Time Away...

Oh, how I love that little man. That right there is Declan pointing to a little discovery he made near the garden. A seed! He soon found out what it tasted like and then soon learned that he didn't like the taste.

Anyway, the point is... I don't get down to the basement much these days, unless it's for work. My Mac is down here, and therefore my ability to blog about recent goings ons is totally dependent on my ability to get subterranean free time. Life, as you all know, is busy. Not surprisingly, there is always much to blog about nearly every day. Perhaps I should make more of an effort to walk downstairs a wee bit more often?

Of note recently:
-Declan, his Mom and I went to the National Zoo.-His Mommy is about to add one more to our family. For those of you at home keeping score, she is due in the beginning of September. My guess? 9:09AM on September 9th, 2009. By the way, birding with her son and her devoted husband sure does wipe her out. Need proof?-I gave a little bird talk to the youngsters of West Annapolis this afternoon. We covered such riveting subjects as attracting hummingbirds, local nesters and what goldfinch prefer to eat.
-I observed a LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE with my entire family (Declan and his hottie Mommy Emery) as well as Warren and his lover Lisa Strobel (A.K.A. the Bird Couple).-While we were there, we noticed what we believed to be a fledgling BELTED KINGFISHER doing a fine imitation of Michael Phelps. This bird's two parents were very close by, chattering it up the entire time it swam across the pond. We think it lived to fish another day.-The local watering hole at Greenbury Point has been filled with cool shorebirds like SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER, GREEN HERON and GLOSSY IBIS, just to name a few.What? You don't see the heron... look closer.-A scruffy-looking COMMON LOON spent a week or so in the cove at Greenbury Point floating about the marina area. Why you ask? My guess would be that the bird was just waiting for it's flight feathers to grow back.YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS are stunning-looking birds. I've been told that one of my local favorite species, the PEREGRINE FALCON, regularly enjoys this species for lunch. It makes sense since these birds spend some time on the top of the forest canopy. By the way, the local Peregrines failed to nest yet again this year. Eggs were laid, but no chicks successfully hatched. Fingers are crossed for better luck next year.-The Swallows are starting to amass in great numbers. Here in Anne Arundel, I've found the Tree and Northern Rough-Winged variety to be scarce this summer. Barn and Bank Swallows have been present in ever-increasing numbers lately, as well as the well-known Purple Martins. But it's that CLIFF SWALLOW that has eluded me thus far here in my home county.-On Elliott Island Road, I rescued a VIRGINIA RAIL from a near-certain death. Okay, I got out and made it get back into the marsh mere moments before a truck raced by at a good speed. I did manage to take a few photos before I myself dodged the speeding Dodge. Or was it a Ford? No matter...-I enjoyed watching Barn Swallows and CHIMNEY SWIFTS catching a drink at a local pond. The Swifts were quite literally diving into the water for a moment, fluttering and then taking off. Did I get a photo of this mighty interesting scene? Of course not. But there are so very few photos of a Chimney Swift in my collection that don't involve a blue sky background... I just had to post it.Lastly, an AMERICAN KESTREL. I enjoyed this little one with five of his buddies hunting at a place in Northern Anne Arundel County. They were hovering in the winds coming off the bay over a grassy hill hunting grasshoppers. Go birding... there is always something interesting to observe.Lastly, I still think that the bird photographed below was a BROWN BOOBY. But, I haven't added it to my life list. One was photographed lounging on the beach in North Assateague just a few days ago. Oh well...

Best,
Dan