Spotted Sandpiper 216

The one type of bird I have not seen at the Mariner are sandpipers. For year, I would search the shore line looking for any signs of these little fellows poking around the sand. I mean, there are plenty of sand and shore line. So, why was i not seeing any shore birds beside gulls?

I have seen the several different sandpipers at the boardwalk in Havre de Grace. They were spotted quite a bit around Harford Glen. In fact, I watched one roaming around there this past Sunday. The picture below is him bobbing around. I love how they move their behind end up and down constantly.



The I got today at the Mariner makes number #116 different birds spotted for me. I was so excited to add another bird to my list.

These past two days I have been seeing a lot of actions around the parks. Spotting this spotted sandpiper made my day.

Wren Meals

I never know what I will find a wren eating. This day I got him with an insect of some sort. They love to tussle around in the leaves on the ground looking for their next meal just like this picture below.


I often bring wild bird seeds with me as I walk around the Mariner. I will put a handful out on the post and watch as the birds swoop in to snatch a piece. The wren often go after the broken peanuts.


When I bring roasted peanuts with me and start to break them out of their shells, the wrens are one of the first birds to go after these broken morsels.


This wren pounded the nut to pieces. One time he got it stuck and had a hard time getting the nut off his beak. I was relieved when he did succeed.

I do so enjoy watching the wrens and the food they so often love to eat.

Who's Bottom Is Out?

Each time that I go by this one tree at the Mariner, I look for the squirrel to pop out of the hole in the tree. This time I notice something unusual sticking out from the hole. Whatever it was, its bottom was out.

I have seem that bottom before. But, I could not place it. This bird was as big as a squirrel. So, I knew it was not a sparrow or one of the other small birds that flies around. Who's bottom is out?

There was some movement around the tail. It looked like the head of a baby bird. So, I did something unusual myself. To try and get a better view, I climbed up on the rail of the pier over the water. I am afraid of height and I am afraid of water. Yet, I kept snapping away hoping that I was getting good shots of the baby.


It was not until I viewed the pictures, that I notice it was just a feather sticking out.

After about ten minutes, there was more movement. The bird was turning around. I was finally going to see who's bottom was sticking out of the hole in the tree. As the head appeared, it became clear. It was a mallard.


For more years than I could count, I have been hoping to come across a mallard's nest. Finally, my wish has come true. I will be visiting this nest everyday. My next wish is to see the babies jump out and make it to the water. Time will tell.

Swallow Bank

The other day as I drove by the marsh, I notice on the far bank a hugh amount of activity. As hard as I could I did my best to capture it on film. There were so many and I could not figure out what kind of birds they were.


I must have taken over thirty pictures before they took to the sky. That is when I realize they were swallows. The whole bank of the marsh was covered with them. In all the years of birding, I have never seen so many in one place.


Every where I went, they were swarming the banks of each locations. This picture was at Harford Glen. It was fun watching as they flew skimming the top of the water for bugs. The next picture showed that there brown ones as well.


I came back  for several days and was amazed as the they flew back and forth, time after time without smashing into each other. Today they seem to have moved on to better banks. I only saw just a handful flying around. The swallow bank was bare.

Eagle Photo Bomb

A couple of weeks ago, my good friend Sally invited me to go on a trip to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. I have been wanting to visit this place for some time now. With all the pictures posted on the MD Birding site on Facebook, I had to go and see all these great birds.


The first short tour was the eagle prowl bus tour. Here we drove around checking out the different nests where you could see nesting pairs of eagles. Very cool.


We got to watched the Nutria hunting dogs do their thing finding evidents of these invasive rodents. Interesting lesson.


But the most exciting thing I wanted to see was the flock of snow geese. So when we went on the second bus nature tour, it was a blessing to come across hundred of geese swimming with the tundra swans. With in second they were off flying.


Earlier the tour guide had mention how the eagle will fly in and go after the weakest goose. And sure enough there among the swarm of white fowls flew in a big black and white bird. It was an eagle photo bomb. He did manage to knock one goose down, but was unable to capture it to my relief.

We were able to see many other birds outside as well as inside. My favorite one was the one outside that both Sally and I got to get our picture with.


There is so much to see there. The numbers of birds we saw that day was just the tip of the iceberg. I can not wait to go again and spend all day there.

Kite Fun

This coming weekend there is a kite flying festival in the town of Bel Air. Today, I shared with my Faith Circle friends the love I have for kites.

One of the thing that I shared, was my story about the lesson of letting God be in control of our lives. Five years ago, I flew my elephant kite for the first time. For too many years, I kept it packed away. My fear of destroying it, kept me from enjoying it.

Through God's help, I learned to let go of my fear and let my elephant kite soar. When I let go and let God control, all fears goes away.

I also gave each of these great friends a kite to help them enjoy the freedom that comes from God. I hope to see them at the festival.