Sunday, November 4, 2012

A Morning Moon

I was able to stop by the wetlands early one morning this week and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise.


I also stopped by the adjacent "Click" Ponds. The word out on the ponds this week was...


...the ducks are coming, the ducks are coming!!! (Note I didn't say anything about decent duck photos coming...the ducks have decided to remain directly in the middle of the pond, far out of my camera's reach). I was excited  to see this mixed group of around 15 that has arrived at the ponds over the past few days.


At the ponds, I saw some Ring-billed and Redheads as well as Mottled, Northern Shoveler, and Blue-winged Teal Ducks at the wetlands.


 We have been seeing lots of Eastern Phoebes over the past month.


This American Bittern looked like it was trying to hitch a ride as it stood on the side of the road. I think it's the first time I've seen one of these elusive birds completely out in the open.


This Snowy Egret wasn't to sure about what was lurking in the water (it was a Soft Shelled Turtle) and decided to speed it up a little to pass by it.


This Red-Shouldered Hawk was  keeping on eye out below for some prey to make its day.



One overcast evening last weekend, we drove the road out to the River Lakes Conservation Area. We saw 5 Kestrels, 1 Bald Eagle, 2 Crested Caracaras, 1 Northern Harrier, and 3 Red-shouldered Hawks! Just before sunset, we saw this Caracara perched on a large pile of discarded sod pallets.



24 comments:

  1. Lovely account Tammy. Love the Red shouldered Hawk shot, a cracker.

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  2. As usual very nice bird pictures Tammy,
    but that first shot is really AMAZING..... great work again.

    Greetings, Joop

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  3. Nice pictures Tammy. I really like the morning moon shot. Very nice!

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  4. Schöne Bilder von den verschiedenen Vögel.

    Gruß
    Noke

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  5. What a coincidence Tammy, I was also at the Viera Wetlands yesterday, and I meant to go to the "Click Ponds" but It was hard for me to find it since I'm not from the area, so I left. But I really wanted to see the "Click" ponds too.

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  6. awesome shots! love the peacefulness of the first. the ducks are adorable - i'd love to see a redhead! always love your egrets and caracaras. and that bittern! wonderful catch!

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  7. Fantastic shots, love that American Bittern brilliant :-)

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  8. Another wonderful outing chock full of beautiful captures. Magnifique!

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  9. Fantastic great photos, you've had a successful photo tour. Liked all but the first being my favourite.

    Ottar

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  10. Gorgeous sunrise, Tammy! I really like your Bittern, Egret, Caracara, and hawk shots! Beautiful!

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  11. These are all beautiful images Tammy and the birds are all fantastic to see...but now and again I really enjoy landscapes...yours is so lovely to see.

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  12. Beautiful the scenery, the birds, especially the Eastern Phoebes, fabulous. Great set of birds.

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  13. Nice work Tammy! The ponds are sooo much better when adorned with their seasonal ducks, their winterfowl, if you will. Great captures as always.

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  14. I love all of the images but that first one ... excellent! It drew me right in.

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  15. Beautiful and very lively post, great work!
    How I whish I could see bitterns!
    The picture with the monn is perticularly stunning and soothing!

    Cheers, Tammy!

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  16. Magical way to start the day, bathed in a pink-toned sunrise. Love the forward motion energy in the photo of the Egret while its reflection makes it look like it's standing ON the turtle :) Have a wonderful week, Tammy.

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  17. Excelentes fotografias....
    Passe no meu blog tem lá Prémio....
    Cumprimentos

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  18. Tammy, that first shot is breathtaking. I love the colors of twilight. I've seen a few Eastern Phoebes here too.

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  19. Hey Tammy,
    What a lot of birds you have seen. Great that you have made these beautiful shots of some of them.
    The shots of the phoebe and the hawk are really amazing. Great how you captured them. And nice to see that special caracara, that must be great to see in real.

    Many greetings,
    Marco

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  20. Love these pictures. That is one incredible shot of the Bittern!!!! I agree....what a catch! All of these are incredible....so it makes the ducks staying in the middle of the lake okay:) Would love to see all these birds in the wild. The Crested Caracara are flying through Tucson right now and I'm trying to locate them. Such a beautiful bird. Thanks for sharing your work. Very inspiring for me to get out in the field and work:)

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  21. Awesome variety here... Love that bittern out in the open, and the running Snowy Egret is very sweet... Can't go wrong with a nice moon & pink sky shot either!

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  22. Bello amanecer, Tmmy, así como el reto de tomas, el Halcón Rojo perfecto.

    Saludos.

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  23. Bello amanecer, Tmmy, así como el reto de tomas, el Halcón Rojo perfecto.

    Saludos.

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I greatly appreciate your comments!