One Busy Pika

The only time I got to see this busy little pika was while on vacation in 2015. It was by chance that we came across several pika scurrying around the rocks collecting grass. Next to the chipmunks, this little guy holds my heart as one of the cutest creature on earth.

With each vacation, I am always on the look out for something new to discover. I look to the sky, in the water or on the ground for anything. I can live to be 100 years old and will not even begin to see all that God has created.

While the chances are slim that I will reach the age of 100, The chances are good that with each vacation, I will get to find something new to be in awe of and hopefully get a picture. Maybe, I will get to see a busy little pika again.

The Size Of A Camera

One thing my younger brother taught me several vacations ago, that it is not the size of the camera. While my cousins, my husband and I carried our Nikons and Canons with the interchangeable lenses, my brother seemed to take some breath taken pictures with his little hand held camera.

Kenny had an uncanny eye for seeing the detail of a plants, trees or flowers. He would take many pictures from all kinds of angles. He was not afraid to get down on the ground and under a rock to capture the shot he was after.

I saw the world of photography through a different view. When I look at all that God's has placed before me, I see more of the details. The world seems to have more to offer when I am looking to get a cool shot.

With each snap of the camera, I seek to capture that one of a kind picture. It does not matter if I use my Nikon, Canon, phone or that throw away camera. What matters, is that I take the time to look, get down on the ground and under the rocks to get that breath taken shot.

My First Fox Sparrow

In the winter of 2015, I got to see my first fox sparrow. Of course, I would have not known what I was looking at, if it was not for a friend who pointed it out to me. Whenever I would see George walking around the Mariner, I would get to see a new bird. 

This sparrow is one of the prettiest sparrow that hangs out in the bushes. It is only during the Winter that I get to see the fox sparrow. He does not stick around for long. So, it is a rare blessing to see one.

God gives me many little blessings Some will last a life time, while others, are here for a short time. Without His guidance, I would not know what I am looking at. Like my first fox sparrow, I can not wait to see what other blessings God has to show me.

I Spy With My Eye

I spy with my eye a piece of morsel in the crack of the pole. The nuthatch seems to be thinking this as he searches the post for food.

Through out the day the birds look for their meals in the trees, on the ground and in the water. When they spy the thing that they seek, they dive, zoom and land where they can get their full of the meal.

This seems to be their life long mission. Searching for food. When they find it, they eat and than fly off to search for the next meal.

When I go in search for a meal, I just have to open my cupboards, refrigerator or go to the nearest fast food place. There, I spy my source of nutrition and enjoy the fruit of my search.

There is another source of nutrition for me. Through the Word of Bible, I get my source of spiritual food. When I open the bible, like the nuthatch, I spy with my eyes, hope, truth, and wisdom. This can only come from God through His words.

My Little Man

Today my little man graduated from high school. I know it is in the middle of January. He should have graduated last June. But, he goofed off and did not finish all the work in his classes. So, he had to go the first part of this school year to get all his credits.

My grandson has autism and always been curious about everything. He would get into everything, just to see how it worked. As a little boy, he was fascinated by construction vehicles. His favorite show was, "Bob the Builder". He wanted so bad to run one of these machines.

He did get a chance when he was a teenage. A friend from church owned a construction company. He would watch my grandson at church, so that I could attend the services. One day he invited Arthur to come and check out his place.


It was a dream come true for Arthur. He got to play with the big guns. Mr. Dean let him try out all the different machines. It was cool to watch him enjoy this adventure.

I do not know what the future holds for my little man. He is not a little child or teenage anymore. He is all grown up. Now that he is finished with school, the future holds all kinds of possibilities.

Yellow-rumped Warbler

All you have to do is look at the backside of this bird to know what kind he is. The yellow-rumped warbler will do anything to get his target piece of morsel.


It does not matter how far away the berry is, the warbler clings to the branch with his little feet and makes his choices. Here he is upside down inspecting the berries.


Another warbler spies a nice juicy berry and picks it for a mouthful of  delight.


In one quick slurp, the berry disappears. But, she is not finished. there are more berries to be devoured.

These adorable little birds make their rounds in search of food. It is hard to keep up with them, much less get a picture or two. But, like the warble, I will do anything to get my target.

As long as they stick around, I will also stick around and enjoy the determination of these guys to get the goods.

Squirrel Licking Good

The evident is there. A row of holes going around the trunk of the tree with sap flowing down. It is not hard to figure out that the yellow-bellied sapsucker has just made his mark on the tree. Of course he is not the only one who want to get at the sap. This squirrel is licking away at the sap.

I have seen many other birds enjoy the fruit of the sapsucker. But, the squirrel will chase them away. He want the sap all to himself. I do not blame him though. I am sure it is squirrel licking good.

I look forward to seeing God's creatures interact with each other. Some times it is good, like this picture. Other times, it is a battle ground.

Life is like that. When we interact with each other, some times it is good. But, many times it is an all out right war.

We need to share in the bounty of the tree. Unlike the squirrel who chase others away, we need to back up and make room for others. 

Frog Capture

Several years ago, while looking for the anything in the water, I heard a splash right below me. A snake had caught a frog right at the hip. There was nothing that the frog could do. He was captured.

Once the snake was sure that he had the frog, I watched as he worked his was down the leg to the tip if the foot. Inch by inch he made his way back to the hip. While this was happening, the frog was fighting for his life.

What the frog did next, surprised me. He blew his stomach up as big as he could get. This made it almost impossible for the snake to get any farther. I stayed as long as I could to see who would win this battle. But, it got too dark and I did not want to be in the park by myself after dark.

Even though the frog was captures, I would like to think that the frog won. I did go the next morning to see if there was any signs of the snake or the frog. There was none to be found. I can only hope that the made it to live another day.

Baby Mantis

One of the coolest thing I got to witness, is the hatching of an egg pod of baby praying mantis being born. I had spotted this sack months before and was told by a friend what it was. I decided to research the praying mantis.

The egg sacks are developed in the late summer through early fall. The egg sack is called an ootheca. This sack needs to be exposed to temperatures of 70 degrees for two to three weeks. With this knowledge, I knew when to start watching for the evidence of hatching.

The day I caught this picture, I came to the park several time through out the day. There were three different sacks that I was keeping track of. I just felt this day was the day.

It was getting close to evening. I checked the first sack, nothing. The second one, nothing. With the third sack, I hit the jackpot.

It was with the willingness to learn about baby mantis, that I was able to experience this cool hatching. Each year I go in search of egg sacks. I even brought one home and put it in a jar and watched them hatched. Of course, I released them as soon as they were born.

As I wait for this year winter to be over, I will look through the different bushes for mantis' sacks. I hope to see them hatch again this spring.

Hum Away

One of the hardest bird to get a good shot of is the humming bird. They seem to be around for such a short time. The way they shoot from flower to flower, makes it hard to focus on them. With the sound of their wing, they just hum away.

I do so enjoy seeing them compete for the nectar. They chase each other for the right to get the best place to stick their long beaks into the center of the flower.

These birds are so tiny, I sometime mistake them for a dragonfly when I see them in the distant. They fly so fast, that I can barely keep up with them.

It is only when I am willing to stay still and wait it out, that I can get the shot of what I am after. When I finally get my chance, I snap away and get the bird head deep in the enjoyment of the feast. Then, I can hum away happy at achieving my quest.

Spoil Wren

This Caroline Wren is a very spoil little guy. He loves the peanuts that I put out for all the residents of the park. The problem is, that he wants me to take the nut out of the shell.

Some of the other critters that live here, insist that I break up the peanuts into small pieces. The titmouse, chickadees and sparrows like it this way. As soon as they hear the sound of me smashing the peanut in my hands, they are all over the trees waiting.

I do not mind though. If it gets me a chance to interact with these precious creations of God, my day is made. I have grown to look forward to seeing my furry and feathered friends.

I find that I am spoil just like the wren. I want them to show up each time I am there. They spoil me as much as I spoil them.

Nutcracker's Heaven

Sunday afternoon I went to a friend's house to see her collections of nutcrackers. I was not prepared for what awaited me as I entered the door. Almost every available spot in the house was filled to the brim with nutcrackers of all sizes. It was a nutcracker's heaven

My friend told that she had been collecting them since got her first wind-up nutcracker at the young age of three. She still has that nutcracker in her collection.


I tried to take it all in. But, there were just too many. It would have taken me hours to see each and everyone. On the floor in front of the tree was an accordion. I ask if she knew how to play it. She picked it up, sat in the chair and played it like a pro.

 For years she would send me an invitation to come to her open house tour of the nutcracker. I am sorry that it had taken so long. It really was a treat to see so many different ones.

Sappy Bird

I like to follow the many new pictures put on the MD Birding Facebook page. When I saw that someone had gotten some pictures of the yellow-bellied sapsucker at the Mariner, I had to go today to find this cutie.

I was not disappointed. As I made my way to the tree that I recognized in the picture, there he was pecking away on the tree. All around the base of the tree you can see the evidence of the sapsucker as the sap oozes down the tree.


He is one sappy bird. The tree was ripe for the pecking.

But, winter has not begun to make it's present know this year. Today was a beautiful sunny day. This is not going to last. We are only in the middle of January.

While I enjoyed today's weather and walking around the Mariner, getting to see this sappy bird before the winter sets in made my day. I hope to see him for many more days to come. 

King Fisher Whacks

Several weeks back, I spotted a king fisher sitting on a dead tree in the marsh. In his mouth was the catch of the day. I pulled over to watch to see how he would eat the fish.

What he did next, surprised me. He took the fish and whacked it against the limb of the tree. He kept doing this for the next fifteen minutes. I had never seen this before.

It got me to thinking. Would it be cool if with each whack of the fish, he was wiping out the ills of this world?


Whack, there go child abuses, slave trades and all kinds of violence attacks.


Whack, there end hatred, crimes and wars of this world.


Whack, there disappears prejudice, indifference and judgments. As he swallows the fish whole, a whole new world begins.

But at last, this seems to be only a pipe dream. I realized that for all the ills to end in this world, we need to follow the example of the king fisher. We need to start whacking away, one fish at a time.

Blue Jay Stands Out

Looking back over the years of pictures taking in January, I noticed that the blue jay stood out. They tend to be more aggressive when I walk around putting out food. They yell the loudest and are quick to snatch the peanuts from the ground before the squirrels and other birds get a chance.

Even though the blue jays seems to rule the park, the cardinals, red-winged black birds and all the other peanut lovers can hold their own.

Where ever I go, I do notice that there are always someone there that stands out. It can be at work, church, or a family gathering. Most of the time, it is a good thing. But, once in a while there is that one person that yell the loudest and is quick to take the lime light from others. It is nice to know that all the others who are around can hold there own. 

Sometime, I like to be the one who stands out in the crowd. But, than again, I like being like all the others who are content to hold their own. So, Mr. Blue Jay, go ahead and stand out.

Persistent Wasps

This past summer I was in a battle with some persistent wasps. It all started with the discovery of a nest by the air conditioner in my daughter room.

After we rid ourselves of the nest in her room, they were found building a new nest a few days later at the air conditioner by the kitchen. I sprayed the nest with wasp killer. Done

Days later a new group started a new nest within inches from the first one. Once again, out came the wasp spray. Done

The next day, they were at it again.  More spraying. This time, days went by without any sighting. Done?

Not even, They decided to more to the chair by the porch. The can came out and the nest was destroyed. Done?

After a few days, there was no more sighting of the wasps. Yes it is done.

We had to power wash the trailer and as I made it to the back of the trailer, what should I find? You guessed it. The wasp found the other air conditioner and was building a new nest.



Boy, were these some persistent wasps. I use up the rest of the can on this nest and bagged it up. I stay by the spot and watching for the next hour. No more wasp. Done. For sure this time until next year.

 

Hawk Corral

One of my favorite places to enjoy all you can eat meal is the Golden Corral in Aberdeen. There is a dead tree in the field that I sometime see different hawks hanging around on. This time it was a beautiful red-shouldered hawk.

I was so glad that I had my camera on hand. The camera on my phone could not have gotten this close up of this bird. I sat in the restaurant excited to get back home and put the picture on the computer, so I could post it here.

This year I want to show off the many creatures that God created for our pleasure. From the smallest bug, the most colorful flower and the plethora of birds, mammals and scenery's, I want to honor our Creator.

The hawk at the Corral is a good start to this plan. I enjoyed the good food and the good scenery.

Beaver Love

Driving home from work, I stopped by the marsh. The trumpeter swans were very close to the road. I turned the corner, got out of the car, got my camera and watched as they flew away. Needless to say, I was disappointed at not being able to get good shots of the swans.
As I made my way back to the car, I noticed something swimming out of the corner of my eyes. I thought it was the muskrat. It was not until the rodent slapped his tail on the water, that I realized that it was a beaver. He did this several time while swimming back and forth.

Than, I notice a second beaver come out from the small island. They seemed to show each other some affection before mating. This was not the muskrat love I am use to seeing. This was beaver love.

I hope this means that I will get to see little beavers this spring. I will have to keep an eye out for what more this small corner of the Edgewood  marsh has to show me. Until than, I will be happy to get to see the beaver love.

Good Parenting

About eight years ago, while visiting my mother-in-law at the nursing home, I took a walk around the pond locate a short distant away. I thought is was weird that this killdeer stay in one position as I got closer to get a better picture.



As I took one more step, she flew away and there in the rock were two eggs. She was showing me good parenting.

Today, there way a knock at my door. I was not home at the time. My daughter answered and standing there was this guy with his son.

This past summer a group of very young kids kept beating on our shed. It got so bad that they started to leave graffiti on the back.

One day I chased three of the kids away. With in a few minutes I heard more noise again,. So, I decide to use my camera to catch them in the act. To my surprise, it was the mother of one of the kid scrubbing the graffiti off.

She promised me that she would let the other parents know and I did not have to worry anymore about the kids damaging the shed anymore. She showed me good parenting.

Back to the guy at the door. He was there because his son was also involved. He was making his son apology for his part. He was showing good parenting.

I started to lose hope that there were good parents out there anymore. Like this killdeer doing her job in being a good parent, the mother and father of the the two boys gives me hope that good parenting is still going on today.

Swamp Sparrow

In October, while getting my last walk at Harford Glen before it close for the season, I ran into a man with binoculars. I kept my distant as he seemed to be searching the trees for birds. When he was done, I asked him if he saw something good.

"I know that voice," he said as he turn to face me. "Hi, Dawn. How are you"?

It turned out to be my old boss from Toys R Us. I worked with Dave for years and had no idea he was a birder. As we walked around together catching up, he pointed out this small bird on the branch. It was a swamp sparrow. I never would have guess that. He taught me quite a lot about birds that day.

Every day I go out taking pictures of birds. I do not always know what kind of bird I have captures. So I go to other people or post the picture on Facebook to get the help I need. Thanks to Dave, I will always recognize this little swamp sparrow.

I Can't Get It

For the past three days, I have been stopping at the marsh by my home trying to get a clear picture of the Wilson Snipe. I can't get it. This is the best shot I can get.

I notice the snipes when I was trying to get pictures of the killdeers. The killdeers are another bird that I do not have to see to know that they are around. The sounds they make is loud and continuous.

Today, I recognized another bird sound. While searching the spot where the Wilson snipes have been hanging out, I heard the  belted kingfisher. She was perched on a dead tree. I was surprise, since I usually do not see king fishers this late in the season.



I will keep trying to get a sharp clear picture of the snipe. I just hope it stays around long enough. I want to say, "I got it". Not say, "I can't get it".

Surprise

The birds expect me to leave them a handful of food on the post as I past by them. It becomes a battle ground for the many species. As the red-winged black bird flew in to grab his piece, up popped a red-belled woodpecker. She not only surprised him, she also surprised me.

The red-bellied woodpecker is a year round resident at the park. If I can not see one, I can always hear them. They love peanuts. I can always entice them when I break peanuts in my hand. As I throw the peanuts out to the squirrels, the woodpecker can hear them hitting the ground. Within minutes they are flying in to get their share.



With the peanut in her mouth, she was quick to fly to a nearby tree. It is lways cool to watch her and the other birds enjoy my offer of friendship.

Hermit Sighting

It has been too long for me and my daily walk around the Mariner. It was a treat seeing the many birds following me as I put out bird food on the posts. Sometime it seemed like a free for all as the birds battled for their share of the treats.

As I search the bushes, out popped a hermit thrush. This was a surprise sighting. I knew that there would be chickadees, Carolina wrens, titmouse and the usual blue jays, cardinals and red-winged blackbirds among the many other birds that call the Mariner their home. This little guy seemed to enjoy me taking his picture and did many different poises for me.





The new year has started off with some nice sightings of many birds. The Hermit sighting was the icing on the cakes.