Thursday, May 15, 2014

Building a Bunny

I started Mosey 'n Me's "Hare Crossing" back in early April and I don't have much to show for it.  I think it has become a WIP.  So I got it out last night and worked on building my bunny.  I got most of the head done and one of the ears.  Progress!

Now let's head back to Delta Ponds one more time. 

Come on! Everyone is welcome on the walk.

As we head out a Barn Swallow serenades us.

A House Sparrow chatters away adding to the Bird Chorus.

At Delta Ponds we're greeted with the cry of an Osprey!  

Ospreys are a member of the hawk family.  They return to the Pacific NW in the spring to breed.  There are a couple of tall platforms that are nesting sites near the ponds.

Osprey are fun to watch as they fish for food hovering over the water briefly before diving feet first to grab their prey.  This one came out of nowhere and startled me with a big splash of water as it hunted.

Delta Ponds is the perfect habit for Red-winged Blackbirds.
Another bird with a pretty song. 

And aren't we lucky? A pair of Wood Ducks.

This time there is female and male.  

They're kind of like peacocks as the drake is SO much more brightly feathered than the hen.

Oh and here's another fun bird!

We're scoring Big Time - it's a Belted Kingfisher.
While the Osprey are about 22", the Kingfisher is smaller at around 12".  It too fishes for food.

And how perfect is this?  
I recent received an Emma Bridgewater Kingfisher mug as a gift.

And speaking of fish eating birds - look! Two Herons are flying by!

Ah Spring - family time.

Fuzzy little goslings. 

As it is an especially warm sunny day, we've got turtles too.

Turtles, turtles and still more turtles. 

Delta Ponds has a population of around 60 Western Pond Turtles.
But all of these are the non-native Red Eared Sliders. 

The Western Pond Turtle is listed as endangered in Washington and threatened in Oregon. Red Eared Sliders compete with the Pond Turtles for nesting sites and food.

Next time I hope we can see some Pond Turtles.

10 comments:

Katken said...

Thank you....I enjoyed the walk!! I lived in New Orleans for 22 years so the turtles on the log is soooo familiar and I do miss the Kingfishers!!!!

cucki said...

*•*

Jennifer said...

Love your bird and wildlife photos!

Vonna Pfeiffer said...

Oh my goodness such lovely photos again :) My daughter told me that she ran along side a creek the other day and she and her friend counted 32 turtles sunning themselves :) She said that she also rescued a baby turtle from the trail so that it wouldn't be crushed from haphazard feet.

Vickie said...

Wow! That is a lot of turtles. I never saw that many at one time together.

Ann at Beadlework. said...

Quite sad in a way Beth about the turtles - it's often the case that non native species push out the native ones. Lovely bird photos, kingfishers are beautiful birds. I love the R stitched piece below - I must try to get back to some stitching.

krayolakris said...

Love them all!

Margaret said...

OMG, what a lot of turtles! So they are an invasive species? That's too bad. Love all the pics. I recognized the red winged blackbird! lol! I think I recognized the kingfisher too. So cool!

Barb said...

The perfect place to spend a lovely Spring day!!

Maggee said...

I don't see any turtles, so love them, despite... Great walk!