Easter Egg Hunt!

 This former Canada Goose egg was the only egg we found...and they didn't even bother to dye it!

Another fine Easter at Sandy Ridge Reservation, one of our favorite places to burd! What a wonderful change from our walk there a couple of weeks ago... It was sunny and warm...just like spring is supposed to be! There were lots of walkers and birders out enjoying the weather along with us and the birds. We could hear many of them lil birdies singing their hearts out in the forested area...not that we could see them though. Next time...in the mean time...

 Look Ma! No ice!

 The wonders of nature...and a few degrees of warmth!

(If you're wondering why I didn't post any pics of this walk...look closely.

THERE AIN'T NO BIRDS OUT IN THAT WEATHER!)

 Even this Canada Goose was trying to run away from the cold winds!

 "OH YEA!"

He likes this nice warm bath...

 Look into his eyes and you'll see me and The Doodles standing there!

 American Robins were doing a little personal spring cleaning...

 ...then drying out in the sun.

Remember the sun? It comes back after winter...until the April showers anyway.

 Oh, those American Tree Sparrows...such jokers!

 As soon as they see a camera, they start making faces and acting goofy.

I can't imagine ever doing that myself...really.

 As always, the ducks were on the far side of the marsh.

There had been a Eurasian Wigeon around.

Not today, just an American Wigeon...and lots of American Coots(and a couple of old Coots as well!)

 The Bald Eagle is still sitting on the nest.

I wonder whats going on under there?

 The mate was getting ready to fly into that pine tree.

ARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!!

(Not really.)

 The Great Egrets are back too!

That's just great.

 Ya know, I was trying to get a nice photo of these empty branches and one of those show off 

Golden-crowned Kinglets just had to fly through and ruin my shot.

Idiots.

(If you ever need an excuse for a bad photo, email me. I have lots!)

 Why do Black-capped Chickadees always look at me like I'm crazy?

 Those are Green Frog Tadpoles writhing around in the muck.

Some will make it through the winter every year.

"Witaj! Czy rozumiesz po Polsku?"

(That was a tad Polish...)

((Get it?))

(((HA!)))

 

 These butts are for you!

 "Really Loopy?"

(Mallards are so sensitive...)

 TURTLE BOOTY!

What other blog shows you quality stuff like this? Hmmm?

Yep, NO ONE!

Midland Painted Turtle Butt.

 Tell your friends.
Limited time only.
Operators are standing by...

 They have very artistic Beavers at Sandy Ridge.

(Honest, I didn't do that.)

 This was the most serious Red-winged Blackbird I've ever met.

Maybe his stocks went down...

 LOOK!

The Doodles came out of hibernation!

And she has a new Black Swamp hat...

 I hope those Sandhill Cranes weren't laughing at that hat, because I have one too.

Silly cranes, must be spring fever...

 This Sandhill was walking out of the marsh and right across the trail in front of us.

He got too close to take photos!

 This was the first time we saw THREE Sandhill Cranes here.

There have been two  unsuccessfully trying to nest for a few years,
now there's this third wheel coming in.

Uh-oh.

 

 Did you know that Rusty Blackbird populations have dropped 85-95%?

That's why he's so angry.

If you see any out there report them to the International Rusty Blackbird Working Group and eBird.

Thanks!

Oh those Song Sparrows are soooo cute!

One last butt for the road!

(It's a Killdeer!)

You may be excused now. Thanks for visiting!

...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!