Almost seeing a bald eagle
is the same as not seeing a bald eagle at all, according to Colliculus. Such a stickler! I spent most of last week hanging out on the Delaware shore with Colliculus, Prairie Landing, and between 12 and 17 of their closest friends in a luxurious beach house. I know, I also thought that Delaware is just a state that you drive through en route from Important Place X to Important Place Y. But apparently people not only grow up there, they go back year after year to vacation. And now I see why they do, even if the water is a bit colder than the bathwater-style ocean my wussy adult self prefers.
An added bonus was that there's this national wildlife refuge filled with all kinds of migratory birds located midway between my house and the shore. A look at my hiking map had convinced me it was en route, since it's clearly just a few miles north of the bridge you use to cross the Chesapeake. A look at Mapquest the morning of my departure, however, told another story - as the crow flies (or, perhaps, as the osprey flies), sure, just a few miles. But as the car drives, a giant circuitous route covering about 315 degrees of a circle. But said circuitous route was mostly on adorable back country roads (with unstaffed roadside produce stands where you just pick out your zucchini and put money in a can), and I was excited by the prospect of possibly seeing bald eagles, since there are several nests there.
I'm getting used to mid-Atlantic naturescapes (although prefer a bit more drama in my hiking scenery) and so enjoyed the quiet bayside forests
and cornfields. 
The island is filled with ponds and inlets for waterfowl - I kept a safe distance from some of them. 
I avoided the bench set up for birders (doesn't look like it's in heavy use) 
and sat on the sandy beach instead. 
There weren't a lot of birds to see on this side of the island, and I found myself watching some beach ants (?) instead - when traversing a long stick of driftwood the connected a grassy field with some beach rocks, each ant headed out would apparently head-butt each ant coming back in. (My shutter is too slow, so this is a just-post-head-butt moment.) Is this the ant equivalent of a bee dance? They wouldn't say. 
This horseshoe crab was also quite silent. 
In the midmorning heat, there were far more dragonflies flying around than birds. 
And in the end, the only raptors I saw were turkey vultures (not pictured) and ospreys. The ospreys built their nests on these platforms in March, and these juveniles, born in May, are apparently just a few weeks away from flying. As of now, though, they sit and cheep like tiny pathetic little birds and their mother comes and brings them fish. I used to keep an osprey cam open on my desktop, but seeing them in person was much cooler. 
People, I think I am this close to becoming a birder. This close. Just when we thought I couldn't get any nerdier (sigh). But I think I may treat myself to some binoculars for my birthday, and I'm also looking for a not-too-expensive camera with a lot more zoom, because 3x optical just isn't cutting it anymore.
An added bonus was that there's this national wildlife refuge filled with all kinds of migratory birds located midway between my house and the shore. A look at my hiking map had convinced me it was en route, since it's clearly just a few miles north of the bridge you use to cross the Chesapeake. A look at Mapquest the morning of my departure, however, told another story - as the crow flies (or, perhaps, as the osprey flies), sure, just a few miles. But as the car drives, a giant circuitous route covering about 315 degrees of a circle. But said circuitous route was mostly on adorable back country roads (with unstaffed roadside produce stands where you just pick out your zucchini and put money in a can), and I was excited by the prospect of possibly seeing bald eagles, since there are several nests there.
I'm getting used to mid-Atlantic naturescapes (although prefer a bit more drama in my hiking scenery) and so enjoyed the quiet bayside forests
and cornfields. 
The island is filled with ponds and inlets for waterfowl - I kept a safe distance from some of them. 
I avoided the bench set up for birders (doesn't look like it's in heavy use) 
and sat on the sandy beach instead. 
There weren't a lot of birds to see on this side of the island, and I found myself watching some beach ants (?) instead - when traversing a long stick of driftwood the connected a grassy field with some beach rocks, each ant headed out would apparently head-butt each ant coming back in. (My shutter is too slow, so this is a just-post-head-butt moment.) Is this the ant equivalent of a bee dance? They wouldn't say. 
This horseshoe crab was also quite silent. 
In the midmorning heat, there were far more dragonflies flying around than birds. 
And in the end, the only raptors I saw were turkey vultures (not pictured) and ospreys. The ospreys built their nests on these platforms in March, and these juveniles, born in May, are apparently just a few weeks away from flying. As of now, though, they sit and cheep like tiny pathetic little birds and their mother comes and brings them fish. I used to keep an osprey cam open on my desktop, but seeing them in person was much cooler. 
People, I think I am this close to becoming a birder. This close. Just when we thought I couldn't get any nerdier (sigh). But I think I may treat myself to some binoculars for my birthday, and I'm also looking for a not-too-expensive camera with a lot more zoom, because 3x optical just isn't cutting it anymore.
posted by Pangea at 9:22 PM
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