Who am I?

I’ve always considered myself a quilter who happens to like to take bird photos.  And bug photos.  And flower photos.  And travel photos.  But when we have a holiday get-together with family, I’m horrible about taking people pictures.  I just forget.

Tuesday I made a visit to Paradise Pond and the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center (two different spots, only about 1/2 mile apart).  I was so excited when I arrived at Paradise Pond because there were no other cars in the parking lot.  That rarely happens.  And when you have a number of people walking up and down the boardwalks, sometimes visiting with each other, you don’t see many birds up close.

I got to the end of the boardwalk and there’s a bench where you can sit, semi-shielded from the birds.  You could hear the loud brwawk of the Black-Capped Night Herons.  I could tell there was one really close, but I couldn’t see it.  I sat on the bench, and waited.  And waited.  It was the first time I felt like a real birder.

And I was rewarded!  A Night Heron flew down to a low branch, and stayed there for several minutes.

Black-Capped Night Heron

And a close-up shot of that red nocturnal eye (they hunt at night and rest in trees during the day):

Up Close

–Sue