I was supposed to be on the every-other-Sunday bird walk this morning, but my ride decided he wasn't going this week without letting me know that! So I went on my own extended bird walk. Most of what I saw was through binoculars and well out of camera range, but I saw: another Hooded Merganser drake on Gooseneck Cove among the usual Mallards; 12 Black Scoters, 10 male Harlequin ducks, and 10 Common Eiders off the rocks at the end of Ledge Rd; a Common Goldeneye off the Cliff Walk near the end of Seaview Ave.; and around 200 Common Eiders in three rafts way out on the water in Easton's Bay. In the meantime, here are some shots I got in the course of my walk.
An "icefall" on the rocks on the western end of the Twin Ledges Trail in Ballard Park. This particular ice formation builds up on this spot every Winter. And it's only half of what it will become before the thaw hits it. give it a couple more weeks and it'll be a solid wall of ice with some interesting ripples and textures. Oh, and in case you can't tell, it was cold today; I spent about 5 1/2 hours outdoors in temps that never got above 25ºF (-4ºC), and I definitely needed a mug of hot chai masala when I got home.
A Hooded Merganser drake on Gooseneck Cove, this time with no snow falling between the camera and the subject! And this one was actually close enough that I didn't have to use the telephoto lens. Not for long, though; after about 3 or 4 minutes he booked.
A Meadow Jumping Mouse taking a break from foraging for seeds to absorb some Winter sunshine along Ocean Drive. I thought it was a tad chilly for a little mouse to be out and about, but he seemed quite comfy all bundled up in his fluffed-up fur coat.And that was my walk today.
© 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger
the snow on the ice—lovely. How you caught the close-up of the mouse, I'll never know.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness....that little mouse is the cutest thing I've seen in a while. Such a sweet little furry ball...how on earth did you get him to pose and not run?
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you got a picture of that mouse! s/he is so cute. incredibly odd that s/he is out foraging during the day especially when it is so cold, I hope it is okay.
ReplyDeletewhat a wonderful walk
How did you get so close to the mouse! Don't they hybernate, silly things? Lovely to have 'cool' shots, we're heating up down here.
ReplyDeleteThanks! The mouse was shot at a fairly long range; not telephoto range, but I was a good 10 feet away at least. It did look up when I was done, but I decided to cross the road rather than disturb it. It would sniff around and shift its feet while I was shooting, so I figured it was just doing some sunbathing to absorb some heat. I have no idea what the silly fool was doing out in mid-Winter!
ReplyDeleteAs usual, lovely photos.
ReplyDeleteThose are some great shots! I am thinking you have a pretty good lens or two yourself! Those little black birds really have character!
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