My owl friends: The Perfect Day!

What a fun day! This maybe a long blog, so grab a beverage, sit down and enjoy! I have been on high alert with the owls this week. Owlet number two is ready to pop out and I love getting first morning pics. So for the last three days I have gotten up around 6am, fed Hazel and the kitties, and then I would drive over to check on the owls.

This morning, I was sure the owlet would be out but there were still two owlets in the nest. Oh well.....Momma Cher was close by watching over the kids. Sonny was further down the trail.

Owlet number one( no name yet) was in the same tree.

This owlet is so ready to leave the nest...maybe tomorrow!

I was just about ready to leave when I noticed a squirrel was getting close to the owlet who was out of the nest. Cher is a fierce protector of her babies, so I got the camera focused on her. Sure enough, she flew over to be closer her kid. The squirrel quickly went the other way.....

We had some lovely rain last night. Since it is so dry here, it is unusual to see water drops on the plants as it usually evaporates quite fast. Today was my lucky day....

Armed with coffee and snacks, I drove down to check on the eagles. It is a good 45 minute drive but well worth it. They were just hanging out enjoying the day

Eagles are such good hunters that they easily catch food, so then they get to spend the rest of the day relaxing. So I said bye and headed up to my favorite spot which is only 10 minutes away.
The shovelers are still around. They are busy courting and finding a mate.....

At first I thought this was a song sparrow but he was singing a different song. Looks like a chipping sparrow to me, very cute!

After enjoying the sparrow, I spotted the GBH fishing for breakfast. I had already spotted the female GBH in the nest, so I bet this is the male.....

I continued on when I noticed a good sized bird circling above the pond. OMG! An osprey! I have been coming to this pond for about 4 years and have only seen an osprey once last summer. The pond is full of fish, so I knew he was here to do some fishing. He landed in a tree on the island where the cormorants nest. So I ran as fast as I could to get in a good spot for some pics. It is not easy running with heavy hiking boots, a daypack on my back and my big camera. But when it's to get some good pics, I will give it my best shot!
Just as I got to a good spot, he started circling and then dove into the pond. Bingo!

A couple of other photographers got some pics too. We got to talking and the guy said he had seen an osprey around yesterday. That would be fantastic if they start fishing here on a regular basis!

I was still jazzed up about the osprey when I spotted both avocets! This was quickly becoming an amazing day!

I went over to check on the tree swallows and there they were...

I continued on and spotted a blue winged teal......

There was also a cinnamon teal hanging around. Seems the blue had something to say to the cinnamon......

The buffleheads are very cute....

Mallards are quite common, so I do not often take pics of them. I liked the way the light shown on this guy. The colors are amazing!

You know it's warm out when the turtles come out of hibernation. They were all over.....

This lesser scaup was having a bath.....

This is one of the cormorants drying off his wings. Very interesting that they are water birds but their feathers are not water proof. so when they get wet enough, they have to dry off before they can fly again.