December 31, 2007 by OrientSee.

Today started with wet snow and cold wind. The sky was overcast and I had little hope of seeing much today. I went over to the far side of the marsh. Then, the sun pushed through the clouds and I found this Kestrel sitting at his lunch. He let me approach quite closely as he was busy eating and keeping a close eye on some crows nearby. His beauty is very evident.

It has been a year since I started doing this blog. At first I took photos in different places but soon I realized that Belle Isle Marsh is my favorite place. I also quickly learned to keep my hands out of my pockets and my head up (if you ever hope to photograph birds and wild things). Each day has given me something unique to witness and share. Every day that I spent some part of outside has been a real gift. So, I will keep on doing this. It is my daily meditation. Thanks for coming along and I hope that there will be plenty more photos of herons, egrets, grass and flowers.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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December 30, 2007 by OrientSee.

A palm leaf fan. The spartina grass has been flattened by the weather and snow. The warmth of the last few days melted away all the snow except for a thin coat of ice. This ice fan is the result. There are small sheets of ice covering the puddles on the pathway and the result is the same broken glass glare. Everywhere today there were ice sculptures. My adventure of the day involved the great sucking marsh beast. If you don’t pay attention, it is possible to take a leg encased in rubber up to the knee and plunge it into soft mud that will not relinquish its grip. Then as you begin to fidget in alarm, the marsh muck and cold water cascade down your leg to your suddenly very cold feet. At that point, with great determination the hardy explorer can plop down on his butt and slowly lever the whole stinking mess out of the mud. It was not my best Indiana Jones moment. Still, it was a good walk today.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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December 29, 2007 by OrientSee.

Wet and foggy, today has been a bedraggled mess. Everything (except the ducks) is tucked in and hidden from the weather. Your gaze wanders. The bare trees have more to notice than you might think at first. This limb with its bark torn back hardly merits a glance. Then look closer and that gorgeous wet red beckons to your eye. With age comes character and this skinny trunk has more character than Anna Magnani or Irene Papas. So far from being bored, I am entranced with beauty. Not pop music but real Delta blues beauty.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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December 28, 2007 by OrientSee.

The fragile quiet was broken by the local crow tribe. They swooped in and swirled about in all kinds of avian disputation. It was a noisy meeting of the elders with the youngsters arguing about whatever crows disagree about. Then they settled down for a short while in a tree. It was quiet a bit longer and then the noise started up and they all flew off making all kinds of noise. It reminded so much of the recent debates with everyone clamoring for attention. At one point, I cautiously edged to the creek bank to get a shot and the pheasant blew out of the reeds and out of sight. It was a great sight of his long tail but unfortunately I forgot about the electronic device hanging from my neck and missed taking a photo. It has been a quiet day but nice to wander around in bright sun during a winter afternoon thaw.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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December 27, 2007 by OrientSee.

These blocks of ice are left over from the last cold spell. They are in fact lawn mowers. As the tide lifts the blocks and the wind along with the current moves them, the blocks shear the grass off. The result is a sort of cut and mashed grass stew. It’s not very appetizing to humans but to the bacteria living in the salty tidal water, it’s soup. They thrive on it. The shellfish thrive on the bacteria and the other ingredients of the stew. The fish eat them. The ducks and geese eat the fish and shellfish. After all that, I get to watch them all. I feel very grateful to these lawn mowers.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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December 26, 2007 by OrientSee.

The winter solstice and the moon have brought very hight tides to the marsh. All kinds of stuff turns up. Today I found this very large beam up in the grass. It is probably part of a dock or a deck and now it’ll be part of the marsh. The crows and the ospreys will roost on it while eating or just watching. Winter brings many changes, some small, some large. It’s a time for surprises of all sorts. The last week brought lots of snow, wind and rain. The holidays were added to the mix which meant that I didn’t get out until today. The Cooper’s Hawk was perched high above the back entrance to Suffolk Downs this morning waiting for his breakfast. There are usually lots of small birds foraging early in the morning but today there were none while the hawk was waiting. Although it was warmer today, there was less activity than when the snow lay heavy on everything. It’s kind of puzzling!

Ciao!

-Jorge

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December 19, 2007 by OrientSee.

The small drainage ditches out in the marsh itself get covered over with snow and ice. The result is a small diorama of winter in the marsh. Water frozen in a pot hole with weathered grass leaning over becomes a miniature of the whole marsh. The deeper ditches freeze only on the surface as the water beneath is tidal and salty. That means the water changes from liquid to solid and back again often. The ducks disappear and reappear as the water opens up and closes all winter long. I assume that these ducks are constantly on the move as the weather changes their feeding spots. So no buffleheads for a while but with a warm spell coming on, I expect to see them out in the creek again.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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December 17, 2007 by OrientSee.

A very cold Mockingbird in the bright sunlight. Yesterday we had a snow storm followed by a rain storm followed by a cold snap. The wind insured that it was bitter out beyond the walls of human shelter. Long johns and multiple layers help outside but where does this bird get flannel longies? It’s a tough world out there today.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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December 16, 2007 by OrientSee.

Snow Dancer. This is very easy to do. You can strap on snow shoes and walk across the surface of the snow or you can weigh less than an ounce and just walk naturally. The snow surface is actually littered with wind blown plant bits including seeds. The small birds like this American Tree Sparrow forage off the seeds. They are not particularly bothered by clumsy humans coming close. After all we humans can’t dance on the snow crust. So the birds feed and ignore the big ugly two legs. There were also Juncos who were feeding this way. Junco comes from the Spanish for rushes like phragmites. These birds actually feed on the ground and not the reeds. Junco is a great name nonetheless.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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December 15, 2007 by OrientSee.

I was the first human out on the path through the thicket today but as you can see, I wasn’t the first to walk through the new snow. It was a coyote highway. The tracks were clearly coyote and they were everywhere. I was amazed to see the evidence of how thoroughly the coyotes cover their hunting ground. In some cases it was evident that they had prowled through the densest entanglements imaginable. All of which must have made the pheasant and the other prey very uneasy. It was great to be out watching the small birds dance on top of the snow crust feeding on the seed heads that poked out just above the snow sea. I was very happy to catch a quick glance of an owl (short eared ? maybe) and the Cooper’s and the Red Tail Hawks were watching over marsh from their tree perches again. It was cold but enjoyable to be out today.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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