DAY 2 at the RIO GRAND BIRDING FESTIVAL

09 Nov 2018 1 Comment

by jeannieadams in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Green Jay

November 9, 2018

Day 2 of the Birding Festival in southern Texas was wonderful!  I successfully saw some new birds  to add to my birding  history and I  owe it all to the terrific professional bird guides.

The Rio Grand Valley  is home to the World Bird Center which  is made up of  several  different locations of nature centers/ sanctuaries.  Many of the sanctuaries also set up bird blinds and feeders to lure  the birds more easily into view.   Through the festival, I could pick from a large selection of birding field trips led by guides.   My opening photo is of the Green Jay, who were beautiful,  plentiful and noisy.

Altamira Oriole

Great Kiskadee

Inca Dove (which is cute and about 1/2 the size of other doves)

Scissor-tail Flycatcher

Female Indigo Bunting

Plain Chachalaca (also plentiful and noisy)

Red Winged Blackbird

Lastly a  Texas Spiny Lizard showing off his colors..

Hope you enjoyed!

Thanks for reading!

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TULIP FESTIVAL, Holland, Michigan 2018

06 May 2018 1 Comment

by jeannieadams in Uncategorized Tags: , , ,

May 4, 2018

Prepare for tulip overload as I retrace my favorite  steps  from the 2018 Tulip Festival in Holland Michigan.  Holland  was  settled  by  Dutch immigrants  in  1847 and today  it is a beautiful, unbelievably clean town that was fun to visit and explore.

These are Blue Grape Hyacinths, smaller then the more common hyacinths but every bit as pretty.  I found these in plentiful supply along with the tulips and feel in love with them .

The breeze was picking up and the tulips danced.

Bird of the day – the red-winged blackbird.

This being my first visit, I soon  realized  that  Michigan  has a  lot of marsh land.  Huge areas of  marsh grass are  dead and dried up in heaps from the winter now, but there are  small signs of regrowth.  These dead  heaps, however,  are  alive with bird activity and entertainment, especially from the red-winged blackbird and the purple martins.

Another part of nature I enjoy are interesting looking trees, or  more so in this case, creepy looking trees.

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. ”   by John Muir

Hope you enjoyed!  Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

 

CHICAGO WEEKEND BLITZ – DAY 2

21 Aug 2016 4 Comments

by jeannieadams in Uncategorized Tags: , , , ,

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July 2016

Day 2 in Chicago and what better way to start the day but to have found  Nimo!!!  If anyone wants  to see him in person, or in fish, he lives at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.

The Aquarium was first on our agenda for the day.  Many verbs  are needed to describe  all of the creatures that live there.  We……

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Enjoyed  the “pretty fish”.

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In Awe of these blue fish as they swam around with it’s fluttering  fins.

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Entertained by the Garden Eels that live in the ocean sandbanks.

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Amazed by these colorful creatures, whatever they may be…

Anemones, maybe????

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Terrified by these moray eels.  The  moray’s rear-hooked teeth and  strong bite mechanism causes severe bites  on humans, as the eel cannot release its grip, even in death, and must be manually pried off.  Yicks!!!!

There were gross creatures  also, but they were not  photogenic.

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Outside the Aquarium were several Red Winged Blackbirds in the surrounding  bushes.  Warnings  were also posted that these birds were nesting and not welcoming to noisy humans.

I tried to keep my distance but could not resist his  Dracula  pose.

water taxi

A Water Taxi was the  cheapest  and quickest way to get a boat ride with  Navy Pier as the  logical destination.

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navy pier

Navy Pier, which originally opened in 1916,  has shops and entertainment to explore and more- than- you- can- imagine  unhealthy food  and drink choices to enjoy as you sit by the water watching the people,  the boats and the beautiful day .

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As we headed back to the hotel,  2 more  birds-of-the-day were easy  spotted.

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Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed  Chicago !!

 

“I haven’t been everywhere yet, but it’s on my list.”   (Susan Sontag)

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