I captured these photos as the sun was setting. They were fishing where an inlet runs into a lake. This series of the Snowy Egret are some of my favorites; I never get tired of watching them.
A little “this and that”….
We are currently back at Lake Louisa State Park in Clermont, Florida. It has been rainy and cool. Not much going on here, and in between rain showers we take long walks, just enjoying the beauty of this Florida State Park.
Monday, I hope to go play Pickleball at the Clermont Recreation Center. When we were here a month ago, I got to play. Loving my new paddle!
Howard took this photo, before the start of the games. Four nets setup in the Clermont gym. I got to play twice for several hours. Met a lot of nice people.
Yesterday we enjoyed a late lunch at World of Beer.
This beer is called Midnight Oil. It is a very dark oatmeal, coffee stout! Yummy! It is brewed at a Florida brewery called Swamp Head Brewing.
Ham Radio and what’s coming up on our schedule…
Howard has setup his Ham Radio antennas and has spent a little time “on the air”. Wednesday we pull into the Orlando Fairgrounds, with a group of friends, for what is called HamCation.
HamCation is a huge convention of ham radio operators and other electronic vendors. Our group, FMCA, Amateur Radio Club, park our rigs on the grounds with easy access to all the activities. People from all over the world attend, shopping for bargains. It is a lot of fun and we are hoping for good weather, no rain!
I don’t know why I left The Rookery with so few Snowy photos. The Neotropic Cormorants, Great Egrets and Roseate Spoonbills outnumbered the Snowy Egrets (while we were there). I don’t remember seeing that many Snowy Egrets.
I couldn’t figure out what this one was doing; perhaps looking for another stick.
The Cormorants and the Great Egrets were well on their way to building their nests, sitting on them and a few had laid eggs, while the Snowy Egrets and the Spoonbills seemed to be just hanging out. I think the Spoonbills had just arrived at The Rookery. We were there on March 24, 2015 . I understand life there is hopping these days! What fun it would be to see the chicks!
A dispute.I guess the only thing he accomplished was to mess up his feathers.
These two hawks, sitting in a tree above the shoreline near the group below, were waiting for a chance to catch breakfast. It was tough getting a clear shot of them, because they were hiding behind tree branches and leaves.
“What should we do about those two hawks?”Glossy Ibis (winter)
Walking along the beach, watching the birds, is such a delightful experience. Just like all animals, each bird has their own unique personality. It is fun to try and capture their personality with my camera.
Mine, Mine, Mine
The Snowy Egrets sure do know how to express their personalities. With their bright yellow feet, expressive eyes and showy plumage they are dressed for the stage and they never seem to let us down with their dramatic performances.
Sharing is overrated
All you have to do, to enjoy the performance, is grab a front row seat!
Hello, my name is Eugene. That is me in the photo above. In case you don’t recognize me I am a Great Egret. I am currently staying at the Smith Oaks Rookery in High Island, Texas.
Handsome, aren’t I
My mate, Louise, is in the photo below. Some people believe her name is Jeez Louise, because that is what I yell at her all the time.
Louise? You’re not Louise!
Louise, is always complaining about how I do things and when she starts nagging, I yell Jeez Louise, give me a break!
Louise, there you are, Jeez!
You see, Louise, complains about the sticks I find and bring her to build our nest; she complains about how I take off; how I land on the nest; what foods I bring her and the list goes on and on.
“I found one”I’am working hard LouiseHere Honey, I brought you another stickA beautiful landing if I say so myself“I’ll be back, going to find another stick”Whoa, lookout below!“I’am coming in backwards”
I am hoping it won’t be long, the chicks will be born and out of the nest and Louise will once again be a happy bird.
Aren’t we a lovely coupleThanks Eugene, for everything
While you are here, I would like you to meet some of my friends here at The Rookery.
This is Captain, a Neotropical Cormorant. We should call him Shorty, because he has a very short tail, but that would be rude.
Meet The CaptainDon’t say anything about his short tail
Meet Showoff, a very handsome Snowy Egret who is always showing off his Yellow Slippers! The female Snowies are always after him. I’am jealous.
Meet ShowoffA Common Moorhen; get a load of the red shield!
Our next door neighbors, here at the Rookery, are Samuel and Rose! They are called Roseate Spoonbills. Can you guess why? They are a lovely couple and they never yell at each other.
Meet Samuel and Rose
More, gossip, on them later.
“Some days, I just can’t get a grip on things”
Sheila here: Aren’t my friends lovely?
It was a thrill to visit the Smith Oaks Rookery in High Island, Texas. To see the number of nesting birds was incredible; I will never forget this day.
For information of this area please visit this web-site:
Wolf Song Blog 