A little paint

I've been trying some new things, especially painting on fabrics and small bits of quilting with painting.
Here's a part of a large ( 12 x 15)  paint of a chickadee on hopsack linen I did today.
I haven't decided what I will do with it , perhaps it will grace the side of a tote.

A winter day on the Sound

It was icy on the edges of the Sound this morning.  The chorus from the night had moved on, perhaps to feed in the wheat fields or perhaps pushed out by a hunter's boat moving through.

An mid afternoon scout found a blue heron fishing along the icy edge.

Later the skies changed and the cold moved in.  Wildfowl of all sorts started congregating along the
shoreline.  What pure pleasure to watch swans and ducks come in from all direction and settle down in the
waters.

The snow started falling and visibility was low, but I stayed out to see what would come.
I spotted a flock of ducks in the foggy, snowy horizon.  Even more Swans followed!  A perfect bird watching day on the Sound.

 

Le Pelican

Pelicans are such a marvel.  I looked back at some shots I took recently in Florida and found one to show.  Pelicans are found along the coastline here as well.  Being on the Sound, we rarely see a Pelican flying about though they are just a few miles away generally.
I love this pose, it has a very coy look about it.

Bluebills in the fog

The weather has been very mixed of late.  Cold and then warm, and plenty of fog at times.  Some recent mornings the fog was layed in thick, the ducks were staying put but the hunters had moved in anyway.
Must be a interesting trek through that early morning fog in those duck boats ...
Once the fog broke a bit, the bluebills that I could see lifted.  I love the song of the bluebills when they are together and at peace.  It has me wishing for icy weather so I can sit on the pier again and hear them sing without the push of shot on their wings.

Sleeping Ruddy

Ruddy ducks are typically the first I see in the cold weather on the open Sound.  They are so fun to watch:   they charge, chatter (a mewing sound to me), dive for food and sleep. Here is one in a watchful sleep posture. Beautiful golds against the blue water. 

The Nuthatch

I love the 'neep, neep ,neep' sounds of the Nuthatch.  Unusual, the wood is full of the nuthatch this year.  The call replaces the frogs and the cicadas; you can step outside and hear them in stereo plus!
They have found my black oil sunflower seeds and don't just eat.  They steal them away to secret places to be found later when it's cold perhaps. My sago palm will be a splendor of yellow flowers if the seeds are not retrieved from it's tight spaces!
Busy all day long, capturing seeds and plying the trees for bugs hidden in crevices.
The beak is made for digging, just the slightest little upturn. 
Here are a few pics of a nuthatch on a hackberry tree in the garden.  The bandit stripe across the eyes is so apropos for my little thief.

A few more pics from Florida

Mid day walks are not always conducive to shooting pics due to the light, but you have to carry your camera to try.

Citrus trees are common in yards, as peach trees are in my locale.  Here is a female Cardinal in a Lemon tree twisting a sunflower seed from a nearby feeder.

Along the waterfront I saw preening birds of all sorts in the afternoon sun.  Here are some Pelicans getting their feathers ship-shape.

Heading back I spotted this Snowy ( Golden Slippers!)  walking the shoreline.

The trees are full of birds that I see here in NC, and the local waters sported ducks, cormorants, kingfishers, pipers and osprey.  The osprey call was a welcome sound along with the owls hooting at night.  So much to explore,  I'm ready to take my camera back south!