Have I been out with Ann over the past few days? You betcha! From early Monday morning at Second Marsh until this afternoon up at the cottage she and I went insane on the nature photography front, so I will be updating my blog in sections over the next few days as I go blind editing my photos.
On Monday morning at 8 a.m. we met at the McLaughlin Bay side of Second Marsh for a few hours, and it was mercifully quiet on the birding front, otherwise my final photo tally would have been worse. Other than the resident American White Pelican, the only other bird of note was a Green Heron in McLaughlin Bay. Eastern Kingbirds were numerous, as were Cedar Waxwings, this newly-coiffed one below was proudly displaying his single dreadlock:
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Ann and I bid adieu to each other, vowing to meet up again at the cottage in the afternoon. I changed my regular route to the cottage, wanting to see if a spectacular field of sunflowers that I accidentally stumbled upon last summer was still there, and sure enough it was:
I would just have to bring Ann back here the next morning to see this, as well as take advantage of the lighting!
I arrived at the cottage and Ann shortly thereafter (her blog will amaze you with her Osprey adventures), immediately heading for the dock to relax and cool off from the humidity. But we didn't stay put for very long as my resident Merlin started to act up in the noise department, prompting Ann to run around barefoot (!) on the back road for that perfect shot...In the end we determined that there were three Merlins, here's a few photos of them:
The Common Loon that I had successfully bribed with fish appeared on cue for Ann:
At sunset we also had some Osprey action at the nest next to our dock, but more on that later as I conclude Part Un.
But before I do so, I am always striving to learn new things every day, and today I found out that it takes twelve to forty-eight hours after exposure to poison ivy for the reaction to develop. Today I found out that it's not wise to go nerding in flip-flops where poison ivy grows, no matter how hot it is. Today I found out that Ann and I may have, in fact, taken corrective action by frantically wiping our feet and ankles with dozens of baby-wipes within the recommended ten minute safety window. Will keep you posted as I know more, sometime between 10:30 p.m. tonight and 10:30 a.m. on Friday, August 6.
5 comments:
Janice is complaining about over 1800 shots but I have over 2200 to edit. What an amazing 3 days with tons of photography, driving over the country, sitting on the deck running after osprey, loons and merlins and eating some of Janices fantastic meals. I am hoping that neither of us see the poison ivy. Thanks for a wonderful time.
And we're all hanging on waiting for the next chapter in the Poison Ivy Saga. What happened?
...so far so good on the poison ivy front, at Hour 21. This is what happens when you're so focused on your subject matter that you become careless and stop paying attention to where you're standing along shoulders of country roads...but it was worth every minute of it, Ann and I had a blast. And thanks for the kind comments above, too, Ann. When are we doing it again??!!
More great photos. The Merlin is a beautiful looking bird. As always so is the Loon.
Thx, Glen, appreciate your kind comments from across a few ponds!!! I'm so far behind with my Blog now, you have no idea, arghhhhhhhhhh...
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