Morning Visiters

Well geez…

It's been a while since we heard from that elusive Fuzz

But he is still hanging in there.

His life has been taking some unexpected turns, but that is a tale for another time-

if ever.

But there is a morning routine, at least for most mornings

And a big part of it is sitting out on the porch enjoying the birds

His sister, before she passed, had enjoyed watching the Hummingbirds at her feeder.  She kinda influenced The Fuzz to try one himself.

He had already been feeding the other birds with sunflower seeds, but decided to add the hummingbirds to his guest list.

It took a few days, but before long, they started showing up regularly.

These guys are a trip, their metabolism is something else.

"Hummingbird has incredible high heart rate. Average heart rate during the flight is 1200 beats per minute. When resting, heart rate reaches 250 beats per minute"

They are usually the first to show up in the morning…

usually when it's just starting to get light.

Here's a shot of one coming in for some breakfast.

The Fuzz tried to tweak it a little to show the details-

These guys move so quickly it's hard to see them!

Here's one landing…

Wings slowed down enough to almost see them.

But they are a lot of fun to watch and can get kinda feisty with each other-

Which surprised The Fuzz a little.

And here we have a last look at this guy enjoying a nice little morning drink.

Jordan Lake Camp - An Evening Visiter

The Fuzz always has enjoyed the edge of the lake, sea or a river for that matter.

Even in the mountains, the creekside camps are the best.

It must be the interaction between the two different "worlds" and their interconnectedness that make these waterside camps so appealing.

Seems to be the way for most of us creatures.

Early in the evening, before dark The Fuzz was visited by this fellow.

He didn't seem bothered by The Fuzz's proximity at all.

Actually he was kind of a Ham about it all…

And he was back the next night as well.

And we all know Our Fuzz can't resist trying for a nice shot when he finds one.

But soon it will be dark and that will be another Photo-Op.

Winter Lake Break

With a nice break in the weather, The Fuzz thought it might be nice to get out in the boat.  So he checked to see if he could crank the motor…

And was amazed that it started on the 2nd pull!

And a hasty plan was made for the next day.

The trip up to the lake went fine, and the launch was good…

And the motor started again!

(It's a kinda old thing)

There were a lot of "seagulls" out on the lake.

You don't see them around here* in the summer…

But they do hang out this far inland in the winter.

The Fuzz did get to fish a bit, but alas…

Lost the only bite he had!

But regardless, it was a good day.

*The Fuzz has posted on this in the past

A Nocturnal Visiter

While camping at Jordan Lake this time, The Fuzz and His Sweetie were joined each evening by a Blue Heron.

Every evening it would perch in this pine tree at the edge of the campsite next to the lake.

The Fuzz did try to get a picture of it...

But it's not very good.

You can see the guy about ⅓ of the way down the tree.

(Or if you prefer, ⅔ of the way up from the bottom)

His Sweetie got a little closer with these two.

Check out the glowing eyes.

It was getting a bit dark by then and it took a bit of Photo Shop to see him.

He would stay all night, and then when it was getting light, he'd fly off to join his friends.

People didn't seem to bother this guy...

Guess he was used to them.

Osprey

During his time out on Topsail Island, The Fuzz got a chance to see types of birds that we don't have here in the Carolina Piedmont.  One of such was the Osprey.

Now "Ospreys" were mentioned in a previous post.

But this was a whole different thing.

One afternoon The Fuzz was out and about with a bike and a book.  To be truthful, as nice as Topsail Beach is, there are not really a lot of places to hang out in the off season.

This day Our Fuzz had rode over to one of the public access sites on the sound.  As he was reading he became aware of a fairly large bird that wasn't a gull landing on a nearby piling.  Alas, uncharacteristically, he had no camera with him.  But he did have his binoculars!

And he spent a good while watching this obvious raptor finishing off it's dinner.

Back at the hotel, he looked it up in the "Bird Book" and found that it was the namesake of that unique aircraft.

But then sometime later he had returned to this same bench - this time with a camera.

And although he certainly didn't expect it...

Look who was back!

At first he had not noticed it.

But as he watched the activity there in the bird world, he saw what had their attention.

It seems that everyone wanted a piece of the action.

But they weren't gonna get it.

Some of the disappointed ones were these Fish Crows.

The Fuzz had seen these guys around but didn't know exactly what there were.  They reminded him so much of "normal" crows, but they were just too small and sounded just a little different.

But in the "Bird Book" he saw why.

They were crows... sorta.

But this post is about Ospreys!

None of these moochers seemed to bother our raptor.

He just went about his business of dinner.

And then took off!

Of course he took the rest of his dinner with him.

Looks like his neighbors will have to live with disappointment this time.

And The Fuzz watched as he crossed over...

...And went back to his home in the marsh.

That kinda made the day for The Fuzz.

And this time he got the pix too!

 

And The Fuzz thinks you might like to see these "Fun Facts" below.

 

 

Some "Cool Facts" from The Cornell Lab of Ornithology  

 

Cool Facts (Ospreys)...

  "Ospreys are unusual among hawks in possessing a reversible outer toe that allows them to grasp with two toes in front and two behind. Barbed pads on the soles of the birds' feet help them grip slippery fish. When flying with prey, an Osprey lines up its catch head first for less wind resistance."

"Ospreys are excellent anglers. Over several studies, Ospreys caught fish on at least 1 in every 4 dives, with success rates sometimes as high as 70 percent. The average time they spent hunting before making a catch was about 12 minutes—something to think about next time you throw your line in the water."

 

Cool Facts (Fish Crows)...

"Fish Crows are inveterate nest-robbers, raiding the nests of many kinds of waterbirds and songbirds, as well as finding and digging up the eggs of turtles. They also harass and steal food from crows, gulls, ibis, and Ospreys."

Things What Goes Up

The Fuzz may be a long way from his Home in the Woods these days, but Topsail Island is still part of The Old North State.

And even if some yankees might want to dispute the matter North Carolina is...

"First in Flight"

It even says so on our tags!

And those two Yankee Boys went to a lot of trouble just to get here so they could work on their little project.

And while Topsail is not Kitty Hawk, there are still plenty of things flying around out here.

Like these guys.

And they are good at it.

But just off the northern end of the island are the Marines at Camp Lejeune.

And they are pretty good at this flying stuff too.

You see their choppers all the time.

Sometimes you can even get a look at these odd fellows.

The V-22 Osprey.

In fact there's all kinda stuff up there these days.

A few days ago around sunset,  The Fuzz's Sweetie called him to the window.

What now?

Looks like flying can be a bit simpler than what the Marines were doing.

Kinda looks like fun!

And then he flew off into the sunset.

See...

The Fuzz did manage to sneek in a pix of the sunset after all!

And then a couple of mornings ago, whilst Our Fuzz was out for his morning...

This strange thing.

There was a guy out there flying this Drone...

...First one The Fuzz has ever seen.

Looks like high tech has hit the beach.

 Well be that as it may...

The Fuzz still likes to watch these guys.

They make it look so easy.

Brand New Bird Feeder

It is no secret that The Nature Loving Fuzz enjoys feeding the birdies.  But while attempting to fill his trusty bird feeder, it slipped from his hands and broke in two!

Well it was already pretty rough.  The Fuzz had found it years ago on the job*.  It was broken then, and he'd had to repair it before it could be used then.

So while in town, He and His Sweetie picked up this brand new one.

It even has a lifetime guarantee!

*For any who unaware of the fact, The Fuzz is a veteran of 33 years in the Sanitation Dept.