Birdwatching in Port A

When hubby and I woke early on Sunday morning to watch the sunrise at the beach, we took a walk on the jetty. A  crane flew in and landed near us, swooped into the water and came back with a fish. After several minutes of chewing he was finally able to eat his fish and then he seemed to pose for photos for me for as long as I kept snapping. So, naturally, I obliged!

Flyin' high, high, I'm a bird in the sky...

Sorry, this photo just screams an old Abba song, don't ya think??? You know the one, the one whose chorus says:

"And I dream I'm an eagle

And I dream I can spread my wings
Flyin' high, high, I'm a bird in the sky
I'm an eagle that rides on the breeze
High, high, what a feeling to fly
Over mountains and forests and seas
And to go anywhere that I please"


Ok, now that I have Abba tunes stuck in your head (please don't throw rocks at me..I happen to LIKE Abba), on to the photos!

My mom shares with me a love of photography. She and her cousin JoAn can often be found scouring the countrysides of Missouri and Arkansas searching for photo ops. One such adventure found them near a meadow where an eagle keeps her nest. The have refused to share the location of this eagle with anyone. But when I was in MO for Easter weekend, my mom shared the location with me and took me there for eagle photos of my own. That was so cool! I found myself in the middle of a field, way out in what I call the boonies, watching an eagle on her nest. I stood there in one of the most peaceful places and listened to water running nearby as I snapped photo after photo, trying to capture a great shot of the eagles, yes plural, flying nearby. I so wanted to get closer and get better shots. But I stayed my distance and captured what I could. However the photos turned out, I cherish the memory of my outing with my mom. It was just she and me, cameras in hand, enjoying our favorite hobby together. What a morning that was for me!

Enjoy browsing the photos while I go scrounge up my Abba cd's. For some reason I'm in the mood to give a listen....and as always to see the rest of the photos click on any of these to be taken to the gallery where they all are stored.




...but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31

Hummingbirds

While lounging on my mother in law's deck Friday, before capturing all those photos of the Painted Bunting, I snapped several photos of the many hummingbirds she also feeds.

There was quite a war between the birds and the bees as to who had the right to eat from the feeder.

Some birds just appeared to wait patiently for their turn at the feeder on a nearby wire stretched between the trees.

On another note, I'm going to attempt to go back to work tomorrow for the first time in just over 2 weeks. I don't know that I'll have the energy to work all day but I'm going to give it my best shot. I don't look forward to the piles on my desk and in my box that await me....

Painted Bunting

Yesterday afternoon as the family visited while sitting on Granny's deck, my sister in law Debbie and I spent some time capturing photos of the birds that came to snack in the feeders Billie and Freddie keep filled for them. I'll post some of the hummingbird photos later. Here are some of the shots I got of the colorful male Painted Bunting we were able to catch rare photos of. Generally he doesn't stick around long enough for anyone to snap photos of him. Yesterday he came back for several snacks so Debbie and I were both able to get several shots. He sure is a pretty bird! His famale counterpart is pretty drab in comparison!

I believe this little guy is one of the most colorful wild birds I've ever seen.

Briefly he was joined in the feeder by this cardinal.

I was able to capture only 2 photos of the male and female buntings together. She didn't stick around long at all!

I think as many times as he kept coming back for more, he must have quite enjoyed all the paparazzi on Billie's deck!

See? He seems to be posing for me now!

He even showed me his colorful backside.

I got to see his pretty profile a lot too.

I like the lift of his wing in this one.

For more information about painted buntings, check out this site.

Photos By...Marty?

My mom has lots of bird feeders and bird houses in her yard as she and Jerry enjoy watching the birds and Mom enjoys photographing them. I took a few photos of a woodpecker perched on a bird feeder one day but became interested in something else and put the camera down (I know SHOCKER isn't it?)

When I came back for the camera it had many many photographs of birds on it that I knew I didn't take. Marty had picked up the camera and started snapping away! And he got some really good shots!!! See for yourself....

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Check this out to see the mischief Heather's been up to while she's staying at Uncle Mike and Aunt Debbie's this week! Looks like you're all having a great time. See you all tomorrow!

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