An Early Summer Walk

Bird in the Marsh Grass

Summer Wildflower

Cool morning, summer walks are my way of connecting with nature.

You never know what you will find!

Osprey

Blue Jay

They're back!

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron, a photo by Alida's Photos on Flickr.

Just resting in a nearby tree.....(on one leg), in my neighborhood. Are you surprised to see such a large bird in the area? Don't be! This beautiful Great Blue Heron is a frequent visitor to my suburban backyard and is often seen 'hunting' near the river and pond.

Long Island has an abundance of wildlife areas: county, state and national parks, wetlands, the pine barrens, undeveloped areas, which are all natural habitats for a variety of creatures.

Take a walk or drive to the park near where you live and witness this for yourself. Take a break from the shopping and crowds! You may be pleasantly surprised!

My Winter Friend

Our big blue friend, the Great Blue Heron as he is known, comes to visit us every winter. We sometimes see him in other seasons, but I think he like it here in winter, tucking himself out of the wind.

Our Local Hawk

Hawk, originally uploaded by Alida's Photos.

We have a visitor just about every afternoon. He sits on the condo balcony and watches the lawn below.

All of a sudden he will swoop down and catch a vole or field mouse.

It's wonderful to see!

~~

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

Great Frigatebird, male (Fregata minor), originally uploaded by Alida's Photos.

No, this is not a turkey! It made me think of turkey, especially since I just finished the left-overs from yesterday's dinner. Hmmmmm....

Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful!

female Northern Cardinal

female cardinal, originally uploaded by Alida's Photos.

I love this time of year.

The birds are very active with new little ones who are learning to fly.

This photo was taken in my front yard, near a bird feeder.

I think she's looking at me!

What do you think?

~~~

Laughing Gull, Summer

Laughing Gull, Summer, originally uploaded by Alida's Photos.

~~~

You know it's summer on Long Island when the Laughing Gulls wear their summer plumage! 

Gulls love to perch themselves on pilings. 

I guess it's a nice place to rest and take in the sights of the river.

~~~

osprey

osprey, originally uploaded by Alida's Photos.

~~~

Taken on Friday, when the weather was pleasant, at the William Bayard Cutting Arboretum, Oakdale, Long Island. The Osprey nest is still on the top of the chimney.

I waited for him/her to fly away and come back with a fish, but it just didn't happen while I was there.

~~~

Peacock Display

Peacock Display, originally uploaded by Alida's Photos.

~~~

We went to the Holtsville, Brookhaven Ecology Site today. Nothing unusual but cute. A great place to take the kids!

This is the first time, that I remember, actually watching a peacock display his feathers. He shakes them making a rattling sound and rotates 360 to show them off. Beautiful and so cool!

~~~

Tree Swallow

Just a little bird, a Tree Swallow, too cute to pass up!
~~~~~~~~~~

Red Cardinal

One of the joys of owning a home, is to have a bird feeder near the windows.

What better way to see the visiting birds?

Here on Long Island, we get a variety of species. There are the Long Island regulars, like this female red cardinal and then there are the migratory birds too.

They are not always easy to photograph, but this female is getting used to the camera.

Doesn't she look like she's checking me out?

~~~~~~~~~~

Merry Christmas!

~~~~~~~~~~

Owls at the Roosevelt Sanctuary, Oyster Bay

Barred Owl

~~~~~~~~

Horned Owl

~~~~~~~~~~

These two owls were taken on the same day, same place as the hawk below.

~~~~~~~~~~

Hawk at the Teddy Roosevelt Sanctuary

~~~~~~~~~~

Red-tailed Hawk

Today at the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary & Audubon Center in Oyster Bay, there was an exhibit of birds in captivity.

There also was a Long Island camera shop standing by, to give tips on photographing wildlife.

(Of course they also wanted to sell camera equipment, but they were not aggressively selling.)

It turned out to be a wonderful experience and I got to see and photograph some beautiful birds!

~~~~~~~~~~

Osprey at the Arboretum

Ummm...err...how do I say this and sound "like a proper lady?"

I was watching and photographing this osprey at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum, and he was having a nice little breakfast/lunch of freshly caught fish.

Well, he fluffed his wings and raised his tail and I kept snapping away.

After I got home and put the photos onto the computer, I realized what he had done!

I'm glad I wasn't too close.

If you have a chance, go over to the Bayard Cutting Arboretum. There is a nesting pair of osprey with a nest right atop the chimney of the main estate building.

They are close enough for everyone to see.

My husband and I keep returning hoping to see the babies hatch.

Everytime there, we are amazed at the size and beauty of such a large bird.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Click on the photo to see the larger version!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~