Spending the morning in nature is time well spent.
Observing birds and wildlife boosts your spirit.
Photos are a bonus.
In other words, you don't always get photos of some of your best sightings. You just stand there in awe and marvel at what you've seen. It's all good!
Variegated Fritillary Butterfly
And I keep a hiking journal to write down everything I've seen (or at least what I can remember)!
Red Winged Blackbird
One of my best sightings on the hike I took at Halpata Tastanaki Preserve last week was a Barred Owl.
I saw him in a tree next to the trail. He saw me. And he flew away from me in silent mode. It was amazing!
I also missed getting good photos of two Hawks.
The very first sighting was this Mama Turkey and her 2 little ones.
But if you've ever taken photos in the heat and humidity, you'll understand why the photos are smoky.
I saw the turkeys when I parked, grabbed my camera and jumped out. The camera lens fogged over! lol
Oh well! It was a neat sighting.
Eastern Meadowlark singing his heart out!
And now he's scratching!
I know this is another Eastern Meadowlark.
But it's a young one or female.
There's not as much color on the breast.
And a Swallow-tailed kite flying overhead!
Red winged Blackbird
Variegated Fritillary
I didn't get photos of everything I saw.
Live Oak Tree and possibly a female blackbird with something yummy!
But plenty to share.
And a beautiful day to be out on the trails!
Have you had a good week too?
43 comments:
...you had a fabulous day in the meadow, thanks for taking me along. I'm that Im in the AC!
It looks like you and your husband had a nice morning hike. I enjoyed looking at all of the photos of the birds. Have a happy Friday and weekend Diane.
I got so frustrated trying to capture everything. Now that we've lived here so long, I have photos of just about everything flora or fauna.
It will my story and use archived photos.
I think some people aren't familiar with our critters.
I do get your point. Somedays you just have to enjoy reality!
Great photos!! I know the feeling about the foggy lens. I've had that happen more times than I like! Same with my eye glasses too. In this high humidity, we are fortunate we can even survive outside at all. Oh, so sorry you missed the shot of the Barred Owl. I love them so much. We never see them here, but I do hear them sometimes in the wee hours of the night/morning, calling out their familiar "Who Who Cooks for YOU?" I know I saw a big hawk fly up out of the bushes yesterday when we were driving along, but again, much too fast for a photo. I love your Meadowlark photos. We don't see them here at all, and I love them so much. Take care and try to stay cool!!
You take amazing photos! I love seeing what YOU see!
Red winged Blackbirds are one of my favorite birds. As soon as the weather allows me to get out and walk again, I am going to do just that!
Such lovely photos, Diane. You do catch some beauties.
We've been hosting families of Red winged Blackbirds in our yard. They come from the ponds and bring their young to eat from the feeders. They are a joy to watch. The young have that squeaky toy sound. We've noticed fewer in our yard the last couple of days so the young are probably old enough for them to start moving further afield. In and amongst these beauties we have the sparrows, finches, chickadees, the odd crow and magpie and blue jay.
Thank you so much for sharing your lovely sightings on your walks.
Brenda xo
Lovely photos
I understand about summer haziness. lol
My sunglasses fogged up when I got in my vehicle the other day.
Stay Safe & Hydrated!
one of the biggest thrills of my life was the sighting not once but twice of the barred owl in our yard. that red wings blackbirds are beatuiful and that silly singing Meadowlark wins the prize
You managed to get some lovely photographs, many thanks for sharing your hikes and pictures with us.
I do like the Red winged Blackbird.
Have a happy weekend.
All the best Jan
Encantada como siempre de tu reportaje, tuviste grandes avistamiento. Un abrazo y feliz fin de semana.
Diane, I always love your hiking photos of sights you see . I miss all my birds here in town. I hope I can set up some spots to attract birds...but not starlings. One day two weeks ago, daughter Liz(Emma's mom) sent me a few pics of whales as they were on a whale sighting tour . The same day daughter Kathy sent me a photo of an eagle landing on a branch above her head in Seattle Daughter Karen( Liz's twin ) sent me a beautiful picture of a cardinal, on her deck, two towns over. It made me smile to see all the beauty my girls were seeing. Oldest daughter Angie was watching her grandson and I got a pic of that too. LOL. Blessings, xoxo,love, Susie
Red Winged Blackbird looks so elegant and beautiful.
I've missed some really good shots due to the lens fogging up, too. Some days you just can't win!
Great photos, even with a foggy lens! I see kites nearly every day at my work. They really are magnificent!! Happy weekend!!
What great pictures of your morning walk.
The Red Wing Blackbird is my favourite.
I wish you a good weekend.
Greetings Irma
I've had those moments when I've seen something really good and just took it in instead of grabbing the camera.
You always manage to see so much. Thank you for always sharing it with us.
Sometimes I think that our obsession to take pictures of everything works to our disadvantage. Remember the times when we had to use film and were aware of the cost, and had to make our own settings and be conscious of light levels etc. Then we took few pictures. Many of us didn’t even own a camera. I am not sure we weren’t better off. Miriam and I sometimes deliberately leave our cameras at home, because we seem to be investing ever more time hunched over a computer downloading and editing pictures, most of which will be filed away, never to be seen again.
Hello,
You are brave walking out in the hot humid days.
I am glad you went and took all these beautiful photos.
The butterfly is lovely.
Great captures of the Red-winged Blackbird and the Turkeys.
The Meadowlark is my favorite, a great bird to see.
Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a great weekend.
I agree, spending the morning in nature is time well spent. It's so refreshing to be surrounded by trees, flowers, and wildlife. And even if you don't get great photos of everything you see, the experience is still worth it.
Owls are especially hard to capture on film. They love spots that are obscured by foliage, and they retreat into their holes. So an owl photo is a real prize! But I hope you get one in the future.
best, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
"Phots are a bonus."
How right you are! The main goal is to go, observe, enjoy. If we happen to take a few images to share or enjoy later, that's great. But you can't take a picture of an owl calling or the breeze brushing your face.
You sure had a bunch of "bonuses" in this post! Great photographs. Thank you so much for sharing it with us!
The photos that you did get are beautiful. Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful weekend.
Somedays I seem to hear more than I actually see let alone get a pic. I love your shots of the Meadowlark.
The singing Skylark is fabulous. Nice to see.
Happy weekend to you!
I’ve had my lens fog up too. The first time it happened to me, I didn’t realize it until I got my film back. That was long before digital cameras.
Wonderful captures and captions as always!
You make a good point Diane. Sometimes the birds and the animals don't cooperate with our plans and we have to simply enjoy the sight and the sound of them. Again, as you say, the silent flight of owls is quite magical and something to marvel at. I rarely get camera fog from humidity, more like real fog here in England. It's raining this morning. Thank you for brightening my morning with your sunny Florida birds.
Your photos are a very nice bonus!
Wonderful series of nature/critter photos despite the summer weather ~
Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
That red winged blackbird is a wonderfully pretty bird. I love the red on him. You can see it clearly in your photos, sometimes the color is hidden by his wings. The Owl sounds like an amazing sight too. That old oak tree is makes me smile. It's nature at its finest, and oh, the stories it could tell. I always love your butterfly photos. Try to stay cool with the heat and humidity, Diane.
~Sheri
Quite frankly, these days the only reason I take photos is because I need content for my blog. Otherwise, I never take photos, I just enjoy the view. I have gathered so much knowledge from the closeups, especially the insects. They are like a totally different being when one sees all the hairs on their legs, or the makeup of their eyes. Closeup are a world apart from just seeing them from afar. I research what I take photos of, so that knowledge is good, although it doesn't always stick with me
You see so much of your world on one of your walks. I think it would be fun to be on one of those outings with you. I always enjoy your photos, and the enthusiasm you bring to your post.
Eastern Meadowlark is a find, and others are beautiful.
Foggy camera lens and foggy glasses, too! This heat has been noteworthy (trying to sound positive and not complaining, you understand). The photo of the Fritillary butterfly is my favorite of all your photos this time -- but all your pictures are remarkable. You have such a good eye!
Oh, I think Red Winged Blackbirds are so pretty.
You are right about photos being the bonus -- just being there is the gift. And what wonderful sights you had! And yes, I've done photos in humidity -- they are never what you thought they might be!
Do you go out early in the morning? How can you stand the heat and humidity? My camera fogged up the other day too when I went out to take a picture of my hibiscus....lol! You are braver than me...I cannot tolerate the heat or rather the humidity. Take care, be careful, and stay hydrated!
Great sightings, but oh the heat and humidity. It has driven me indoors in the afternoons. xo Laura
Agree... it is always good to get outside and listen, watch and enjoy nature.
Love, Carla
Hello Diane, You are very brave to go hiking on such hot, humid days! Please take plenty of water along, so you do not get overheated! The Butterfly is so beautiful, and I like the Red winged Blackbirds too. Thank you for another lovely nature hike! Love, Aunt Helen
Beautiful photos in spite of the heat and humidity. It's important to look at life with clear eyes and not always through a camera lens. I'm learning the same things. There is so much to observe and it's impossible to capture it all.
Dear Diane, we don't get photos of all sightings either, unfortunately. But you're right - photos are a bonus, SEEING the animals is the real wonder - and most of the time those wonders are remembered too. Keeping a hiking journal is a good idea, especially if there are no photos of an animal. You can't photograph the Eastern Meadowlarks singing either, but I think the joy of it burns into your memory. However, you managed to catch some very nice pictures of beautiful animals.
All the best and hugs from Austria,
Traude
🌸🌿❤️🌿🌸
https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2023/07/costa-rica-14-chapter-return-from-osa.html
PS: Do you know anything new about Anni from I'd Rather B Birdin'?
PPS: I'm not sure if I sent you the right link to my blog post: https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2023/07/costa-rica-14-kapitel-ruckflug-von-osa.html
Hugs again!
It must be great fun to take a walk in this place.
Happy weekend to you.
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