Wildlife Sightings (Image heavy)

Grendel · Post by **Grendel** » Thu Sep 10, 2015 3:16 am

And these two just because I like them ... hahaaa

More Emu Tracks. These birds can move at incredible speed across the sand. Faster than a vehicle.

The red layer being exposed here is 60,000 years old (the Gol-Gol layer)... If it contains any human activity there is real concern that the 'Out of Africa' theory may be in jeopardy. There is heaps of activity in the layer above (greyish .. The Mungo Layer. (up to 50,000yrs). The top layer (brownish) is the Zanci layer and it goes from the present to 26,000 yrs back. The stone tools in the above pic are at the base of this layer where it meets the Mungo Layer.

Greg

Arctish · Post by **Arctish** » Thu Sep 10, 2015 10:05 am

Thanks for sharing those pictures, Grendel. They're really interesting.

crazyfingers · Post by **crazyfingers** » Thu Sep 10, 2015 4:05 pm

Ya those are really cool! That dead Roo being held up by the tree is amazing. Keep posting more when you can.

Sey · Post by **Sey** » Fri Sep 11, 2015 9:54 pm

Great photos, Grendel. Post more.

Grendel · Post by **Grendel** » Fri Sep 11, 2015 11:24 pm

Thank you for kind remarks peoples.

Greg

Mediancat · Post by **Mediancat** » Sat Sep 12, 2015 12:38 am

A bit belated, but yes, awesome shots. Thank you.

rob

Mediancat · Post by **Mediancat** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 12:52 am

Went to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday -- with an appetizer visit to the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center, where unfortunately it was pouring down raining, so I didn't get to go for any kind of walk.

They had rescued this young screech owl, though, at the CBEC.

And on the way out, I saw a first for me: my first juvenile bald eagle.

Then to Blackwater, where the rain subsided for more or less exactly the length of the visit. First off is this tiny American toad, of which there were dozens hopping in the garden behind the visitor center.

Then this great egret, showing considerable neck extension:

This adult bald eagle:

This great blue heron in a tree.

This lifer, which was actually one of the top five on my "want to see" list: A viceroy. (The line crossing the wings and smaller size distinguish them from monarchs.)

Here's another bald eagle.

A mixed group of Forster's terns and young laughing gulls.

And a third bald eagle.

(Continued)

Rob

Mediancat · Post by **Mediancat** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 1:00 am

Also from Blackwater: a common buckeye. They were all over the place.

An eastern kingbird, which lasted right next to the car.

Another great blue heron.

A pair of greater yellowlegs.

A probable dunlin.

Another great egret.

And a black swallowtail, back at the visitors center.

(Continued.)

Rob

Mediancat · Post by **Mediancat** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 1:03 am

And my second lifer from Blackwater: A northern cricket frog, which is tiny. It turns out they're one of the smallest vertebrates in North America.

A third heron.

A horsefly.

A pair of painted turtles.

And, from today at Quarry Lake, a stunner: This osprey.

Rob

crazyfingers · Post by **crazyfingers** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 1:04 am

That's an impressive set of eagles. I have no Forster's Terns.

When you are done I'll post a few I have ready.

I love Osprey. We cross posted.

Nice Egret too. I so rarely see them except in central Tokyo!

Mediancat · Post by **Mediancat** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 1:15 am

I'm done, and thank you.

Rob

crazyfingers · Post by **crazyfingers** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 1:17 am

Mr. Toad has taken up residence. He's here most every day in his hole and he goes out at night. His hole is the stone wall that I need to fix by the side of the basement. Even though he's free the kids call him pet toad because he's reliably there in the daytime.

Here is his hole.

My only hummingbird this summer, at least so far.

Yesterday at the state park, a great blue walking down to the shore.

A red squirrel from below.

Chipmunk

Some wood ducks flew in.

Today was overcast and most of the day had some drizzle but I had a couple hours to get out without drizzle.

I don't often go the the town lake. But today there was a cormorant on a rock.

Lifer for my list. I may have an earlier photo of a Solitary Sandpiper but it's my first known ID. That's a semipalmated Sandpiper in back of it. Sandpipers and plovers are such social critters. Despite totally different species these two were foraging and flying together when they moved about.

Sey · Post by **Sey** » Sun Sep 20, 2015 1:19 am

That's a pretty well-fed looking toad, Crazyfingers.
Can you get a shot of him (her?) outside, on his evening foray?

crazyfingers · Post by **crazyfingers** » Mon Sep 21, 2015 7:17 pm

If I see him out again I will. I only saw him out once and it was at night. He's not jumbo size but larger than average.

Just got back from a weekend in Maine and will be posting photos later.

crazyfingers · Post by **crazyfingers** » Mon Sep 21, 2015 9:48 pm

Down at the frog pond a few days ago. I think it's a northern Pickerel Frog.

Also a few days ago a juvenile Brown Headed Cowbird.

My wife gave me a weekend alone in Maine. Had some cleaning to do but also got a lot. I arrived around midnight Friday.

Saturday morning at the shore, a flock of Surf Scoters out in the bay.

I went out to the Schoodic area of Acadia National Park (ANC) and the whole peninsula was immersed in fog from the ocean. I didn't stay very long but got a photo of a great Blue Heron in the fog.

A red squirrel with a pine cone.

Ocean fog was so bad that I went inland instead. I took a drive to the place where I so frequently see things: Mud Creek.

I think that this is lesser yellowlegs. There were several again.

As usual, an Osprey was also there.

And like old friends, the belted kingfisher was on his dead stump.

Here is a series of 5 photos I was lucky to catch. As he got his catch.

First just sitting on the stump.

As I snapped the next photo it saw something and flew down to the water.

It came back with a fish and whacked it all around until the fish stopped flopping around.

To be continued.

crazyfingers · Post by **crazyfingers** » Mon Sep 21, 2015 10:02 pm

After much whipping the fish around the fish finally was limp in it's bill.

Nice and dead, time to swallow.

After Mud Creek I want back to the town harbor.

Two herring gulls eating crab apples. They kept dunking them in the salt water while eating them.

The Lion's Mane Jellyfish are still washing up. This is about 16 inches diameter.

I went for a walk down to road from the house and saw this chipmunk.

At the shore down the street a spotted sandpiper.

Red Squirrel

The shore by the house had very small snails. These were all over and I don't recall ever seeing them before. They are much smaller than regular size periwinkles.

These little bugs were all over a dead Lion's Mane jellyfish.

Next morning started out cloudy. But I took a walk down to the shore and this bald eagle, probably the same one that lives nearby, swooped out and landed in the trees a good distance away.

To be continued. One more page to go.

crazyfingers · Post by **crazyfingers** » Mon Sep 21, 2015 10:10 pm

The forecast was for the clouds to move out so I decided to head over to Mud Creek.

There were 5 or 6 young Common Mergansers in Mud Creek.

Some Yellowlegs again.

I went to a place called Wonderland.

In the ocean, I believe these are American Black Ducks.

This is a cormorant coming in for a landing

Not sure. Looks like a Junko but it seems a bit early for the junkos to return.

Driving home I passed a tidal bay and three Great Egrets were sitting on a rock. This is a long distance shot at 2278mm zoom.

They are on the rock in the center of the photo.

Back at the house on the rock that we climb down to get to shore a lobster had gotten itself caught and was dead.

So I left Maine this morning and got home this morning.

This afternoon, odd to see a nuthatch on the driveway.

And finally, my first cottontail in the yard so far this year.

Finished

Mediancat · Post by **Mediancat** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 12:31 am

That's definitely a junco. Range maps I see online put them in Maine all year.

And definitely a pickerel frog. Nice series.

I have yet to see a red squirrel.

Went back to the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center over the weekend.

Before I went, I saw this cedar waxwing at Robert E. Lee.

And this young song sparrow at Quarry Lake.

At the Environmental Center, there were a plethora of monarchs:

This snowy egret, on a mud flat packed with great egrets, and a few other species.

This pair of spotted sandpipers:

Three great egrets and a great blue heron.

A female eastern pondhawk.

A female blue grosbeak.

An obscure bird grasshopper. This sucker had to have been over two inches long. It was huge.

And finally, a cardinal with what looks for all the world like a mohawk.

Rob

crazyfingers · Post by **crazyfingers** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 1:04 am

That's a bonanza of Egrets. I don't have a snowy. And except for Japan I don't have any nice-up-close egrets. The three from yesterday are very rare for me. I hadn't seen them here for several years.

I think what you've labeled spotted sandpipers may actually be Greater Yellowlegs. They have spots on the back and their beaks are 1.5x as long as their head.

I know that I still need to go back to my Mud Creek photos. I think I have a mix of Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs different times. Sandpipers can be hard to keep straight.

Mediancat · Post by **Mediancat** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 1:07 am

I actually initially thought they were greater yellowlegs as well, but the beak of the bird you can see is orange, which yellowlegs don't have. Someone on the MD Birding Facebook Group corrected it to spotted sandpiper.

Rob

crazyfingers · Post by **crazyfingers** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 1:29 am

I referenced these on my 3rd page above but I guess I didn't link.

crazyfingers · Post by **crazyfingers** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 2:45 am

Rob, do you think that it's possible that the middle egret in the 3 egrets above is a snowy egret? It's legs are more yellow and the bill black.

crazyfingers · Post by **crazyfingers** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 1:23 pm

Having done some more research, I'm convinced that m middle egret is a snowy. Thanks Rob for bringing the whole thing up. I wouldn't have thought to check more closely if you had not. New page in my life list!

Mediancat · Post by **Mediancat** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 6:40 pm

Yes, yours is definitely a snowy. Good lifer add!

(At first I thought you were talking about my pic with three egrets and thought, no, not a snowy egret . . . then I realized you meant yours, and you'd already figured out that you'd gotten a snowy egret for yourself.)

Rob

crazyfingers · Post by **crazyfingers** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 6:54 pm

Ya I wasn't clear. Mine.