I caught this Blue Heron mid scratch which left it with some funky hair and one leg in the air.
GREEN HERON
I found this Green Heron preening on a branch in this beautiful morning light. He was nice enough to stop long enough for me to capture this photo.
GREAT BLUE HERON AT RADNOR LAKE STATE PARK
This Blue Heron was nice enough to stand near perfectly still for me while I captured this image. I hung around and waited for a bit while the sun sank below the horizon hoping to capture this Heron grab some dinner. But alas, it stayed pretty much still until it was time for me to head out.
Dennis
BIRD IN FOG
The fog was so thick this morning at the pond, I could barely make out the birds. I believe it is an egret but not 100% sure. I thought the combination of the reflection and the bird flying into the void was an interesting image.
Great Blue Heron flying over water.
GREAT BLUE HERON IN FLIGHT
This big Great Blue Heron flew past me like a stealth bomber on its was to destroy its target. It was amazing how big it is yet was so fast and silent.
It ended up settling under a canopy of trees hanging over the cove, trying to scrounge up some dinner as the sun dipped lower in the sky.
Dennis
GREAT EGRET DINNER
This beautiful Great Egret patiently stalked around this cove of Bledsoe Creek State Park looking for dinner. She (I actually have no idea if it’s a he or she) turned out to be quite the prolific hunter capturing two fish during the 30 mins or so that I spent with her.
Great Egret eating a fish as on an early summer evening.
This is the second catch of the evening for this Great Egret.
PILEATED WOODPECKER
I found this pileated woodpecker early in the morning hunting for breakfast in the trunk of a fallen tree.
I was surprised to see him pecking on a tree on the ground. He didn’t really seem to mind me hanging around and watching him, so I got to spend a little bit of time with him before he moved off into the woods behind him.
Dennis
People and Elk dot the mountain side
LARGE BUT TINY
The scale of these mountains is so large that it messes with your perception of distance. This ridge line is off to the right of the Alpine Visitors Center. There’s a trail that leads to the top.
I have no idea how far away I was from this other mountain but the tiny dots to the right along the trail are people hiking and the tiny brown dots to the left are elk. A very large animal made very small by the scale of the mountain.
Dennis
Wild turkeys in Radnor Lake Park
Wild Turkey Shoot
Radnor Lake Park is a beautiful state park just outside of Nashville. The park is home to a lot of wildlife including wild turkeys, which I had no idea was a thing in this park.
I had gone on this trip as a sort of recon mission. Since the park is known to have a lot of wildlife, I wanted to familiarize myself with the park in early spring so I could go back once the trees and animals had returned.
To my surprise I ran into two groups of turkeys on one of the trails. They didn't mind the few people around. They just slowly made their way through the woods by the trails picking at the ground for dinner.
Having never seen a turkey up close, I had no idea they are actually pretty in an ugly kind of way. This group had blue heads, which again I had no idea was a thing.
Owl in a tree blending nicely.
I also ran into a couple owls along the same trail. Both of them were very hard to spot as they were the exact color of the leafless trees. And both of them were playing very coy. They were facing away from the trail and would only turn their heads towards the trail from time to time. Otherwise, they sat with their backs to the trail and looked off into the woods.
Have you been to Radnor Park? Where do you like to go to look for wildlife?
- Dennis
Camping Gear Christmas Part 2 - VEDA Day 12
I got the second shipment of camping gear which is a tent and sleeping pad. I now have my basic setup and I'm ready to do some camping. Of course I can't go this weekend, but I will hopefully be going in a couple weeks.
Let me know if you think I need an additional foot print for my tent. The tent has a bottom but I've heard that you always need a foot print. I have no idea.