wind

wood duck house hunting

March 1, 2008 wood ducks appeared then moved on.
First the female, then the male.
Checked out the duck house. Didn't meet their expectations.
Pam on the next street reports she has two pairs with young sailing down into the swamp.
Not us.

so long to Spring

This was spring

water

Late afternoon kayaking in Mathews VA in early June.
Tide low. Light golden. Water gentle.

Ah, kayaking.

Duck Blind - Mathews

Chesapeake Bay, edge of Horn Harbor, June 9, 2008

Duck Blind - New Kent

Chickahominy River, May 26, 2008

Watch List week ending June 27, 2008

prothonotary warblers
owl feathers two mornings - one wing, one tail
thrashers
kingfisher
bluebirds
chickadees
mockingbirds
wrens
sparrows
bluejays
cardinals
bald eagles - two roosting in front of nest
bunnies, bunnies, bunnies - all sizes
litter of three small racoons tiptoeing, scrurrying, huddling, frolicking
skunk smell
2 inch praying mantis eating bugs off the window
skink in studio
skink on dock
eastern kingbirds
woodpeckers - multiple varieties including redheaded at Jamestown
swallows
bats
beaver swimming along dock at dusk
same beaver along base of cypress trunk
bull frogs leaping into water
red winged blackbird parents & fledgling fussing & flying
sliders walking up from & down to the river
sliders digging nests & laying eggs - 4 on Sunday
raided slider nests
turtles swimming
turtles sliding from trunks into the river
murder of crows watching a slider lay
blood red banded moth
flying beetles
dragonflies - blue, green, yellow, red - some as big as birds
hummingbirds - not too many (what could be too many?)

Location Location Location

This slider selected the driveway to dig her nest.

Hard soil, pointy rocks, traffic (albeit light) ...

a hell of a place for quality family life.

Picture-taking led her to rethink her location. Another abandoned building site.