Sailing through like a Bluebird

What a contrast of endeavors a morning on the Sound presents!

The last weekend day of duck hunting this season brought the boats out with a fever. Hot was fixed with a cold east wind, turning SE. No ducks. As the last of them packed it in just after lunchtime here sails a Bluebird of a Boat.

A boat under sail threading the empty duck blinds! Perhaps a different picture if they were full! The warm January weather must have been too much temptation for this sailor. I thank him for a little gift of surprise, a Bluebird of a Boat on a January day.

Monkey Island in the Fog

As promised, here is my shot of Monkey Island in the fog. The island is miles away but it is a fixture in the landscape. In the summer it serves as a rookery. Long ago it was a residence and a hunt club. Maybe it will be saved one day, like Whalehead. It is a little treasure and worth an effort. Rookery is good, the edges just need some protection.

Little chatterbox

I was out this morning trying shots of Monkey Island in the fog that has not left. I have one to show, but on my way back up one of my garden faithful gave me an earfull. I tweet back to it which usually sends it along. Today it was in a talking mood and after a bit I had to pull out the camera. The Chickadee was close but in a thick brush. I was happy to be chatted up by a Chickadee; I can be a bit of a chatterbox myself in good company!

Blank Canvas

Another warm winter day, this one complete with a blanket of fog. You have to experience the view in person to appreciate the contrast from the usual miles deep and wide scenery. The fog lays in and water becomes sky. No contrast save for a few ducks I spotted. It is a wall of grey. The duck blinds disappear, the horizon disappears. It is all a single wash, a blank canvas ready for tomorrow's paint.

Cloud formations

The weather was a bit of a mix for a January day. Rainy in the morning but I did manage to sneak in a bike ride in the warm and cloudy afternoon.

Watching the ducks dive from my studio window, I was pulled outside to look at the clouds forming on the horizon.

Weather can change on a dime on the Sound and it did. Just before the winds came through the clouds were foretelling a change.

The clouds over Carova (above) got my attention.

They rolled tight and moved like a train southward over Swan Beach.

The wind kicked up fast, thunder storm style and whitecaps rolled over the sound. From zero to 25 in under a minute. Amazing.

Bluebirds in January

It's been a very warm winter so far. A flock of Bluebirds are busy every sunny day feeding and exploring nest boxes. Today was rainy, windy and then a bit sunny. The garden was full of winter Robins, Grackles, and our resident seed feeding crew (Sparrows, Cardinals, Sparrows). The Ruddy and Buffie Ducks spent the day surfing the waves.

I noticed the Bluebirds drinking from a tree craw. I missed the males, but I managed to catch a female on a nearby Pecan tree.
She was facing the wind, but that blue tail shone in the sunlight.

And I cropped the last one for a close view of this beauty!

Like Saddle Shoes

The male Bufflehead Duck is a spectacular spash of black and white on the blue water. The white shines in the sun. I keep thinking of spectator shoes and saddle shoes. The black and white contrast is that strong and I have not mentioned the orange legs and feet. You see those just before the Buffie lands. The orange feet are outstretched in front. It's quite a show, especially because the Buffie comes in fast.

Sunrise In January

Another fantastic sunrise on the Currituck Sound.

Little Ruddy Duck

Not a lot ducks this season. Have not seen a Bluebill or a Merganser or anything except a Ruddy and Bufflehead. I love to watch them dive and puddle about. A Ruddy duck has a distinctive sharp tail when resting. When it dives that tail spreads wide to help it push down into the water.
Here's a couple shots from today that show a Ruddy atop the water and one into a dive.

See how the tail spreads?

Let's call it a season

Another unusually warm winter day and these crabbers took advantage to collect their remaining pots. Not sure they were catching anything they wanted, and the pots did need to come out of the water. A perfect (and last minute!) day to do this. Tomorrow's weather predictions foretell the beginning of our winter. It can be brutal. But today the sun was with us.

Updated: The crew is from CarolinaBlueCrab.com and the sturdy retriever aboard is named Fudge!