Changing Seasons
A Great Horned Owl in the treetops . Looks like there will be no Owlets again this year as the nesting site has been empty for the last week after being occupied for weeks prior. Considering the lateness of the season and the evident unsuitableness of the nesting site it looks like a bust for Mama Owl.
Breeding season has just begun for the Great Egret in this area and the usual Rookery is filling up fast with hundreds of birds fighting for the best spot in the trees
In no time at all there will be little Egrets all over the place.
2010 in review
Many thanks to all of you who took the time to read this Blog . I hope in the year to come I can bring you more photos of the local wildlife along our Rivers in the Norfolk area.
Many thanks; KennJ
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.
Crunchy numbers
A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 3,600 times in 2010. That’s about 9 full 747s.
In 2010, there were 4 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 43 posts. There were 30 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 3mb. That’s about 3 pictures per month.
The busiest day of the year was October 4th with 50 views. The most popular post that day was River Otters in Tidewater Va..
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were elizabethriver.org, facebook.com, thenewjames.com, flickr.com, and ohamerica.us.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for ocean view, reflections in water, river otter, sunrise, and elizabeth river.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
River Otters in Tidewater Va. February 2009
Ocean View Sunrise February 2009
1 comment
Elizabeth River Sunrise March 2009
Baby Great Horned Owls May 2009
1 comment
Alabama Days October 2009
Morning on the River
Had the chance to take a canoe trip on the Lafayette River Saturday with a group of folks from and with the Elizabeth River Project . About 20 people gathered at the back of the Zoo by the old boat dock with a variety of watercraft’s and traveled along the River .
I am just posting a few of the photos from this trip. Enjoy.
Heading away from the Norfolk Zoo
A bit to much activity for this Osprey to stay put. At this time of the year Osprey are living along the Rivers fattening up for their trip south.
One of a pair of Snowy Egrets, recent arrivals taking a break to fatten up for their trip south
Getting a direction going ?
Marsh Exploration.
Disturbed Osprey moving out .
Nest Time
Seems like everywhere I look I see a nest being built or inhabited by future moms and dads or in the case of larger Birds babies in the nest or at least eggs to incubate and protect(lots of large crows around right now and they love an egg as much as a Raccoon does and are just as fast to snag one out of the nest given a chance.
Needless to say this nest is well guarded by these 3rd year parents. They are well past the type of rookie mistake that would allow an egg thief to succeed in anything but a painful reminder of the sharpness of those claws.
On the bad news side of things it looks as if the Great Horned Owls will not be having any little Owlets this year as it is very late and no little ones are calling out in the pine woods as of yesterday at sunrise.Both the Female and Male have been sited (by me)so there is no nest to guard and it is well past egg time . Perhaps next year. We will see. In the mean time I will be checking some other spots that look promising for new Mama Owls to call home on the off chance that there may be some young elsewhere spun off old Ma.
This is not a great shot but I happened to find this Bald Eagle in the pine woods awhile back chasing a squirrel for breakfast. He caught sight of me and got out of there before I was able to set up for a better shot. Still..
Wildlife on the Lafayette River
I was recently asked to give a slide-show and talk a bit about the critters living on the Lafayette River for a symposium on improving the condition of the water and river in general hosted by the Elizabeth River Project The Elizabeth River Project in southeastern Virginia. and held at the Norfolk Zoo.
Below is the link for anyone who might like to see the slide-show.
Wildlife On The Lafayette River
Killdeer looking fro a snack behind the Norfolk Zoological Park at low tide
Bald Eagle in the Pinewoods this morning while I was looking for the resident Great Horned Owl Mom to see if she was nesting. Seen chasing a squirrel prior to this photograph.
New Year New Conditions
Sometimes it’s hard to see that the things around us are slowly changing . Moving in one way or the other and when it comes to the River it tends to be more dirty and somewhat sad looking. I can not help but notice that the Lafayette River has the look of someone’s overflowing garbage can at this time of the year with many old tires, bikes and other assorted crud in the creeks and often right out in the river.
We can only hope that this will be the year that folks start taking better care of the local waterways and shores in the area. This goes for the Lakes in the area also as I saw plenty of trash strewn down the Airport road and trapped in the bushes along A.G. Road on a recent trip.
Night Heron on Old Post
Great Blue Heron on what is left of an old Pier with Boat barn reflected in the water.
Downy Woodpecker feeding on the dead twigs and reeds along the river.
Lets all remember to keep those feeders full as it is not the best food time for the local birds.
Back On The River
As beautiful and relaxing as Alabama was It is nice to be back on the river again at first light watching the local wildlife getting a start on it’s day. The sun is so fine when it is reflected in the water at dawn and the mundane is transfixed by the soft morning glow.
Nothing like a catch at first light even if a bit on the small side as fish go.
The sun finds it way up filtered by a tree on the water and the reflection from what is left of an old dock. Taken from the 26th St. Bridge
An Immature Heron searches among pilings long worn beyond use other than a hiding spot for small fish and crabs
Finishing with a Kiss.
Home again.
Alabama Days
I recently returned from a week plus in a small town below Birmingham, Ala. visiting family. It is really nice to be in a small town for awhile. Walking in the woods right outside the door is a true treat. Of course it wasn’t so long ago that most Americans could walk out the door and into the forests and fields. After all it has only been in the last 60 years or so that we stopped being a place where most people were small farm owners or workers or lived in a town of less than a few thousand folks.
As we have spread out, the woods and fields and streams have taken a hit as concrete and plastic over ran them. And of course the many animals who inhabited these places are now gone to a great degree. As kids growing up in the south, my brother and I used to catch snakes, lizards, skinks, frogs and turtles all the time. Something today’s kids are hard pressed to even recognize more less find around their homes and neighborhoods. What a mess we have made. But there are still many critters out there squeezed into the last of the uncrapulated lands. Lets hope we get better in the coming generations.
Here’s a small horse farm across from the wooded hill my family lives on.
Looking out to the main road, a nice walk in the morning to get the paper and mail
Geese heading down to the lower pond first thing in the morning
A Pilated Woodpecker digs out some food from a small pine tree. Not so easy to find but you hear them in the woods often .
Lots of Hummingbirds to be seen if you have flowers and or a feeder.
Above is a bee chasing a hummingbird away from a feeder in the yard.
A pair of Yellow Shafted Flickers does a dance that lasted about ten minutes.
Summers Young Critters
Baby Racoon hang tight to each other in the absence of an adult. Considering the two adult Great Horned Owls in these woods it’s most likely a good idea for them to keep a low profile.I have seen these Owls consume an adult Possum. Not a push-over by any means.
A mess of Swallows living under a bridge are out in the morning enjoying the early part of the day and all the little bugs on the water for breakfast. Photographing these guys on the move is a true chore.
Hanging out in this cool spot under the main pine canopy on a scrub oak has become one of these young Owls favorite places to be. These youngsters are quickly getting their coloring but are less than half of adult size.
A quick stop along the way after being flushed from under a scrub oak. This Owl is about 5 months old .
This Immature Heron is fishing at low tide in a Gowrie Park creek off of the Lafayette River.
Young Owls Progress
I am amazed at how quickly these recently tiny Owlets have become grown and mature looking. Their flying skills have improved greatly their confidence in their capabilities are evident with every move.
Due to the overcast conditions this morning I was able to take them by surprise in the lower trees and bushes.
As soon as I was spotted the larger of the two youngsters was off heading for the top of as near by pine tree while the other one decided to wait me out and see what I might be about.
In the photo below the branch the Owl is on is about 5 feet off of the ground.
- Amazingly we still share the planet with these and many other animals ( at least in a few places). We each need a certain amount of room and the right environment to survive, but we are taking more and more from them at an alarming rate. As people destroy the last viable forested lands for raw materials and slash and burn rain forests for farmland, we’ll see fewer of these fantastic creatures, We have failed as stewards of the planet so far. Shame on us! I can’t help but think we can do much better than this.
Photos from Southside Virginia 
