May 04, 2022

Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge

May 04, 2022/ Gwen Morrison

The Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge field trip was our second April visit to the place (I posted about our visit back in 2017: part 1, part 2). A new visitor center was under construction and the old one no longer had feeders (where we saw goldfinches last time) and the purple martin houses had been moved to another area, so we didn’t see them either. The field trip still started with a look around the visitor center grounds. It was a cool morning. There were several spring flowering trees (dogwood and redbud)…and birds flitting from the trees to the grass to the man-made structures.

We started around the auto tour route. There had been a lot of rain in the days before our field trip and the water level in the ponds was higher that I remembered. We also learned that because the area is tidal salt marsh, the water levels are not as easy to control as in some other refuges; the refuge management is challenged to maintain the marsh as sea-level is rising.

There were plenty of birds around: northern shovelers, red-winged black birds, green-winged teal, and mallards were a few I photographed.

There were relatively large numbers of great blue herons. They don’t nest at the refuge but come here for food.

There were also great and snowy egrets in mixed groups.

I took a sequence of a great egret landing.

There were bald eagles too. I photographed a scruffy looking juvenile settling on an almost submerged log.

The big surprise of the morning was a roost of black-crowned night herons. From the place we were standing…they were on the other side of large pond; they looked like fuzzy places in the trees…

I thought tent caterpillars at first! With binoculars and big camera lens, the birds were easy to identify. My husband provided a magnified/cropped image of one of the birds. There were over 70 birds roosting!

What a thrilling finale for a Bombay Hook field trip!

May 02, 2022

Phillips Landing Park

May 02, 2022/ Gwen Morrison

My husband signed up us for 4 Delmarva Birding field trips as a last excursion to the eastern shore before we move to Missouri. The first field trip was at Phillips Landing Park near Laurel DE. It was a weekday so most of the other participants were retirees like us; we had two guides that were very familiar with the area…so we saw more than we would if we’d gone on our own.

Shortly after we started, my camera had a problem and I was challenged to work around it by using the eye piece rather than the screen for the rest of the morning….not what I usually do so my focusing/composition was not as good as usual even though the skew of pictures toward botanical rather than birds was probably about the same as it would have been with the camera working perfectly.

The plants are at the height of their variety in the spring with blossoms and unfurling leaves – the bright greens of mosses growing rapidly in the new warmth – unfurling ferns….good for photography although my eyes were itchy from the pollen laden air.

The high point of the botanical sightings: One of our guides pointed out a native orchid in bloom beside the path. They aren’t the large showy orchids of warmer climates; it takes a sharp eye to notice them!

There was an area near the path that looked like an egg laying site for a reptile….but something had found the eggs before they could hatch. There were eggshells among the acorns.

I did managed to photograph a few birds: courting cowbirds in the parking lot, a yellowlegs among the reeds, and a prothonotary warbler high in a tree.

The park was a good mix of habitat – watery area near the parking area (Broad Creek that flows into the Nanticoke River nearby) and a path through forest.

As we returned to our car, I saw a tiger swallowtail flit across the grassy area nearby. A good finale to a morning field trip!

August 29, 2020

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 29, 2020

August 29, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Ancient Artisans in Arabia, the Americas Invented Same Technology Independently | Smart News | Smithsonian Magazine – Stone fluting… and the fluting is not the same so it may have had a different purpose.

Baby boomers show concerning decline in cognitive functioning: Trend reverses progress over several generations, study finds -- ScienceDaily – The impact of modern life in the long term?

Ramesses II Statue Unearthed in Egypt - Archaeology Magazine – Multiple statues have been found…made of black and pink granite.

Top 25 birds of the week: #Waterbirds – Beautiful birds…not as many from North America as I expected.

Stone Sculptures of ‘Chronicles of Narnia’ Characters to Adorn Medieval Church – Replacing weathered carvings. There are 14 limestone carvings that will be displayed at ground level for visitors to see before being installed on the church’s exterior.

On the Delaware, A Promising New Era in Cleanup of an Urban River – Like many urban rivers in the US – a lot of progress has been made since the mid-20th century….but there is still a ways to go. Many of the urban rivers are clean enough in some stretches for recreational use….but often not after storms when sewage systems and extra industrial waste might be in the water along with the storm water.

Are you being served? A short history of waiters and servers in restaurants – Many of us are still in the mode of only getting carry out!

Examining the Chemistry of Yellowstone National Park's Thermal Waters – A little chemistry lesson in this post. Many of the hot springs and geysers are basic…mud pots and steam-driven fumaroles are acidic.

U.S. Commercial Rooftops Hold 145 Gigawatts of Untapped Solar Potential – The big challenge is logistical and financial. It seems that a partnership between commercial properties and community/utility solar would be worthwhile. It would be much better to use commercial rooftops than farmland for solar panels and many of the rooftops are in areas that consume a lot of electricity as well.

Record-Breaking 60,000 Flamingos Flock to Southern France -The picture of an adult flamingo surrounded by babies/juveniles caught my attention. I didn’t know that young flamingos are gray!

Unique Activities for Yesterday:

Flu shot. I got to my grocery store’s pharmacy just after they opened at 8:30 AM – got a flu shot. The store was busier than when I do my grocery shopping staring around 6:30….but it was still mostly possible to social distance…and everyone was wearing masks. I’ll stick with the earlier time for my grocery shopping.

February 09, 2020

In Delaware Bay – the boat from Lewes

February 09, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

After the very wet and blustery morning, Saturday afternoon was wonderful for the boat from Lewes Fisherman’s Wharf out onto Delaware Bay. There were birds in the waterway between the wharf and the bay: a great blue heron

And buffleheads among them.

My pictures were not fabulous…but good enough for identification. The rocking of the boat makes it more challenging to stay on subjects. And some birds were just a little too far. These birds may be Surf Scoters. They were being identified by our guides.

There were seals swimming in front of the sandy beach of Cape Henlopen. We were hoping to see them on the rocks, but we only saw the mobile bumps in the water.

There were people and gulls on the beach.

The gulls were everywhere….flying up off the breakwater as we passed.

Sometimes they would sit for long enough…and I managed some portraits. My idea was to identify them all….but I’m being lazy and not doing it for this blog post.

My favorite is this one with the open beak individual on the far right – Great Black-Backed Gulls (note the pink legs!).

As we headed back….we went to the lower, enclosed part of the deck to get warm…after a few minutes I noticed a Bald Eagle on a breakwater (no other birds around it). I took a picture through the window since there was no time to run out to the open deck.

Overall – the trip was much more enjoyable than we anticipated from our experience in the morning. Maybe this is one to do again next year….

February 07, 2020

Charles W. Cullen Bridge and Indian River Inlet

February 07, 2020/ Gwen Morrison

Saturday morning of the Winter Delmarva Birding Weekend was wet and windy. We had seen the Charles W. Cullen Bridge in the dark as we headed to our hotel on Friday evening. The sky and the lights on the bridge were dramatic.

The next morning, we were at the bridge again. It was the location of our field trip!

Unfortunately, it was raining and blustery. I discovered that a rain poncho is problematic in windy conditions. I learned to lean against part of the bridge or pavilion structure to hold the poncho down so I could use my binoculars…and take a few pictures (bufflehead in the distance and a gull…the bridge and walk beside the inlet). I was more successful with the binoculars: Razorbills riding the swift moving water (the tide coming in during heavy rain) and a Northern Gannet flying through under the bridge and looping around in the air. The trip ended early because the next part of the trip was planned for open areas (no shelter from the heavy rain and wind).

On Sunday morning, we left our hotel early to get to our field trip by 8….crossing the bridge again. It was dark much like our experience on Friday evening, but the texture of the clouds is more noticeable…and the lights were missing.

November 06, 2017

Nemours Mansion and Gardens – Part 2

November 06, 2017/ Gwen Morrison

2017 10 IMG_4824.jpg — The gardens at Nemours are very well maintained. While we were there the big pool was being rebuilt; there was a lot of dirt! There are historical gates on the two sides of the house. The bus stops at the British one and across the front of the house is the heavier looking Russian gate.

The view from the front of the house is down hill to the mid-garden structures…female sphinxes on both sides of the porch.

Walking around the house toward the Russian gate, the turtle pond garden can be viewed from ground level.

The weather vane glowed in the afternoon sun.

Looking back to the house walking down into the garden….

2017 10 IMG_4848.jpg — The maple tree lined drive used by the bus that carries everyone between the visitor center and the mansion (no pedestrian entrance or exit).

Many of the sculptures must be reproductions or otherwise very well maintained. The marble ones looked too good to be 1920s vintage.

Structures divide the gardens into ‘rooms’ making the transition to less formality further from the house.

We noticed a bridge by one of the ponds and walked over. The reflections of trees in the pond viewed from the bridge was one of my favorite scenes of the garden.

2017 10 IMG_4882.jpg — There is a temple with a Houdon sculpture of Diana at the far end of garden. We walked toward the road and found the bus to take us back through the security fence to the visitor center.

November 05, 2017

Nemours Mansion and Gardens – Part 1

November 05, 2017/ Gwen Morrison

I had toured Nemours Mansion and Gardens (in Wilmington, Delaware) several times in the past but I had been more than 10 years since the last visit. A lot has changed. The tours are now self-guided and paced rather than guided…but the docents in the mansion are still very knowledgeable and welcome questions. One of the first questions I asked was about the chandeliers. The house used electricity from the beginning for lighting but many of the chandeliers were retrofitted – antiques by the time they were acquired for the house. One of the ones visible from the foyer has perfume bottles that diffused scent from the days it supported candles! There were chandeliers everywhere. Formal rooms, bedroom (my favorite is one with Murano Glass flowers) and handing in the curve of the grand stair case. Now the fixtures have LED bulbs (probably illuminating in a way that does the least damage to textiles and paintings).

The ceilings and upper walls are also worth noticing….lots of variation in plaster and gold leaf.

Everywhere one looks there are things to notice – cork on the kitchen and butler pantry floor, an elaborate leather screen and the powder room.

There is a basement with lots of dark woods with bowling alleys, built in benches around pool tables and A. I. duPont’s home office.

There are paintings of the inhabitants of the house: Jessie Ball duPont that lived in the house longer than anyone; she died in 1970 and the house was open to the house several years later.

The little girl that grew up at Nemours has several portraits as well. The docent commented that the child came back to the house when she was very old and told them that the picture younger version was her favorite picture of herself….but she never liked that dog!

My favorite room in the house is the garden room – windows on 3 sides, black and white tile pattern on the floor, bird cages, and trellis on the walls.

Above the garden room is a terrace entered from Jessie’s sitting room. The terrace is vacant now but had black wicker furniture when the house was occupied. It overlooks a garden with a turtle fountain.