Serene Scenery Sunday

Greetings to all, it's me - Maggie.  To help you all feel nice and serene today, I thought I'd share some of the photos Mom took out at Tuttle Creek State Park the other day.  Grab a bowl of water, get comfy, and prepare to get mellow with me.

This is the first birdie Mom saw:

Turkey Vulture

Hmm. Not sure how serene that is. How about a wildflower instead?

Kansas Sunflowers!

Much better.

Mom saw an Indigo Bunting right near where they parked:

"Hello!"

Out in the River Pond, there was a Great Blue Heron with a fish:

"I have a fish!"

Mom said he kept flipping it around, dunking it in the water, and was just sort of playing with it for quite a long while! She couldn't figure out what he was doing - but I know what it means when I do that with something. He was checking for a squeaker.  No, seriously. Sometimes you have to squeeze something in JUST the right spot to get it to squeak. She should have taken me with her - I could have explained that.

Anyway ... as Mom and Beth and the Border Collie boys were walking along (we don't let Mom go out alone, you know) they heard a ruckus up in one of the trees between the River Pond and Willow Lake - lots of rustling and squawking! Before either Mom or Beth could fire off any photos, it was all over - but apparently a Green Heron and a Great Blue Heron were fighting! Who won? Well, the Green Heron was the one still in the tree they were fighting over!

"That's right - I won!  Who's 'Great' now, Mr. Blue?!!?"

Wowzers.

On a more peaceful note, here is a little Spotted Sandpiper down near the waterline:

Mom had to shoot through an old tree to get that. And apparently go down a steep bank. And allow every mosquito in the state of Kansas to --- MOM! It's SERENE Scenery Sunday!

Sorry. Sometimes she does a bit more than just type for me.

ANYWAY, here's a baby turtle:

And another Great   Fairly Good Blue Heron; he looked like a minister calling everyone together for prayer:

"Could you all please bow your heads and join me in prayer?"

Speaking of which, here's a Cardinal:

"Rub-a-dub-dub, thanks for the grub..."

I think it's actually a caterpillar of some sort, not a grub... but it was a nice thought.

Mom was most thrilled about seeing a Kingfisher - and having it hold still long enough for her to snap a shot:

Belted Kingfisher

Her shot-of-the-day is this baby Eastern Phoebe:

Juvenile Eastern Phoebe

Does anyone need to take a break to get more water or anything? OK.

Mom and Beth saw a bunch of tiny vireos and gnatcatchers flying and hopping in and out of some bushes. Mom said they were so small she thought they were Hummingbirds at first - then thought to herself, "Don't be silly. There aren't any Hummingbirds out here." Not ten seconds later, look at who she saw:

Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

BOOM! Way to go, Mom!

Beth, Mom, and the Border Collies crept very quietly towards the swampy shore of one of the beaver ponds in the park. Without knowing it, they got right up on a pair of Wood Ducks! They were maybe more surprised than the ducks! The ducks took off right away, of course, but Mom was able to get one shot off:

Wood Ducks!

Blurry, but you get the idea! Wood Ducks are very shy; Mom and Beth were thrilled to get so close to them! I'm sure Moss and Seamus were, too.

Here's one of the more startling things they saw:

The Loch Ness Carp

Mom said it was a carp swimming in very shallow water - but I'm pretty sure she just said that so Cam and I wouldn't be worried about her getting so close to a sea monster!

And to close on a serene, peaceful note, how about some love from a Yellow-Shafted Flicker?

I  ❤ you, too, Mr. Flicker!

I hope you feel nice and serene now! Have a lovely Sunday!

Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher

PS:  If you'd like to see more photos from that outing, please click here.