen!...

...BUTT not by me...

 The beautiful Beaver Marsh in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park...sans otters...

So...apparently everyone thinks it's funny to mention the otters they saw...one of these days, someones gonna go swimming in that marsh! I lied to my brother Phil to get him up early and took him to look at birds...and maybe even an otter! I thought he would bring luck(or at least lunch!) At least he made lunch at little later...

I bumped into quite a few birders that were looking for the Least Bitterns and their offspring. One nice guy(I forget names, sorry!) mentioned that he sees the otters often and has photos...I haven't seen the photos...he was making things up just to get a laugh between he and my bro...argh.

 Right...they're real...and the I'll bet you think the earth is round too...

 We did see the moon...I think it's flat too.

And the sun revolves, flatly of course, around us.

You can't believe fake science!

 So, anyway, I did manage to see two of the juvenile Least Bitterns

Phil saw a "fuzzy brown spot."

That would be a lifer "fuzzy brown spot" for him.

 They were a bit far out there in the branches.

This is blown up quite a bit.

 This is Phil walking away from me because I talk to strangers.

Too much apparently..."birdsbirdsbirdsbirds...birds..."

 That's  Phil walking even faster and further.

Poor Phil.

I drove.

He'll have to wait for me.

 This is a Bluet sp. of damselfly.

I did this for Phil.

He hates bug photos.

I like to bug him.

 This is a juvenile Least Bittern zooming away from me too.

Must have been something I said...

...or something Phil said about me...

 Enough of that silliness...here's a juvenile Cedar Waxbean.

 This is a very shy Eastern Phoebe.

And yes, I said "Cedar Waxbean."

 I asked Phil what species of flycatcher this was.

He was too far away to hear me.

I think it's a Willow...maybe...

Phil? PHIL!!

 

 I must admit, European Starlings are very attractive birds.

I just wish they would attract themselves back across the ocean.

The Tree Swallows and Woodpeckers feel the same way.

 If you listen very closely, you can hear that fish saying "Oooh Nooooo!"

That Great Blue Heron took his time, trying to shake off the veggies before he swallowed the fish.

 Oh my gosh! Two weeks in a row I managed to get a Northern Cardinal to stand still!

They're finally listening to me!

More than I can say about Phil...

 Another shy Green Heron.

 Oh! Signs of a beaver in the marsh.

Oh, and a Red-winged Blackbird too.

 I love them lil Song Sparrows!

 They like to play in the mud.

 Why I do believe that's the butt of a Swamp Sparrow!

 They look so much like Song Sparrows except they have little bitty beaks for eating little bitty buggies.

Another new one for Phil...where ever he went...

 

 A male Wood Duck dressed in a more casual mode.

 Easily distracted, I see Honey and Bumble Bees!

 And another male Wood Duck...

 And a female Wood Duck giving me the stare down...just like Phil!

I must have been doing something wrong that day...I can't imagine.

 Ooooo...pretty water lily...

 

 It was truly surprising how many younger Wood Ducks were swimming amongst the weeds and what not in the marsh.

There were some "busy" duckies this summer!

 

 One butt for the road!

I have to find Phil...

 Until next time kiddies! Happy birding!

BREAKING NEWS! "Still Hunting for the Otters?"

 The infamous photographic evidence courtesy of my brother...Fabulous Phil...

So...there I was, hard at work...at work. Well, actually hardly working hard at not working hard to be honest...you know me. Anyway...suddenly my phone began to buzz and blink...it was an urgent text from my brother Phil(you know, the one I brainwashed into liking me and becoming a birder.) Of course being a loyal brother, I jumped for the phone to read, with bated breath, this urgent message from my brother, Phil, you know the one...the...uh, never mind...

I read with great excitement, and a little bit of jealousy(a lot actually) his text that he FOUND the otter at a local park, quite a distance from where I was told they would be. HOLY CATS Batman! As I looked at his amazing photo( amazingly blurry,) I thought to myself, "Myself, that doesn't look like an otter. THAT is a weasel!" I forwarded the photo to a couple of friends to confirm my identification and they also thought that photo was indeed blurry. And a weasel. An amazing find none the less. 

It's rare to see a weasel out in the open, and even rarer for Phil to be able to move fast enough to figure out how to A) Find his phone, B) Figure out how to turn it on and C) Actually take a photo. The boys got mad skills that I wasn't aware of apparently. Then after all that he managed to text it to me...on his first try! (Oh, I am having too much fun here, which I will soon regret.)

Moving on with this exciting news flash...this past Sunday was our little family Christmas gathering and feast at Fabulous Phil's with a delicious meal cooked up by Crazy Cookin' Carole! Nummy nums! The talk turned around to exchanging a couple of gifts...and the amazing discovery of the wild weasel in the woods...

 

 Yep. I was set up.

Phil bought a stuffed otter for me for Christmas and took the "blurry" photo of it just to pay me back for all of the "love" I've shown him over the years.

I'm still impressed that he pulled that off and managed to take a blurry photo on purpose.

Just wait...just you wait...

In the meantime, the hunt continues...

Until we meet again...out there somewhere...happy birding...or ottering!

We Went Cuckoo...

 Yep, we saw a Yellow-billed Cuckoo along the shores of Lake Erie!

 I'll bet you thought I was going to make some sort of political wise crack! Ha! I would NEVER stoop so low...so, anyway...back to the program...

I managed to wake Phil up early again(he wasn't quite so cranky this time.) We went to an area near Lorain harbor west of Cleveland commonly known as the Lorain Impoundment. There's always something good to see out there and worth the drive. Lately, a Northern Shrike and a Cattle Egret have been spotted...and there's always a few ducks and coots to keep you occupied as well!

We never did see a shrike, but the cuckoo was a great find! My friend Ernie let me know about where it had been seen last..."Look for the crowd!" Out there a crowd is 4 or 5 birders...it's not very busy, just a few birders and fishermen on most days. All in all it was a great warm and sunny November day, quite a change in the climate from years past...hint hint...
 
 Enough of that...let's look at some birdies!

 A scope would be handy out here...but that would be too much for me to carry cause I'm lazy.

We could make out those Buffleheads waaaaay in the back!

 Ooooo...an American Wigeon trying to escape my view!

...and American Coots and Northern Sleepers...uh...Shovelers.

 I was surprised to see so many Clouded Sulphurs flitting about!

The weather had them confused...like me.

 A lone Dark-eyed Junco zipped through and sat for a second...not very patient...

 Talk about rarities! 

 How often does one get to see a Dock Owl sunning himself in the daytime?

Well?

 Wowie wow wow!

TWO rare Dock Owls sunning themselves.

Oh my, we were lucky boys!

Phil may argue that point...

 I do believe that is a juvenile Gadwall...with a stoopid coot trying to get in the pic...

Phil says I'm juvenile too.

 A number of Golden-crowned Kinglets were flitting faster than the speed of light through the trees.

 This guy was kind enough to sit still for almost a second!

AND he even turned around to allow me my prerequisite dorsal view!

 At first I thought it was Daffy Duck, but it turned out to be a Lesser Scaup.

I'm easily confused.

 No.

 This female Northern Shoveler was eye balling Phil and giving him the creeps.

I told him you get used to it.

I get the crazy eye all the time...never can figure out why...hmmm...

 When ya gotta itch, ya gotta scratch!

 That's a male Northern Shoveler by the way...

They must be rich...they always carry big bills!

Hahahahahaha...or not.

 Another rarity!

They had seen a Cattle Egret a few days prior...well that's nothing!

This is the rare sub-species known as "Notta."

Yep, Notta Cattle Egret.

 Pied-butt Grebe.

 Waaaayyy out there!

A lone Ring-necked Duck.

We gotta get Phil some 10X50's so he can see these things...

 Ruddy Ducks with an American Coot pretending to be one of the gang.

They try so hard...silly old coots.

 White-tailed Deer Duck.

Like I said, there's always something rare to be seen out there!

The nest on the top of the phragmities.

How could I make this stuff up?

 Okay, back to reality(or as close as I can get.)

Love those White-throated Sparrows!

I love their little whistley song!

 Well, it's time to sail off into the sunset until our never adventure in birding...real and imagined!

See ya out there somewhere!

 By the way...this guy wants Mr. Trump to give him his hair back...

Just thought I would help...