Middle Creek WMA

The Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area is always a good place for a nice walk on a sunny winters afternoon. Yesterday Kelly and I had a stroll out to Willow Point and as we pulled into the car park there were 3 Bald Eagles soaring overhead, a field full of an estimated 20,000 Snow Geese and a nice Northern Harrier hunting along a drainage ditch. It wasn't too chilly and well worth the spectacle of the 20k Geese taking to the air every time one of the 15 Eagles came too close.

Just a few of the Snow Geese 

Snow Geese 

Willow Point

The Tundra Swans preferred the peace and tranquility of the back bays.

American Goldfinch

In the Spring and Summer the American Goldfinch is outrageously yellow. Not so much in the Winter though. Here's one from this afternoon.

American Goldfinch in Winter plumage.

Buds

I went down to the bottom end of the yard this afternoon and I noticed a load of the bushes have buds forming. Well it was 50f but still lots of winter to come yet.

One of my favorite Winter visitors is the Dark-eyed Junco which is a reasonably descriptive name for them. My preferred name for the species is the Snowbird. I've heard a couple of explanations of why they are called the Snowbird. One is that they arrive in this area in the winter with the Snow. The other is that they are grey above and white below like a snowy day. I prefer the former explanation as they tend to appear in the yard in late October and head North to their breeding grounds in late April. This is the Slate-colored Junco.

Slate-colored Junco

Black-capped Chickadee

Christmas present.

I was playing with one of my Christmas presents yesterday. It's a Ring Flash, basically it's a ring of LED's mounted on the end of the lens and they flash when you take the picture.

Ring flash.

Not expensive, I think it was about $25 or so but nice to play with and here's the result.

Orchid

Chickadee

The Chickadee's are very active today. Getting all their Christmas shopping in no doubt.

Chickadee

Cold Winters Dawn

Cold Winters Dawn at Middle Creek WMA

An oldie but a goodie

The garage is 99% finished, the humungous dumpster is gone. Yay! I have the bird feeder back by the side window again ready to photograph the birds but right now I don't have the time. Tidying up the garage, tidying up the yard, tidying up after the fucking felines, tidying up the house in general ready for Christmas. As for presents thank heaven for Amazon.

Anyway I was looking through my old photos and came across this one from my D200 days, in April 2006.

Backlit Tufted Titmouse

Felines

Bad Cat, Bad Cat what ya gonna do?

It wasn't me, it was my Evil Twin. I was framed.

What? I'm not on the Table.

Butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.

50 Shades of Grey

No, not that 50 Shades of Grey though it looked like it. It snowed overnight and I fancied a little walk so I called Morris and we headed out to Memorial Lake. It wasn't too cold but very grey as you see. I processed some in B&W, some I left in what little color there was in the scene.  I've been sitting here with Albert on my lap listening to Christmas music, I've added one I like at the bottom. They don't make em like this anymore.

I tickled a Tiger

Years ago in the late 70's while working in Germany I visited Stuttgart Zoo one Sunday afternoon. It was very quiet with very few visitors and as I was wandering around the zoo I came across the Tigers. The cage was down a little alcove and the only thing separating the bars of the cage from the visiting potential food source was a small barrier fence about 2 feet high, I kid you not it was no more than that. It was Germany and of course there was the obligatory sign telling the potential food source not to step over the fence. Being Germans of course they obeyed the sign like the good Germans they were . Me being a visiting Englander I didn't take any notice of shit like that. Now, Mr Tiger was stretched out on his side with this huge great ear sticking out of the bars of the cage. It was so easy to step over the poxy little barrier and tickle Mr Tigers ear and as I'm writing this typing with all my limbs obviously Mr Tiger didn't wake up so I lived to tell the tale of the day I tickled a tigers ear.

This is not the tiger in the story, this is a resident of Popcorn Park in New Jersey.

Bengal Tiger

Red-tailed Hawk

I popped out to the grocery store to get one or two things this afternoon and on the way back I noticed Hawky sitting on the wires. There was a suitable place to pull in and as I had my camera on the back seat I took a few pictures of him. He was very cooperative, didn't flinch while I was across the road from him.

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-Tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Chestnut-sided Warbler

The Chestnut-sided Warbler is one of my all time favorite Wood Warblers (along with Blackburnian, Black and White, Cerulean, etc, etc, etc). It's a regular spring visitor to the waterfall so I have taken quite a few shots of them over the years. The photo below is one of my better ones as the little bastards are rarely still!

Chestnut-sided Warbler

Sony RX100 II does Acadia

I found a load of photos I took last year in Acadia with the little Sony RX100. Nice neat little compact camera and not bad images even if I do say so myself.

Campobello (yeah I know it's not Acadia)

Acadia Coast

Acadia Coast

Flower

Flowers in the Rocks

Fungi

Harbour

Coastal Sedges

Sieur de Monts

Somesville

Somesville

Sunset

Twin Pines

Bass Harbor Lighthouse

White-tailed Deer

Boxcar Rocks

It was cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey when I left home this morning. The temperature registered 17 fahrenheit or -8.3 centigrade for all you Celsius types. I picked up Morris and went for breakfast at the Filling Station in Palmyra. A  very nice Bacon Omelette with a side of Sausage went down very well. After a quick side trip up to 2nd Mountain we left for Goldmine Road and Sharps Mountain. Boxcar Rocks is a Rocky Outcrop on the South side of Sharps Mountain. Not too far from the road, probably 1/3 mile uphill if that. I hope you can get a good impression of the height of the rocks from the pictures. I certainly wouldn't want to fall from the top. Lots of ferns between the rocks and lichen covering them. On the way back a short drive round Memorial Lake in Ft. Indian town Gap was nice, the lake is partially frozen already.

Google Earth view of Boxcar Rocks

Boxcar Rocks

Boxcar Rocks

Boxcar Rocks

Fern

Lichen

Memorial Lake

Boxcar Rocks

Warming her bum

Amber has taken to warming her old bones in front of the fire.

Amber

Bloodroot

Looking forward to Spring when the Sanguinaria canadensis or Bloodroot are among the first flowers to bloom in the backyard. 

Sanguinaria canadensis Bloodroot

Icy Tree

Winter is upon us. I've been predicting the onset of Winter for months, really I have. Well yesterday I saw my first snow of the season. A quick trip up to the mountain to fill up the feeders revealed a light covering of snow in places. I told you Winter was coming. It's not quite as bad as in the picture, it just feels like it. I have a nice log fire going which is surrounded by cats, they know the place to be.

Icy Tree