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Borrego Springs, CA

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

A fine feathered day

I was ‘up and at em’ getting ready for another crane tour this morning.

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I took my camera with me for Emma’s first outs hoping to get an extraordinary sunrise photo like I got last year with the early morning rays streaming through the foggy savannah.  It was a nice sunrise, but not exactly  gorgeous.  It is better to view any sunrise, however, rather than the alternative.  Disappointed smile

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The fog and heavy dew did make all of the thousands of spider webs more visible though.  The work involved in creating these webs never ceases to amaze me.

We had a pretty good group of folks for the tour this morning.  As usual, two people didn’t show up or call to cancel.  Frustrating, once again, as we had four people on the waiting list for the tour. 

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As I’ve explained before, it’s getting harder and harder to find cranes as we near the breeding season.  I’m afraid seeing as many as 32 cranes in a day is history for this year.  We did see a group of five cranes flying away, and this small group that didn’t immediately take flight.  I included this picture tonight to demonstrate the difference between Mississippi Sandhill Cranes and the visiting migratory Greater Sandhill Cranes that are common in places like Michigan and Wisconsin.

The three cranes on the right are the Mississippi’s.  If you look closely, you can see three things about them that are different from the Greater Sandhill.  They are slightly smaller, are a darker gray color, and they all have colored leg bands on them. 

_MG_6339 _MG_6343Of course, we had to check on the bald eagle nest, and today, both adults were perched on a dead tree behind the nest.  We also got to see both heads of the young ones peeking out of the nest.  It’s always a thrill to see these magnificent birds.

Later, Diana and I took a drive over to our sister refuge, Grand Bay NWR, so Diana would know what we are talking about when we recommend that our visitors take a drive over there.

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While out at the boat launch on this refuge, we found a great blue heron having a bit of a bad hair day on the fishing pier.  He was rather stoic about the brisk winds.

It’s getting late, so I’ll leave for tomorrow how I got a beautiful bouquet of flowers, and was taken out for a scrumptious seafood dinner…

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you tomorrow,  Judy

20 comments:

  1. Flowers, dinner...you got my attention.

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  2. OH MY what GREAT pics! Flowers and dinner out -- good for you!

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  3. His feathers kind of look like my hair in the wind. We're waiting to hear about flowers and dinner.

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  4. Isn't it amazing how the Great Blue Herons can stand in the wind without falling over. Great bird pictures today. Love the Eagles.

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  5. Great pictures today. I am very partial to bald eagles so I especially enjoyed those shots. Okay, can't wait to hear about flowers and dinner...

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  6. Just beautiful! always enjoy your pictures... the Eagles!

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  7. A beautiful, birdy day! Very nice shots of the eagle parents and also a good comparison shot of the two different cranes.

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  8. You have had quite a few dinner dates lately. Now you're getting flowers too? You go, girl!

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  9. That misty sunrise is very soothing ... I never tire of seeing an eagle ... even if it is just a glimpse when it flies overhead.

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  10. Loved the spider web shots. I guess the dew helped them to show up more. I always have a hard time photographing them.

    I wonder which Sandhill Cranes we see here in Florida. We have many that are year around residents and then we seem to get some that migrate in during the winter. We frequently hear them flying overhead and walking along busy roads (eek)

    Beautiful eagle pictures too! In fact, all your pictures are great, as usual.

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  11. Thanks for the info on the Greater Sandhill Crane. Following your blog has been great ..now I have a new interest to pursue when we go home to Michigan. Didn't know that National Geographic wined and dined their contributors. Great Photo's

    Just BS!(Bob and Sue)

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  12. What a tantalizing THE END tonight! I love those fluffy feathers on the Heron! And the Eagle shots are great!

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  13. Phots are awesome!!! Love the eagles! Can't wait to hear more on the flowers and dinner date...
    Have fun & Travel safe
    Donna

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  14. Great pictures, love the eagles. Thanks for identifying the bird on my blog. Dinner and flowers sounds fabulous!

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  15. Such great pictures Judy!! I think that sunset is GORGEOUS!! And your eagle pictures - how wonderful to be able to go by and see them at will.

    Thank you so much for the pictures of the two different cranes. I'm going to do a bit of research now and see just how any different types of Sandhill cranes are there. I've seen them in Florida too.

    NWRs are such wonderful places and you are a GREAT ambassador for them.

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  16. These are beautiful shots. You have a great eye. Thanks for sharing.

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  17. George Stoltz said --

    Judy,

    I like the way you "hook" us with a mini preview of the next day's blog. Love your writing skills.

    Best

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  18. We're waiting on the edge of our seats, too. Flowers and dinner? Wish we could have been there!

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  19. Interesting birds, those cranes. I also like spiderwebs with dew on them.... very picturesque!

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