Ralph and Grace: Week 10 - After the storm - February

It’s another chilly start to the week. While it was cold, the snow was slowly melting. School was closed on both Monday and Tuesday due to concerns about icy road conditions. We stayed in on Monday and took it easy. I took a nice long walk along the beach. I was bundled up with my heated vest turned on during my walk. I don't often need the heat but it sure came in handy for me.

On Tuesday we headed out later in the morning to Costco and then over to Huntington Beach. We had heard that an Avocet had been spotted so we were curious if it was still there. Unfortunately we didn't see it. There were still plenty of birds to keep us amused. Ralph went hunting (successfully) for some Waxwings while I stayed by the Causeway in the hopes that the Avocet would arrive. While we were there the Osprey came out to do some fishing. I love it when the Osprey is fishing for food and have been trying for a few years to capture it in the dive position. This is the first time that I have been able to capture the essence of the dive. It's a little soft and not as crisp as I would like it but I'll keep trying. He also came up with 3 fish in his talons. They are amazing at spotting and snagging their food.

Osprey

Here are a few of the photos that we took while at the park.

High Key Photography that I am practicing - two Herons doing their mating dance

An unusual sight to see. The Osprey came and landed in the water.

Ospreys are the best at catching fish

Coming in for a landing to enjoy a meal

Beautiful wing display - Great Blue Heron

The landing gear is down and ready - Great Blue Heron

Eastern Screech Owl (not much bigger than my hand)

Ralph captured some really great shots of the Waxwings enjoying the berries. When they are deep in the woods it very challenging shooting them between the leaves. They are such beautiful birds.

Cedar Waxwing

We had golf planned at Arrowhead on Wednesday but the forecast was calling for rain all day. We decided it was best to cancel and reschedule for the following Monday. We had a beautiful sunrise before the rain. I was really surprised at the colours that the camera pulled out. During the afternoon I put on my layers and went for a walk along the beach collecting shells. During the Super Bowl on Sunday we hope to make crystals while the guys watch the game and we thought it might be fun to grow them in the shells.

Early morning sunrise

Thursday was another rainy dreary day. It's the first time since we have been here that I didn't go out for a walk. We decided to run a few errands and get some groceries. It was a "soup" kind of day, so I made a big pot of chicken soup. Perfect for dinner and a few extra meals.

Fridays early morning sunrise

On Friday we finally got out for our round of golf. We played at Meadowlands in Shallot, NC which is about 40 minutes away. It was an afternoon round and was nice and sunny but it certainly didn't warm up so our layers stayed on. It was fun playing although we did have cart path only rules making it a bit of a challenge. We still saw some snow on the course.

Ralph and I decided to head out to Huntington on Saturday. Wow were we surprised when we got there. The wind was blowing like crazy making it challenging to hold your camera without it moving. The first question we asked was "where did all the birds go?" There was nothing at the park for us to watch. They were all in hiding I guess. We drove to the north end and spotted a deer along the way. I jumped out and did my best to get a few shots and then walked to the parking lot and met Ralph there. He had seen a few waxwings there but they didn't stay long. We drove to the south end in search of waxwings (none to be seen) and then parked by the causeway. I saw one Osprey attempting to hunt but there was so many ripples and white caps on the pond making it difficult to see any fish. That and the wind made it such a challenge, that he gave up and left. We also spotted a redtail hawk way up above us but that was pretty well it.

Cedar Waxwing

Deer

Red Tail Hawk

Osprey

Once we got back to the condo, I decided to go outside and see what was happening over the ocean. To my surprise there were Northern Gannets flying around. These birds come from the East Coast and Ralph and I had been looking for them in Litchfield. They were pretty far out making it difficult to photograph. I took some shots from the balcony and then went down to the beach. The challenge at the beach was that there was so many sea gulls it was hard to differentiate between the two birds.