Out of the Cold (Mostly)

Mary, a former co-worker who now lives in Florida, invited me for a visit.  Who could resist a visit with a dear friend in a place that isn't NEARLY so cold as Maryland has been lately?  So I just got back from a wonderful week in The Villages and St. Petersburg. 

We did lots of things that were fun--two plays, "Avatar" in 3-D (wonderful technology but 45 minutes too long), dinner with friends, a visit with a cousin in St. Petersburg, walks on the Gulf beaches near St. Pete.  We managed to pack a lot into one week and still had time to visit and just relax. 

Mary knows I love birding, and she always manages to find interesting places to indulge my hobby.  This time we explored Payne's Prairie State Park.  It's north of The Villages and Ocala.  The day we visited the wind was howling.  We managed to see some things but will probably go back another time when the weather is better.  My favorite picture from there is of a great egret.

One evening we were near a small lake near sunset and got out to look around.  There were a number of white ibis there.  The sun was at a very low angle, and it made this white ibis look a sort of orangey red.

Normally they look like this:

The light can do strange things.  The pair above were at a city park in Leesburg on a windy but beautiful day with lots of bright sunlight.  What a difference the time of day makes!  That park in Leesburg is a favorite of mine.  The marsh birds just wander around, practically underfoot!   We have American coots here in winter, but it was nice to see them.

Common moorhens come this way in warmer weather, but not in large numbers and not very convenient to find.  These were so close, and they didn't seem to mind our presence at all.

I like the reflection of the moorhen in this shot.

Purple gallinules, on the other hand, are as scarce as hen's teeth in this area, and there were a nice number of them wandering around close at hand. 

Anhingas are easy to find in Florida, but they are sometimes hard to photograph.  Here is one all stretched out to dry his wings, and below that is one that must have been dry already, because he was resting and observing his world from the top of a tree.  The neck coloration is easier to see on Mr. Treetop.

Egrets, both snowy and great, fished and preened and showed off their lacy feathers.  First the snowy, then the great egret.

When we were at St. Petersburg, we had lunch and shopped a bit at The Pier.  Outside the shop area there was a little stand that sold pelican food.  Apparently the brown pelicans have been mooching food from tourists in that same spot for years.  They just come to the stand and look hungry and the gullible tourists buy food for them.  They got no food from me, but I took a couple of pictures anyway.  There were three of them hanging around, but I thought this one was a bit more photogenic.

Today it has been snowing in Maryland--about six inches of it all told.  I'm ready to go back to Florida!

Photography Woes--and a bit of fun

At least once each winter (and more often if I get a chance), I go over to the coast of Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia and do a bit of birding to pick up winter species for my annual bird list.  Friday and Saturday of this past week I made a start of it, although I didn't have time to go all the way to Virginia.  It was a good trip.  The weather was surprisingly warm and didn't require thermals for survival.  I found 70 species over the two days, which I consider acceptable but not outstanding.  The best avian find was the common eider at Ocean City.

The problem with mixing birding and photography is that I don't have the camera gear to get good bird pictures, nor do I have the number of arms necessary to field binoculars, a telescope, and a big-lensed camera.  Still, I take the camera I do have and hope.  But the birds are skittish and often too far away.  As soon as I got close enough to this American kestrel and his mouse lunch so I could get a better shot, away he flew!

Then there are the natural barriers.  There was a lot of cold water between me and this handsome bufflehead pair.  Rats!

There are also the shy ones, such as this red-tailed hawk.  (I think he was annoyed at me for interrupting his hunting routine.)

The ones that you can get close enough to are often not ones you WANT to be close and personal.  This pair and their friends made such a ruckus that I never even got out of the car to see the birds I really wanted to see, because these dudes kept trying to attack the car.

So I've decided the best bet is to forget the birds and focus on larger targets!  On a large floating dock where the Assawoman Bay cuts out to the Atlantic at the Ocean City (MD) inlet, three harbor seals rested.  They didn't seem to mind my taking their pictures.  I suppose that's because there was a cold, wet barrier between us.  Here are two of the three.  The third one kept just far enough behind a pole so as not to be very easy to photograph.

I really liked the second of the seals.  He posed very nicely for me--just made my day!

Christmas 2009

T'was the night before Christmas, and all through the Haber household little folks were dressed to encourage the arrival of Santa and company. When you have four little ones aged six and under to enjoy the proceedings, it is very entertaining. Elizabeth and Ava donned special headgear for the occasion.

Even Jake got into the act, although the antlers didn't stay put for long.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, and every person gathered around the tree had a stocking.

Little Emily was snuggling with her mom and didn't quite know what to make of all the fuss, but she had a good time anyway.

Ben gets his share of snuggle time with Emily, too.

Ben and Robin took time to check out a new book.

Elizabeth and Ava made Christmas cards for everyone.

Emily observed all the doings from the security of her little bouncy chair.

I'm not sure what they were listening to, but it must have been funny!

Len and Jake did a bit of father/son bonding.

Jen and Len enjoyed a peaceful moment together.

When all was said and done, it was a wonderful, blessed Christmas, full of family and love and good times (and good food, too). The wandering deer at the end of the day gave an added sense of peace.  For other pictures from the holiday, see: http://picasaweb.google.com/edj.photos/2009Christmas#