Spring Cleaning

A cool but sunny morning and a pool of water enticed this sparrow to take a dip. After a pretty good soaking it shook off in a nearby bush of honeysuckle, sounding like a kid softly thumbing a deck of cards.

Egg Duty

Our Osprey is incubating the eggs. She is tucked down into the nest, especially in this cool, blustery weather. We will be looking for hatchlings around the first week of May.

Snow Fountain

My ornamental weeping cherry is near peak flowering. Hope this latest storm doesn't strip it of the blooms.

White-throated Sparrow Trois

Still here and probably here for another couple weeks, the winter sparrows fill the spring air with song. An article in the morning paper quotes a bird watcher stating that neo-tropical birds have been seen in a south eastern NC swamp.

Hawk, another look

Here's a look at the Sharp-shinned hawk just before he flew off. This is a good look at the skinny legs that helped to identify the hawk.

Green onions

Green onions that I let go to seed provide some architectural interest in the garden. It's also a great idea to mix an onion in with your flowers. The leaves are puffy, give 'em a gentle squeeze and they feel like a clown's animal balloons.

Arugula flowering

The pretty little cross shaped flower of Arugula. We have a bunch flowering now; soon little seed pods that are similar to radish will form and give us plenty to plant in the future. Meanwhile a fresh patch of new seedlings will supply us with the peppery leaves we love in our salad. This is a pretty hardy herb, it overwintered well here.

The Pair at the Nest

The Osprey pair together at the nest. A third Osprey has been hanging around the last few days, showing off a fish and perched on nearby piers. The pair does not seem overly concerned. Lots of squawks and one chase. Perhaps this is a youngster back for the first time.

Osprey on his perch

The Osprey is routinely using this perch to eat his fish.

A Hawk visits

Probably looking for a little bird, the Sharp-shinned Hawk stopped in the yard for a few minutes. It hopped around a bit and settled atop my concrete frog before taking off.

Working the nest

A stick is brought back to the nest. It was knocked out during some arranging and floated on the water.

Banded Osprey

Never noticed this before my latest photos: one of the pair is banded on the left leg. My older photos don't show that leg, there is usually a twig in the way. I'm trying to find out what group is banding ospreys in this area.

Daffodils

The sunshine and warmer temps have pushed the daffodils to start opening.

Song Sparrow

I usually hear this sparrow during the migration times.

Spring Snowflakes

The tiny blooms of this dainty flower are just starting to open. The fine detail of the green dot on each petal is worthy of closer look.

White-throated Sparrow Deux

Another pretty sparrow in the brush.

A favorite perch

During the nesting season one bird is typically off the nest, eating or resting. These favored perches are nearby making quick access should an alarm call come from the nest. This is one of the favorite perches of our Osprey pair.

Green headed Daffodils

What a wind last night! Looks like we are drying out this morning. My green headed daffodils are just starting to open. They are sturdy enough to take the wind.

Little bird at Dusk

A finch in silhouette in the late day.

House Finch Pair

Year round birds, the House Finches have a long pretty song. They like to nest in my ivy covered trees and are a favorite target for the snakes. My bird books report the birds made the jump from the west coast to the east via illegal pet traders. I love the way the female appears to be gazing at the male.

Ospreys are here

The ospreys have returned to the island. Here's one of 'our' pair with part of a fish in it's claw. The branch he sits on was attached to the boat house with the Kingfisher in mind. The Kingfisher prefers the higher post and branch constructed for the Osprey.

White-throated Sparrow

Another migrant from the north, his song brightens a winter day.

Savannah Sparrow

This sparrow will be heading back to Canada or nearabouts shortly. Meanwhile it enjoys the seeds we spread for our winter visitors.

Red-winged Blackbird

The Red-wings will soon be nesting in the nearby marshes. This is the male with his flashy shoulder patches. The female is patterned in marsh colored browns and looks more like a giant sparrow than a blackbird.

Ends

One February morning a thick haze lays over the Outer Banks and disappears the land.

A County Goose

Our County awhile ago elected the Canada Goose as graphic representation of the native Indian name for our area: Caritoke. The given translation of "Land of the Wild Goose" may imply more than a single type of goose (Snows and Blues) and perhaps even the Swans.

More Bluebills

The flocks have thinned considerably: we're down to a few ducks, a few swans. Of course the weather has turned rough and they may have moved to the bays. But this time of year I suspect they are moving north. The few that are here are feeding heavy. We walked the shoreline (the water was out due to the storm) and the fowl were not too anxious about us, just busy feeding. We haven't had our usual number of swans this year due to the consistent high water.

Sunrise on Currituck Sound

From last week, another beautiful sunrise on the Sound.

Another Beautiful Bluebill

Male Bluebill feeding on the sound. The green color on the head is seen in sunlight and is one way to distinguish the male Greater Scaup.

Otter Nap

Out on the pier one morning last week I noticed 3 otters way out in the sound swimming and fishing. They came toward shore and up on a distant neighbor's dock and enjoyed their catch. I walked down to get a closer look and found one napping and the other two headed back out in the water.