Thursday, October 16, 2014

A Hike Through the Marsh 9-23-14

A young male goldfinch is getting his colors.  Winterberry behind him....
 Surprise! A lone Great Egret fishing in Black Walnut Creek.  This is close to where the creek joins the Patuxent River...
 Spotted Jewelweed or Touch-me-not.  Supposedly has some medicinal values like aloe vera...
 A white Turtlehead....
 Winterberry.  Many of these plants are growing in water...
 Never saw so much Marsh Marigold before! The now more correct name being used is Bur Marigold....
Bur Marigold fruit dries into beggarticks or sticktights (inset)We'll have to keep watching!.....
 
 Pink Turtlehead!!....
 Some very busy animal made mincemeat of this hickory shell.  Many times you see them broken into just a few pieces....
 Back at the Creek location, Great Egret was still there fishing!...


Sunday, October 5, 2014

Ops and Osps!

 In the previous set of pictures, we saw Mom opossum carrying two babies on her back. Might this be one nibbling the leftover kitty dinner chow?....
 The next night, there were two!!...
 Tiny, in the bowl, ran off after the camera flash!...
The last month of osprey season.  This was a favorite perch behind the Visitor's Center, but we don't know which ospreys. The tree is at top of river bank.  They never wear name tags!...
 


 The last one we saw that day.  We're sure it is heading South!...