I had planned on doing an easy post this week.
Barred Owl
After all, Mr. and Mrs. House Finch have a baby they are feeding at the feeder every day! How cute is that!
House Finch
And 2 ducks walked through the backyard contemplating a round of golf.
There are even Swallow-tailed Kites swooping over the neighborhood.
Swallow-tailed Kites
But then....we drove out to the Halpata Tastanaki Preserve and hiked from the Pruitt Trailhead.
Barred Owl (my first photo that day)
And we had amazing sightings at the beginning and the end and somewhere in the middle.
We haven't seen a Barred Owl in a few months so this was the most exciting sighting of the day.
He was in the dark woods so it was hard to get sharp photos.
AND he kept moving around.
Of course if he hadn't moved, I would never have seen him.
Lots of Great White Egrets, Sandhill Cranes, Warblers, Hawks, Bluebirds and songs of the Eastern Meadowlark to make the hike extra special.
And then....we saw a little bump in the trail ahead.
It was a small Gopher Tortoise.
Even smaller than the one we saw a couple of weeks ago that I called a baby.
This one was about 6 inches across and I know enough about tortoises to know it's not really a baby. (my hubby's size 13 boot)
But it was small and adorable and not the least bit afraid of us.
It just kept on moving at a pretty fast pace while we stood close by and talked to it. Oh and yes, we spoke baby talk to it even though we knew it wasn't really a baby! lol
Have you seen changes where you live and sights and sounds of Spring this week?
48 comments:
the galloping gopher is my favorite and is adorable. but the owl makes my heart beat faster. he is gorgeous. super shots
All these photos are beautiful. I really like the Barred Owl's captures. It looks wonderful. I love to have such a hike with nature adventures...
Loved seeing the tortoise. I saw a large one in a parking lot on Sanibel once and it was a thrill to see that close up. Have a good day!
YOu see amazing amount of wildlife in your hikes. I heard an owl yesterday but didn't see it. Also a mourning dove and a woodpecker. None came into view. We are just now getting slight blush of color to the trees here. Spring is a slow mover in New Hampshire. Thanks for sharing your wildlife.
I have never seen an owl in person! You have some wonderful wildlife on your trails!
Love that you talked baby talk to the turtle. lol
That owl is just beautiful!!!! xo Diana
Hello,
Awesome photos of the Barred Owl. I love the Swallow-tailed Kites too, great capture. The baby Gopher Tortoise is cute. The House Finch is pretty, love the ducks too. Great photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, enjoy your weekend. PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.
He/She? is very cute. I like that he was on the "dead run." Heading out!
Hello Diane and thanks for your kind visit to my blog. The critters in your post are lovely. Love the owl in particular.
Happy Easter weekend! 🕊
Oh it is Spring here.
Even though it continues to be windy and rainy and cool.
But then, they are part of a Northern Spring. :-)
Wishing you a lovely Easter...
🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸
Thank you for letting us tag along on another virtual hike!
You've assembled a terrific series of Spring images. All of it is wonderful!
Any day you get to see an owl and a tortoise - well - THAT'S a special day!
Have a blessed Easter.
I am always amazed at the beautiful nature you share! That owl is unbelievable! We have a family of finches at our feeder. So precious! Happy and Blessed Easter, my friend.
Your delightful character shines through
...I must go to the wrong places, rarely if ever do I see owls! Good for you!!!
The first photo of the Owl looks like a statue. He's so very still. It's a wonderful sight to see an Owl. They are so interesting to look at. That baby tortoise is such a cute one. The house finches are so pretty with their red bellies. And Oh, that hummingbird on your Header, what a remarkable little bird he is.
Happy Easter to you, Diane.
~Sheri
That's a very eventful walk Diane. I think that as a resident of UK birders I would be most excited by having Swallow-tailed Kites circling overhead. Great pics of the Barred Owl too. And the tortoise is really very attractive looking - its hard to find a word other than "cute". LoL.
The Gopher Tortoise is quite the little hiker. :) Love the owl photos, you captured some beauties. Have a wonderful Easter.
The Swallow-tailed Kites was my favourite, lovely. I'd never heard of the Kites, beautiful.
Those barred owl photos are just terrific. What a wonderful sighting!
Love the pictures of the owl. That turtle looks like he's moving right along pretty fast.
How fantastic to watch the Barred Owl! Such a wise looking bird. And the turtle - what fun! Happy Easter, Diane!
I love owls! And that one is a very beautiful one! Gorgeous photos!
Happy Easter!
I have never seen a Barred Owl so that would have been a big thrill for me. You had quite a week of sightings.
The spring birds are starting to arrive here - saw a Hermit Thrush on Thursday which was nice and the Red-tailed Hawks have babies.
Hello Diane, :=) Fantastic pictures of the Barred Owl. If I had seen an owl when on a hike, This alone would have made my day, but you didn't just see the amazing Barred Owl, you saw the Swallow Kites as well, and the cute Gopher Tortoise, besides the other creatures. Wow, what a special day that was. Lovely post!:=)
Happy Easter Diane to you and your loved ones.
The Barred Owl would have made my day, and the Swallow-tailed Kites would have only added to the pleasure. The tortoise would have been the proverbial icing on the cake.
What fabulous sightings and photographs.
Loved the ones of the Barred Owl.
Enjoy your Easter Weekend.
My good wishes.
All the best Jan
Thanks for taking us along on your hike. Great photos (always) and love the owl and the tortoise!! Happy Easter! xo
Beautiful captures of adorable critters!
Great pictures of the Barred Owl.
I also like the swallowtail kites, great shot.
Photographing swallows like this is very difficult, they are so fast, well done.
I wish you happy Easter.
Greetings Irma
Barred owls!!!! My favorite owl. And, I haven't seen one in years. lucky you.
Thanks for linking in this week
A cute little Tortoise and a beautiful Barred Owl - wonderful!
Happy Easter!
Wow! lots of great sightings on your hike and wonderful photos ~ love the little tortoise and of course, the owl is fascinating ~ Xo
Wishing you love and laughter in all your days,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Oh, I love the owl! Fantastic.
The little tortoise is adorable. I've only seen really huge ones. It's so much fun to read about your hikes.
Cute baby :)
But the owl - wow!
I would love to have tortoises here.
Easy post planned! With that kind of photogenic individuals close by it is not hard to fill a post. :) :)
Love the owl and the cute little finch.
Also a pleasure to see the swallow tailed Kites. Such elegant birds.
I hope you had a great Easter. :)
Beautiful owl. Cute birds. The tortoise was moving quite fast.
How cool to see the turtle. Would be easy to miss something like that unless you were looking down. The owl pictures are amazing. You must have been pretty close; but it didn't fly away. We've got an all day rain, so no walking for me today. Though I managed a good bit the past couple of weeks while away in warmer climates.
Sandy's Space
aww... owls... love them
What a beautiful hike with your husband. I enjoyed looking at the photos of nature and I love that owl. I hope you have a nice week Diane.
Spring is beautiful there. I'm really missing Florida. Enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.
So many great sightings! I hear owls at night on occasion and notice they move around a lot while they speak to each other. Would love to actually see one. Love the tortoise! Such proud, noble creatures. 😊
The Barred owls are so sweet, I really love your first photo of the day. The pattern on on tortoise shell is so pretty. So many lovely photos.
-Soma
Me alegra que lo hayas pasado bien querido amigo David. Los avistamientos me parecen preciosos. Besos y abrazos para Mirian y para ti.
Perdón por confundirte con nuestro amigo David. Muchos besos y abrazos para ti.
LOVE the photos. I love owls. They are so beautiful. My aunt Sharon collects owl figurines.
The tortoise is such a fun surprise to see.
Thank you for taking us along. :-)
Dear Diane,
those were really great sightings! Spectacular, the Barred Owl. And I've never seen swallow-tailed kites - VERY beautiful birds. The tortoise is adorable too, but I think it's several years old. When I was a child I had a baby turtle. My grandmother gave it to me and I thought it was made of marzipan :-DD. It was as small as my little hand. Unfortunately, the tortoise didn't stay with me for long - my mother was angry with her mother-in-law for not asking if we could take care of such a long-lived animal. She then gave the turtle away to another family...
Hugs and all the best,
Traude
https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2022/04/italien-reisebericht-zwei-relaxtage-und.html
I'm afraid my walks have not been as exciting as yours, but seeing all of your sightings definitely makes me happy. xo Laura
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