Nice to see the robins return after the winter

Seeing robins, a sure sign of spring. Over the past 4 to 6 weeks we've been seeing a lot more of them. I took these photos back in March.

This robin was squawking and sparring with another robin. They were moving too quick and I couldn't catch them both (I really need to work on my movement shots) but I did take a pic of this one when it paused for a minute.

Spotted this robin looking for its next meal

  

Blue jay digging for lunch

It's rare I can capture a blue jay photo. The ones that live in my neighborhood are too fast. Downtown in D.C. though, they are easier to spot and, for whatever reason, tend to stay put. 

I watched this fella dig around for a few minutes until he found what he was looking for between the District of Columbia WWI monument and the reflecting pool.

 

Ducks enjoying the spring weather

I took these photos of ducks in March just as the temperatures were beginning to warm back up. They were hanging out around the Tidal Basin.

 

Sea gull reflections (Tidal Basin, Washington, D.C.)

Around the Tidal Basin there is a section that tends to flood over by the Jefferson Memorial. While walking by during a recent visit, I spotted a bunch of gulls hanging our around the edge of the basin and I noticed the reflections so stopped and took a few shots.

 

Bird bath at the Jefferson Memorial (Washington, D.C.)

Now that spring has arrived, the birds are back. It's nice to hear them chirping in the early morning hours and see them throughout the day. Today's post is of a few birds I spotted taking a bath in the puddles near the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.

 

Birds of North Redington Beach, Florida

In January 2017 we traveled to Florida and spent an evening on North Redington Beach in Florida. These were taken in the early morning hours as the sun was coming up before we headed back to Orlando. The birds here were all waiting for breakfast. As you can see one of the gulls we saw was already dining on his catch :).

Birds of Madeira Beach, Florida

As I mentioned in my last post, we drove down to Madeira Beach the morning after we arrived in Florida. There are so many interesting birds that aren't really too shy about hanging around where people are. Here are a few we saw. I'm afraid I don't know my birds too well, I believe there is a crane in here, but can't say for sure. The last two are photos of pelicans. If anyone can identify these birds, please let me know. Thanks so much!

Peacocks and more peacocks! (Magnolia Plantation & Gardens)

In the last few weeks I've been focusing on our Charlston, South Carolina trip. I took numerous photos at Magnolia Plantation & Gardens and am doing a series of blog posts from this one outing. Recent posts include one about the birds and another themed "reflections". 

Today's theme is peacocks! These birds seem to have the run of the place and there are tons of them wandering about. Many are not shy and will walk very close to visitors. It was a lovely day out.

This peacock's attention was on a nearby female.

This fellow was spotted lounging out in one of the gardens

Spotted this white peacock alongside a path during one of our tours

The female in the background dropped a feather and the male in the above pic who was trying to impress her seemed to be attracted to it.

Birds spotted at Magnolia Plantation & Gardens

Today's post is another one from Magnolia Plantation & Gardens. When we visited, we decided to purchase the full package and take all the available tours. Unfortunately, the boat tour of the rice fields was not available during the time we visited, but we did take the garden tour (required for admission), Nature Train Tour, From Slavery to Freedom: The Magnolia Cabin Project Tour, the House Tour and the Swamp Tour.

While taking these various tours, we spotted many amazing birds. Here are a few flying beauties we saw:

This great egret was spotted as we were leaving the swamp tour and heading into the woods.

Several ducks were swimming in the swamp, the gators didn't seem to bother them.

This blue heron appeared to be a bit camera shy. We were wandering around the gardens and spotted this one near where the rice fields used to be.

Took this one from the car window on the way out

Geese at Ellanor C. Lawrence Park on a spring day

During spring break we visited many places. One place I'd never spent any time at was Ellanor C. Lawrence Park, which is located in Chantilly, which is located on the western end of Fairfax County. During our afternoon we saw numerous critters - land, water and air. 

Over the next few posts I'm going to highlight some of the wonderful nature we saw. Today I wanted to share some photos of geese that were chilling out in the pond.

I liked how the reflections came out in this one

Swimming over to shore

"Yeah, I'm talkin' to you!", says the goose

Time for lunch!

Birds spotted in Washington DC - Part 2

Yesterday I posted pics of some of our feathered friends spotted yesterday on and around the National Mall. For today's post I added a few more pics.

Deep in conversation

Hunting for food

Posing for the camera

Birds spotted in Washington DC - Part 1

Being forecasts predicted a 62+ degree day, we decided to take a ride downtown on Sunday to visit some museums and just enjoy the weather. We arrived pretty early about 8:45 a.m. and went bird hunting along the National Mall. Spotted lots of feathered friends - these are a few shots I took. More to come on my next post.

This bird was in a scuffle with another bird just before taking this shot. I missed the scuffle by seconds, but tracked him as he flew up into the roof of an information stand.

Spotted this bird alongside one of the Smithsonian Museums (I do not know what kind of bird it is - if anyone knows, please feel free to let me know in the comments!)

This fella was keeping watch on the construction site of the National Mall where major renovation is going on to redo the turf/grassy areas.

Bird spotting in Fairfax County in March 2016

As I noted in yesterday's post, it's shaping up to look a little like spring. Hopefully, anyway! Being the temperatures were so nice on Monday, went for a late afternoon walk. Spotted a large bird high up in a tree and tried to zoom in to get a few shots. It was confusing me because I kept changing angles as I wanted to see its face. But every time I moved, all I'd see was a tail feather. A pretty tail feather, but not exactly what I was hoping to see.

It wasn't until about 10 minutes later I realized there were two birds! They were sitting in two different trees but the branches came together. Once I figured that out it was easier to find the direction each was facing. 

Birds spotted at Christ Church in Old Town Alexandria

Last weekend we were wandering around Old Town Alexandria before. While we were walking on the grounds of Christ Church, I spotted these birds very high up in a tree. I'd just gotten a new camera and, after taken this shot, I found the zoom is much better than it was my last point and shoot.

The first shot is the original focus and zoom (no edits), the second shot is a cropped version of the same photo where I could see the details of the bird. Loving my new camera! My old one never would have "found" the birds that high up in any tree, nevermind any details. 

In photos: A day with the ducks at Edinburg Mill

I find the Shenandoah to be a beautiful and pretty special place. On a glorious spring-like day last December, our first stop was at the Shenandoah Caverns, but on the way back we stopped to see the Edinburg Mill. I had come across brochures for it before, but never had the opportunity to stop while driving through. Being this was a total leisure trip, we took the time to visit.

As soon as we pulled up, a bunch of ducks came running towards us when I tried to snap a few photos (we expected them to run the other way!). Turns out they were expected to be fed as the museum inside the Edinburg Mill sells food to help raise money to maintain the historic site.

 So we toured the inside of this interesting museum (not what we expected, but very cool nonetheless) and then purchased some food to bring to the ducks. All in all, it was a great day with the ducks.

I hope those humans thought to bring food this time!

Here they come, here they come!

"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!"

"Now that's the way..."

I've gone back one other time since, but that was in June and the ducks weren't as hungry. But they were still around.

Photo credits: Leigh Goessl

Some of my other favorite day trips: 5 great day trips from Washington D.C.