ANOTHER HUNTLEY MEADOWS WALK - PART 2

We came across the friendly couple again, and the gentleman started telling me about these Barn Swallows.

If you scroll down on the Cave Swallow page, link here, and for some reason I could not find a link on the actual page for the Barn Swallow, you will come to four illustrations; on the right is the Barn Swallow.  Click on that and you will hear its call.  At this link, scroll down and you will be able to listen to a whole range of North American Birds and their calls.

I never thought we would come across a Green Heron on the walkway.  We paused as there was another photographer trying to get its photo.   

The young man photographing this bird told us what it was. I was still too far away for an ID.  I haven't seen a Green Heron in a long time. We spent several moments admiring it, with several photographic opportunities for both of us, until other families arrived and it soon flew off.  We were grateful for the time we had to enjoy this beautiful bird.

Another favorite seen everywhere today was the Red-wing Blackbird.

You can hear its song here.  It is distinctive and once you recognize its sound, unmistakable.

The female Red-wing was nearer the water.

At first I thought this was a Bluebird, but studying it further I am more inclined to believe it was a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.  I would love to be sure so if you can help please let me know.

And now for a creature that isn't as popular to many, but reptiles have always fascinated me.  Not usually in their natural habitat, more likely behind the glass in a reptile house at the zoo.  

Gregg spotted it below the walkway near the double-decker observation platform.  It is an Eastern Garter Snake.  According to this link they are the gardener's best friend.  They feed on a wide variety of prey including spiders, insects, fish and amphibians.

The closest I could get to identifying this pretty pink wildflower is a Wild Geranium.

The next wildflower is a Narrowleaf Blue-eyed Grass. 

The Mallard Duck came out from behind a tree for a short time, and just as quickly disappeared into thick, bushy water plants

I saw this bird foraging for food and it was hard to get a decent picture as it was too far away.  There are two types that have been seen here recently, the Greater Yellowlegs and the Lesser Yellowlegs.  I have been scratching my head to see if I can see a difference.  

I think now that this may be the Lesser Yellowlegs, but there is a link here that gives a description of the differences.  Still hard for me to tell without the two side by side.  The lesser is a smaller bird and the beak isn't quite as long.  What do you think?   Sorry they aren't clearer, they are the best I could get.

Towards the end of our walk we came across the Great Blue Heron, in a different spot...

and also the Snowy Egret.

Also I found one more Bullfrog.

You can read more about this interesting critter at another link I found here. 

Thanks so much for continuing this walk with us. 

(Both Gregg and I took photos that I shared today and yesterday.  The logo with my name on it I made from a photo I found at Pixabay.com. My thanks once again to Sandra at Mad Snapper for telling us all about it in one of her posts on her blog.)

ANOTHER HUNTLEY MEADOWS WALK - PART 1

On Sunday, May 4th, 2019, the weather was too good not to go out and enjoy, so we headed to Huntley Meadows.  It was a great choice because not only was everywhere very lush and green, there was also a lot of wildlife.  And just like last time there were lots of people, couples like us and parents with young children.  

We took our usual path through the woods and you couldn't help but notice how beautiful everything looked.  The trees were waking up, along with all the plants and bushes on the ground.  They were full of bright green, newly sprouted leaves.

The wildflowers were lovely also.  A cricket was enjoying this one.  The closest I could come to identifying the flower was the Common Blackberry.  I found a website here.  If you know for sure I would be glad for the help.

There were many more blooming in other areas.

Over the water we noticed dragonflies everywhere.  You can read more information about the Common Whitetail Dragonfly here.

I didn't know if this video was going to turn out, but if you enlarge it you will be able to see a couple of Common Whitetails flying around, and another dragonfly I don't know the name of, just bouncing up and down in one spot.  I'm assuming it was feeding.

My favorite area is when you get down to the marshy area, where water levels can rise and fall depending on weather, and beaver building.   

We stopped to look at this familiar view across the pond, and noticed movement.  There was a Snowy Egret and a Great Blue Heron not too far from each other.

~Snowy Egret~

~Great Blue Heron~

We saw several Canada Geese sitting on nests.

I noticed her bill was open but we were all too far away to be a threat, and surmised this was not an aggressive, protective stance.  I wondered if it was because it was a very hot day, and have read that wild birds will open their bills and pant to help dissipate heat when it is very warm.  As they get hotter their panting may increase in speed, or they may open their bills even further for greater cooling.

We were intrigued by this old tree stump sticking out of the water, and surmised that beavers had caused it. 

We took another photo several weeks ago (below) and as you can see, there is a lot of new growth not only on the stump, but also in the water surrounding it.  The old tree is still growing...

and it is now being slowly surrounded by other water plants.  One of the reasons I enjoy coming in all the four seasons is to see those changes.

In the center of the next photo is a turtle.

~Painted Turtle~

There are always naturally fallen logs lying in the water, and always several turtles sunning themselves.  This scene is repeated all over the park.

And then you get the frogs.  It is fun to try and spot them in the mud.  There were several American Bullfrogs making their appearance.  We also saw large tadpoles but I couldn't get a decent photo of these.  A couple came along and saw our interest, and told us that the tadpoles we were looking at were second year.  They were the biggest I had seen.  They told us that bullfrog tadpoles (I am not sure if this applies to other types) live for two years before turning into a frog.  We met in other areas along our walk, and we enjoyed chatting with them each time.  They always told us interesting things, fellow  nature lovers who were happy to volunteer what they knew.  

Our next stop was at the nesting box where we saw the male Wood Duck on our previous visit.  This time there was a female Hooded Merganser.

I have only seen a male Hooded Merganser in the distance before.  This is the first female I have been able to take photos of...

and I took several.  In her first pose she appeared to be looking for fish?

But she never left her perch and I just kept taking photos, as did others.  She attracted several of us and I heard one person get very excited saying she was about to go into her nest.  By this time I was walking in the other direction, and I was satisfied with our time spent with this pretty bird.

Now would be a good time to finish today's post.  I have many more photos, too many I thought to include here.  I saved them for tomorrow.

Have a good day everyone and thanks for keeping us company on our walk around Huntley Meadows.