I had a wonderful morning at Huntley Meadows on Saturday. The highlight was
watching a female Merganser parade around with her pride and joy. I also came
across a Blue Heron who let me gradually get very close to take photos.
I've tried to identify them, but having so little knowledge/experience often
leads to a lot of frustration looking through books and searching the web.
Mergansers (Hooded?):
I had so much fun watching these two carry on.
Between Swims: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59824693
Napping: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59819684
Proud Mama: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59819680
Glamerous: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59819679
Got Lunch: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59819676
Great Blue Heron:
I was able to slowly creep quite close. Each time I moved it would stop and
watch me. After I was settled it would go back to searching for snacks.
With Lunch: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59819670
Getting Closer: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59819671
Real Close: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59819673
Egret (Great?):
Taking a Stroll: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59819660
Showing Attitude: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59824524
Pair of Ducks (????):
I setup and started taking photos as these two worked the shoreline. They
slowly drew closer to me until I could no longer fit them in the camera frame.
I found the female to be quite beautiful, but had trouble getting a good shot
because her head was underwater most of the time. The male kept watch and was
posed for better photos.
Female preening: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59819653
Moving on: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59819657
Male keeping watch: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59819654
Male very close: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59819656
Barn Swallow (?):
Such vivid coloring: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59819651
Two's almost a crowd: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59819649
Gosslings:
Taking a peak: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59819663
High Stepping: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59819661
Greater Yellowlegs (?):
Right side: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59819664
Left Side: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59824636 ;
Top side?: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59819667
Hawk (Red-Shouldered?):
There were several hawks circling around for part of the morning. I took a
bunch of shots, but they did not turn out very well.
In flight: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59824682
Here are a few non-bird photos...
Jumping Spider:
Found this guy crawling around my camera lens. Whenever I reached toward the
lens the spider jumped onto my hand. The photos offer a good perspective of
just how small it was.
Front-side: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59820006
Back-side: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59820007
Turtle:
As I approached it retreated most of the way into it's shell. Then I got down
on the ground to have a closer look and it retreated all the way. After a few
minutes it started to peek one eye to see if I was still there.
Starting to hide: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59820008
Anyone Home?: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59820010
Peeking with it's left eye: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59820011
Water Snake:
When it's nose first broke the surface of the water I thought it was a turtle.
Emerging: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59820001
Over the top: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59820002
It's a stretch: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59820004
Off it went: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59820005
Ant with Grub:
This ant slowly manueverd this grub through the debris on the forest floor:
Has a prize: http://www.pbase.com/sayer/image/59819648
Sayer Seely
Herndon, VA
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Sayer's Web: http://sayersweb.com
