Heron in Flight

 

Over the years, I've posted many photos of Great Blue Herons but I believe this is the first of one in flight. When I was fishing a great deal I'd often find myself sharing the water with them, and because we were there for the same reason I've felt a certain kinship with them. Generally, herons are less tolerance of our presence than we are to theirs, but I suppose this is understandable as they are in and around water for a more serious reason than we are. They're there for food; it's how they make their living.

Once when fishing the upper Potomac river, I encountered one who ignored me even though I was fishing close by. Normally, however, if I got within about fifty feet of a Great Blue Heron he would fly off and express his displeasure with a cranky-sounding screech. At the pond in the park the big birds seem to tolerate my passing by much closer but become uneasy if I stop. That's what happened with this one who flew as soon as I raised my phone camera to my eye.

Whether still or in motion they are magnificent birds.

Fall heron photo

 Have been seeing them often. This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago.

Great Blue Heron

In the park pond in early June:

On an afternoon walk earlier this month

I liked the way the sun shined on this deer in the park.

Most recent snow

We've had a few so far this winter although none have been severe. The latest came last Friday, and this is what it looked like in the park on Saturday.

By Tuesday it had mostly melted. A group of deer came around while I walked.

Winter Wildlife

While walking along the Paint Branch Trail earlier this month I had these two sightings on the same day. First, I saw a few people staring at something a few feet from the trail, and when I got to the spot there was this heron standing still as they often do while stalking fish. Neither I nor the other on-lookers had an explanation for tis sight since herons normally flee when humans get too near. We speculated that the bird may have been injured although there were no visible wounds. Maybe he was just too cold to fly away.

Further along the trail, I found this young-looking racoon hunging a tree which again was just off the trail:

Geese families

This past spring I posted a picture of a Canada goose male and female along with their four goslings that were just born in the park. As usual, I watched the young geese grow up over the summer. Normally, when the geese are fully mature they become undistingushable from the rest that this year numbered about 25-30 by the fall. However, I began noticing that within the larger flock, there was often a subgroup of six, and I wondered if this was the same family that I had been observing as the young grew into adulthood. Although I'll never know for certain, this is certainly possible since I have read that the young geese often stay with their parents for up to a year after being born. I took this picture of what I think was the same goose family three weeks ago:

This second photo shows the flock one morning a week or two later:

Heron in the morning light

Where did the beavers go?

The picture below shows the area of the beaver dam in late September when Paint Branch was flooded:

Contrast that photo with this one which I posted on July 22 from about the same spot:

The beaver dams were damaged by floods a couple of times over the summer, but the beavers always rebuilt. After that September flood, however, they apparently left. I've looked both upstream and downstream for signs of them but haven't spotted any, and I wonder where they went.

Beavers have come to Paint Branch

When I first noticed this collection of branches and leaves, I thought it may have been just a random collection that occurred when some large limbs got caught in the rocks of the rapids:

Then this appeared recently:

A few years ago, we had beavers in the pond who soon became nocturnal to avoid human contact, so I'm not surprised I haven't seen these during my morning walks. Here is another photo of their dam taken from the new bridge:

They're gone but have left signs of their presence

Brood X of the cicadas emerged this year, and for weeks in the late spring/early summer their calls were heard throughout the area. Although they are now gone, they left their mark on many trees as we were told they would. After mating the female leaves the eggs in a cut she makes into a small branch, and after hatching the nymphs fall to the ground where they burrow into the earth up to eight feet below the surface. In the case of Brood X, the nymphs live for 17 years in the ground before emerging as adults, and once again the mating cycle repeats. Although the adults die soon after mating, the marks on the trees the females make by their cuts remain visible as the small branches have died as if partially pruned and left hanging as shown in this picture of a nearby oak:

Having lived in this area all my life, I can mark my lifetime in those 17 year increments of the Brood X emergences. I was six years old when I was first introduced to them, and we called them the seventeen-year locust. I graduated from college 17 years later when they next emerged, but although I was aware of this natural phenomena I was too distracted by other events to pay much attention to them. In 1987 I had moved into my present house and now remember the interest my children took in the sights and sounds of the cicadas, much as I had when I first experienced them as a child. When they next emerged in 2004, I was at the height of my flyfishing obsession and tied flies to imitate cicadas which proved effective in catching bass, bluegills, and huge carp on a local reservoir. This year as an old man, I merely enjoyed this natural wonder of my surroundings.

Swallowtail buttterfly in the yard

Pam's photo:

Young geese are growing up

The goslings seem to change almost daily. At this point their adult colors are almost complete although they are still distinguishable from the parents by their size. I believe the young ones can walk and swim early, but it takes time for the flight feathers to grow strong enough to fly. Until that happens the parents keep close watch.

Geese hatch in the Park

Despite park management's efforts to keep down the Canada Geese population, four goslins were born recently, the first babies we've seen in a couple of years. This morning I spied a fox skulking nearby, so I checked to see that the new-borns were okay. They were fine and looked to be similarly healthy when I checked again this afternoon.

Another Great Blue Heron visit

I like the rippled tree reflections on the surrounding surface.

Great Blue Heron visits the pond

A few weeks ago:

Geese on a foggy morning

Picture was taken a week ago, but there was still a patch of snow visible from the week before.

Geese on the pond

On a dark, deary morning...

In his natural surroundings

I couldn't help wondering if this guy who I saw along the Paint Branch Trail today was the same buck who visited our backyard recently.

Backyard visitor

The fencing we've put up over the past few years has been effective in keeping deer out even though lately we've been aware of weaknesses in the system. Last week this buck apparently exploited those weaknesses: