The Rest of the Story!!!

After our last great, free breakfast, we sat by the fireplace playing scrabble before we had to check-out and head home.

Comfy rocking chairs...and a fire that never dies...who could ask for more!  Well I did.  I know. After a great stay at Deer Creek but I wanted to end the week-end with drama and excitement!










On the way home we decided to check out Canal Rd. (one of our regular places we go).

The falls were running and it was beautiful on a pre-spring day!
Then we noticed all this movement around the falls.... Oh My!!
Could this be what I was hoping for???

It was this cute little Chickadee.  Hanging around and doing tricks for us!
What was that!

A cute Titmouse...and then some Downy Woodpeckers (who wouldn't let me take their pictures). There was this cute Nuthatch there too.

  Then there was this tiny bird flying around everywhere.  We walked down the trail tracking him trying to figure out who he was...

After checking with Birders who know....He was identified as a Golden-crowned Kinglet.  A new bird for us and excitement!  So I was feeling better about the week-end coming to a end.

Here is the Scioto from Canal Rd. Park.  Then we decided to drive by Charlie's Pond before arriving home.
Hundreds of Mallards were there and we saw a few Horned Lark.

The Horned Lark blends into the background that they are very hard to see.

In the tree was this couple, American Kestrels.  They were watching us to see what we were doing.  It was very windy that day too.  Think the wind was what kept them there long enough to get a picture.

The Male, I think.

And his bird bride... ;)




















So by now we were very happy people...so turning the car around and heading back.....What is in the field over there....????

Looks like Deer! About 6 deer and they saw us!  As I was trying to zoom in to get a good picture they decided we were too close and turned and ran away.  I love this picture of their white tails waving good-bye to us.








I had gotten my excitement and drams I was hoping for and was ready to go home......when  Oh My!  What is that? What are those dark shapes in the field?

Could it be!  Yes! It is Sandhill Cranes!  Oh My! There were 8.  

We drove around and found a closer view (not much) but I zoomed my camera in.  While the others were eating, this one looked like the lookout....then we noticed the Northern Harrier flying around over them.

He had been in a tree near by earlier...

He is looking in the Cranes direction.  

The Harrier had just flown over them.  We thought maybe he was hoping to pickup some food that the Cranes might come across.  Anyway it was a very exciting sighting and we went home happy and tired.


 And that is the rest of the story. ;)

Week-end at Deer Creek State Park, Ohio

We arrived at the lodge Friday night in the dark with great thoughts of the week-end.

All checked-in and tired, fell fast to sleep.

The sunrise on our first morning over the lake was beautiful and there were hundred of Sea Gulls and maybe other ducks we just couldn't identify.  They were little dots on the lake surface.

Then we saw the red flash!!!!  A Pileated Woodpecker right outside our window!

Look closely and you can see that red top of his!

He was hunting for his morning meal and hopped around the tree branches but we knew it was him by his profile!

So we were off to a great start.  There were squirrels in the tree.  There was Song Sparrows hopping around on the ground under our balcony...

He stopped for a moment to check me out and I was able to get this picture of him.

The sun is up and off we go to see what else we can find. It didn't take too long as we hit our favorite places where we have seen creatures before.

In this tree we found 4 Red-winged Blackbirds.  They seemed cold and wondering why they came back so soon!

Sea Gulls on the Lake at sunrise.....

We then noticed that there was a thin layer of ice that they were sitting on.










We drove to Paint Creek to see what was there and found more Sea Gulls and some Hooded Mergansers...

I think he was trying to steal the fish that the Hooded Merganser would get when he dived down.







There was this one lone Swan.  While we had our meals we would watch him swim back and forth.

There were allot of Crows.

These are Canadian Geese and you can see the water line along this bank.  I found the roots of the trees very interesting.  The water level is down now but if we get allot of spring rain that could change.

Near the beach area of Deer Creek we saw these two Hairy Woodpeckers flying around in this tree.  They were beautiful.

We couldn't decide if they were playing or fighting...it looks like males.
In the same area was this Mockingbird.
He wouldn't look at me so this was the best picture I could get.

At the golf course pond there were some Mallards and this duck.  It's mate flew away as soon as we pulled up but I did get this picture.  Not sure but it might be
Gadwall ??? If anyone recognizes please let me know...I am still new at this and not the best at identifying them yet.

We also saw a Red-tailed Hawk, but he was so smart to let me get a good picture.  We have seen him in the same area many times.  There were some dogs, big dogs running loose in the park which wasn't fun.  But back to the lodge and good food and evening time to play scrabble (over the internet)... Was a fun stay...

The rest of the story will follow soon...The Drive Home!.....stay tuned.

February 1, 2012 ???

Beautiful, warm, spring day!  But it is February 1!!  Tomorrow is Ground Hog Day...What will he see and what will we get?????
As I walked around my yard seeing what I was going to have to do when Spring does get here, I found honey bees on my winter honeysuckle!  Not just one but at least a half dozen.  Too early for these wonderful creatures.

They were busy gathering pollen and flying from flower to flower.  The sweet smell of the flowers is wonderful...

Hope the coming days doesn't hurt the bees and the flowers.











As I continued my walk around my yard...the Hellebores are so beautiful

There are about a dozen flowers blooming and have been for a while.  I think I will get some more of these this year.  They brighten my mood when it is still winter out..

The blossom  is so pretty! And then I noticed my Primrose were pushing leaves threw the dirt and then this one.....

After pushing threw the dirt and the leaves (I didn't clear away) there are flower buds coming up!  Oh my I hope this does mean that spring is just around the corner and that this will be the winter of no snow and cold..... but this is just the first day of February and anyone from Ohio knows.....well you never know what the weather is going to do!   But for today, I am enjoying it!