June 29, 2023

Zooming – June 2023

June 29, 2023/ Gwen Morrison

So many photographic opportunities in June…close to home and in Texas. There were more biting insects around so staying on paths was all-the-more important; almost every image I took used the zoom on my bridge camera (Canon Powershot SX70 HS). Enjoy the slide show!

The pictures include:

A sunny day visit to the Springfield (Missouri) Botanical Gardens,
An afternoon and then (a week later) morning visit to Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge (near Sherman, TX), and
A morning at Josey Ranch Pocket Prairie (in Carrollton, TX).

June 28, 2023

Ten Little Celebrations – June 2023

June 28, 2023/ Gwen Morrison

Every day brings multiple little celebrations…I choose one to log for the day and then select 10 each month to savor in this post.

One year anniversary for our Missoure home. June 2022 is when we moved to Missouri. We’ve settled into the house and I’ve confirmed that my favorite room in the house is my office…just as it was in the Maryland house. The house itself and being closer to family have confirmed again and again that we made a good decision to move when did! So we are celebrating the anniversary.

Dishwasher and sprinkler system working. Of course, every house needs maintenance…in June both our dishwasher and sprinkler system had problems (dishwasher leaked water and the sprinkler system developed a broken head/pipe after the grinding of the pine stump). Fortunately, both were easily fixed (rather than an expensive replacement) and we celebrated that they are functioning again.

Internet/TV/phones working. Shortly after I got to my parents’ home in Carrollton, their internet and TV and phones failed. We had a painful 4 days….celebrated when the tech finally came and replaced their outside box (it was at least 18 years old!).

**Scissor-tail at Josey Ranch**. Celebrated when I saw a scissor-tailed flycatcher while I was out of my car with camera in hand!

**Ducklings at Josey Ranch**. Celebrated seeing newly hatched ducklings with a mom trying to protect them from turtles!

**Seeing beautyberry flowering**. I had previously only noticed beautyberry plants after they had their purple berries. This June I celebrated knowing where the plants grew so I could see the flowers.

Trimming all the dead parts out of crape myrtle and rose buses. It was a daunting task because it seemed like there was so much to trim. It got a little better when I discovered that my gauntlet gloves worked (not thorn pricks from the roses) and that the dead twigs/branches would burn easily. I celebrated when the task was completed…felt like I had accomplished a lot in getting my yard looking better for the summer.

Buying a fragrant sumac (native plant sale). I celebrated my first native plant addition to my landscaping…there will be more through the years.

Homemade marinade with balsamic vinegar. Celebrating trying a new recipe and realizing that I will never need to buy bottle mariade again!

Road trip to St. Louis. Celebrating another road trip with my daughter! Blog posts coming up re our adventure.

June 26, 2023

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

June 26, 2023/ Gwen Morrison

I saw scissor-tailed flycatchers flying along the roadside in my April and May road trips between Missouri and Texas. The bird is easily identified because of its long tail. I saw several in Oklahoma at first – to be expected since it is the the state bird. Then I saw several on the May morning I visited Hagerman. I could never photograph them because I was driving. I finally got lucky in June and spotted one getting breakfast the morning I went to the Josey Ranch Pocket Prairie in June.

The bird was sitting on a snag…periodically leaving to swoop over the grass…then would return to the snag. It was a breezy day and the long tail seemed to me a bit of a disadvantage; the movements of the bird to catch insects in flight were very dramatic. It was great to simply stand and watch the bird. Being able to finally photograph the bird was the highpoint of my morning!

February 11, 2019

Whopping Crane and the rest from a Central Florida Field Trip

February 11, 2019/ Gwen Morrison

Continuing the third day of the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival….this is the last post about our field trip into Central Florida. The high point of the day was seeing a Whooping Crane. This is one that started out life at the Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge (program now ended) and doesn’t migrate. It generally stays on a cattle ranch and enjoys cattle feed! We stopped at the ranch’s entrance, so the pictures are a little blurry with the max zoom required to take the picture. There were some sandhill cranes around as well and it was obvious this bird was different – bigger and very white. Our guides told us that the dwindling numbers of whooping cranes in Florida will be captured and relocated to join a non-migrating group in Louisiana.

Even though it was chilly while we were in Florida, it was still much warmer than in Maryland. There were flowers blooming and going to seed.

The deciduous trees had lost their leaves. The guides pointed out bald cypress domes…the tallest and oldest trees being in the center.

I was pleasantly surprised by the paint job in the rest room of the place we stopped for our picnic lunch. Very artfully done!

A cow escaped the pasture and was in tall grass heaven near one lake. Fortunately, the grass held the cow’s attention and it didn’t wonder up into the picnic area.

We stopped when we spotted a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher on a fence post. It moved to the fence wire and I got another angle.

We were just getting ready to retreat to the bus when a Crested Caracara flew in with some prey followed by an entourage of Turkey Vultures. The big lenses and binoculars were trained on the caracara trying to figure out what the prey was. Maybe a snake.

They stayed around long enough for me to take a portraits. The crest of the caracara reminds me of a bad toupee.

The vultures kept a respectful distance but would move in as soon as the caracara left.

We made a last stop before the end of the day at the Helen and Allan Cruikshank Sanctuary where we had spent a very rainy morning a few days before. This time we saw an Osprey before the scrub jays.

But the Florida Scrub Jays showed up soon enough. One alighted on the hand of one of our guides – probably thinking there would be a peanut for it…no peanut appeared.

Another bird stomped on the hat of our other guide. The bird obligingly turned around for him to get a selfie. That was the last event of the day. Note that all the jays we saw were banded…sometimes multiple times.

Our day in the field (5AM to 4PM) was probably the best of the festival…so much seen in a relatively short period of time!

April 23, 2018

Josey Ranch Park in Carrollton, Texas

April 23, 2018/ Gwen Morrison

The baby ducklings I posted about yesterday were the spring highlight for me at the part….but I was pleased with other sites too.

The buttercups in the grass…and the serendipity of catching a butterfly in flight between flowers.

The male grackles were facing off…asserting their dominance.

There was a scissor-tailed flycatcher that posed on a post for picture.

I hadn’t realized how similar they looked to mockingbirds that are also in the area….except for the vary long tail.

I saw two pairs of ducks (other than the mallards) that are probably getting ready to leave for their breeding ground further north: gadwalls (photo is of the male)