Solitary Spotted Sandpiper

It's always so fun running across an unexpected bird.  It was a treat to spot this spotted sandpiper and get a few pictures of him.

You can tell it is breeding season for him by the clearly visible spots on his belly and his orange beak.

Note the big, round tummy on this one, and the white streak above the eye.  These are typical features of the spotted sandpiper.  

They are often a solitary wanderers on the shores rivers and ponds.

Pelican Serenity

I took these pictures on a chilly, overcast day, as two pelicans were swimming between the bands of shadow cast by the walls of a canal.  I like their serenity in the midst of "troubled" waters.

Canada Goose - Branta Canadensis

Here is a Canada goose.

Sometimes they are informally called Canadian Geese.

The term "branta" from their scientific name, Branta canadensis, refers to the prominent black coloring that waterfowl in this species have.

Male Red-winged Blackbird

I'm on a roll with these redwings!  Here is another:

All dressed up in his fancy duds!

This one was photographed at Pigeon Creek Park in Bettendorf, Iowa.  This park is unknown to many residents and is a hidden gem, tucked away is it is behind some industrial businesses.  But what a lovely place to take a walk along a relatively undisturbed stretch of the river.

Ring Leader

Ducks in the Artwork

Look At Me!

It would be hard not to notice the big personality that male red-winged blackbirds have, with their flashy shoulders and loud, constant calls.  

They crave standing out in the crowd, and love perching on elevated vantage points where they can SEE, and BE SEEN.  

Not much slips past them as the take commanding positions overlooking their domains, and letting everyone else in the vicinity know that it IS their domain.

They are unaware of how little they are, compared to most other creatures on the earth.  They simply feel that everything is theirs and they will tell you all about it, especially if you get too close.

These photos were taken in the spring, when the males are rounding up females to mate with.  

They are clearly saying, "NOTICE MEEE!"

Their scientific name is Agelaius phoeniceus.  The first part indicates belonging to a flock of birds, and the second part means "red".  There you have it!

White Heath Asters

These are white heath asters.

They grow in old pastures and abandoned fields, and bloom in the fall of the year. 

They are also known as frost asters, due to their color, and as white prairie asters, and as the many-flowered aster.

Belted Kingfisher

Belted Kingfishers have been on my bucket list for a long time.  They are such fast birds, racing up and down the river banks, that I had never gotten one on film.  I've had three confirmed sightings that I can recall, but they've but they all darted away before I could even raise my camera.

But now I have finally photographed one.  All I have to share with you is this photo:

Kingfishers view their pray from perches above the water

That is a kingfisher.  You can tell from the silhouette.  It has an over-large head with a crest, long pointed beak, and a kind of protruding, barrel chest.  It has a wide band of white around its neck - hence the term "belted".  It alighted on this channel buoy down from Lock & Dam 14, and was off again in a flash.

Interesting facts:

• They burrow in the ground
• They regurgitate pellets, similar to owls
• Females are more brightly-colored than males

Their scientific name is Megaceryle alcyon.  Remind you of any words you already know?  Mega, of course, means huge. Here's the rest of the story.

"Ceryle" comes from Ceyx, a minor god in Greek mythology,  He was married to Alcyon, who lends her name to this bird species as well.  They angered Zeus by calling each other by the pet names of Zeus and Hera.  Zeus blasted Ceyx's boat at sea.  When Alcyon heard of her husband's death, she cast herself into the ocean.  Other gods took pity on them and turned them into the mythological halcyon birds, who built floating nests on the sea during the two weeks period of calm at the winter solstices.

When you break halcyon down further, "hal" is related to the sea and salt, as in halite (rock salt), while "kyon" is related to the idea of conception.

Porch Decorations

Whoever lives here has put out some lovely autumn decorations!

Evening Primrose

You have probably heard of evening primrose oil, and all of its wonderful benefits - from aiding skin conditions to lowering blood pressure to helping reduce cramping and breast tenderness in women.  Here's the source of that oil:

Visually, this wildflower really comes into its own in the fall, when its pretty yellow blossoms stand out against the dead and dying grasses around it.

It's a biennial plant, like mullein.  In its first year, it forms leaves close to the ground, in a rosette.  During the second year, the stems grow quite tall ( 6 feet or more) and the blossoms appear, as in this stand that Hyperion is examining, below:

Evening primrose has distinctive, barrel-shaped seed pods, which spiral their way up the stalk like little stair steps.

Another identifying feature is the color of the buds.   They are first green, and then take on a rusty color before blooming.

Parts of the plant are edible, but do your homework first!  Some people are allergic to compounds in the plant.  

The blossoms open in the evening, hence its common name.  The blossoms apparently give off a lemon scent but I did not notice that at the time I took these pictures.  The blossoms open in the evening, hence this plant's common name.

To see very cool videos of blossoms opening in real time, check out this website for Yosemite National Park: 

 http://www.yosemitehikes.com/wildflowers/evening-primrose/evening-primrose.htm

The scientific name Oenothera refers to wine generally.  I read that this name means everything from "wine-scented" to "wine-imbibing".  The jury is also still out on whether this is truly a native species.  Some claim it originated in Europe, but this seems unlikely.

Light Makes All the Difference

The evening light on the river makes all the difference for these strands of river weeds, turning them from something ordinary to something spectacular:

So too it is in my life.  The light of Jesus Christ transforms me and helps me to be more than I am.  I am thankful for His power to change me!

Hybrid Mallard

Does this mallard look a little different to you?  His mottled breast leads me to believe that it is - a cross between two similar kinds of waterfowl.

Jewel Weed Blossoms

These are spotted jewelweed blossoms.

They have a trumpet shape and rich coloring, making them most intriguing!

These blossoms are little beauties, but I also liked the way the droplets of rain formed beads upon the leaves.

Below is the yellow form of jewelweed, which is a little more rare.






















You are most likely to find jewelweed along creeks and streams.  They like to keep their roots wet.  They are also often found in the same neighborhood as stinging nettle.  Jewelweed is said to be a good antidote for the sting of the nettle, and for poison ivy and insect bites.  But if all else fails, they are still simply beautiful to look at.

Virgin Tiger Moth

This is the Virgin Tiger Moth.  I was struck by its beautiful pattern, which reminded me of stained glass windows.

I wish I had known enough to spread this one's wings to see the beautiful red under-wings that I read about later!  They range from yellow to orange to red with black spots - hence the "tiger" in the name.

This one had been caught in a spider web and so was not in the best of shape when photographed, poor thing!

Wood Ducks

Someday I will get a better shot of a wood duck, but for now I'll take what I can get.

Hyperion and I were hiking in a rarely visited area of an island in the Mississippi when I photographed a passing pair of wood ducks.

They were far away and obscured by trees, but with the magic of digital zoom, we can see enough markings to know what we are looking at.

Wood ducks are beautiful little ducks, and the males are iconic for their brightly colored plumage, with green and purple on their heads and white stripes.  They have red eyes, with red and yellow on their bills.

Wood ducks have shorter wings than other ducks, which help them fly though woodlands, where they nest in tree cavities, and in wood duck boxes.  Their claws (rare in ducks) help them grip the bark where they perch.

They prefer shallow, marshy waters and ponds, where they can feed easily.  Besides aquatic food sources, they also eat acorns.

Wood ducks float higher on the water than other ducks, so that is something to remember when trying to identify them at a distance.

Something unique about wood ducks is that they are the only North American duck to have two broods per season.

Wood ducks are also called summer ducks and Carolina ducks.

Snakes Alive!

In all my walks and all my wanderings, since I took up photographing animals and plants, I have never seen a snake on my own.  And then yesterday - I saw two!

The first snake was swimming through the flood waters at Pigeon Creek Park, over, around and under the mass of floating debris.  It was his movement that attracted my attention, with his head just sticking out of the water and his long, narrow body trailing behind.  He pulled up on a log and rested part of his body but kept a wary eye on me:

The second snake was at Eagle's Landing, where there weren't many trees to provide shade.  As a result, you can see more of the pattern this second snake was sporting, unlike the first.

I'm not an expert on snakes, and have only done a little research on these.  There's not much to go on.  My best guess, based on the markings, is that both snakes were the fairly common Northern Water Snake.  They cruise along shorelines and in backwaters eating as they go - fish, crawfish, baby turtles and even worms.  

Northern Water Snakes are vicious, and are known to strike at and bite people repeatedly when disturbed or cornered - so keep your distance!  They are not venomous, so washing the bites is the only treatment needed, but ouch!  Snakes are not my favorite critters, but still - they do play a role in a healthy ecosystem.

Chipmunk!

Finally got my first good clear pictures of a chipmunk at Crow Creek park last month.  They are speedy little critters and always dart out of sight whenever I get a glimpse of them.  This one, however, was brave enough, or curious enough to check me out for a few minutes.  Never would have got these without my zoom lens!

This is an Eastern chipmunk.  The name comes from the Ojibwa word "achitamon", which means "descending head first".  Isn't that cool?!!!

As you probably know, chipmunks store food in their cheeks in order to carry it to a supply depot.  That's why this little lady's cheeks are puffed out so fat!

This post is for my friend, Sarah, who has a particular penchant for some members of the rodentia family.  Hope you liked this cute little critter!

Spring Sunset

We met at the park recently, with our scout troop, and the spring sunset was absolutely gorgeous!

The colors changed so rapidly.  Here are 3 shots:

8:17 p.m.

8:30 p.m.

8:33 p.m.

Geometric Designs

These geometric designs on the marsh fascinated me.