It has been THREE WEEKS since I posted to my blog - or even took a picture of anything! But Carmel Terrace (the perfect Assisted Living facility for my Mom) is right on the banks of my beloved Sudbury River. I had to check out the wildlife, and guess what I saw? A HOODED MERGANSER!!
A Hooded Merganser of MY VERY OWN! Well, not that I own the bird; but it is right in my backyard, almost. Less than a mile away, as the crow flies, anyway! I was so excited that I would've started whooping and doing a victory dance if I weren't trying to act all sedate and blase at the time!
It was FRIGID outside, too. I wasn't out of my car for five minutes before my hands were frozen solid. It hurt a lot, but I scanned the river for a few more minutes so I wouldn't appear suspicious or wacky, and there he was!! What a thrilling morning it was, really. It has to be a good omen, right?
I also got a couple of decent shots of my feeder birds today. This is a particularly handsome Blue Jay, if I do say so myself. Blue jays are among my very favorite birds, however, so I have yet to see one I thought was unattractive.
Mourning Doves are not a favorite species of mine, but I liked the annoyed look this one gave me when I snapped a shot. He's clearly not a fan of the paparazzi!
Male Cardinals are simply breathtaking when perched in an Arborvitae tree during a snowstorm. ( I had seven in one tree last year!)
And Cardinals are gorgeous from any angle. No way anyone could tire of seeing a flash of crimson lighting up a dull winter's day - snow or no snow!
The male hoodie is magnificent rivaling the woodie and harlequin
ReplyDeleteGorgeous pictures Sue! Hooded Mergansers are so beautiful, but very hard to photograph. It looks like you got pretty close :)
ReplyDeleteAnd your close-ups at your feeder are SO sharp. Your camera and lens are awesome! You'll have to teach me some of your tricks sometime. When are we going to have our family birding trip?
Susan, glad to see you back - and with some awesome pictures. Congrats on the hoodie!
ReplyDeleteSusan, I was going to send you an email, but couldn't find an address. That first comment contains a hyperlink to soft porn. I have seen those before. You might want to remove it.
ReplyDeleteBirdingGirl, we are GOOD TO GO! We can't wait, actually! Have you been following the Voice of Audubon sightings lately? It sounds like the upper cape is a good bet for January birding, (and you know how much we love it there!) We can do it any Sunday you guys are available! Let me know!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Hilke AND BirdingGirl, for warning me about that dangerous comment. God, I HATE people that post links like that! I've seen computers literally destroyed by porn pop-ups, and I would be horrified if anyone got infected from my site! I'll be more careful.
ReplyDelete