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….and maybe a flower or two

Once again, heading out at a time the sun as yet to have had its coffee to start shining, the (pre)morning was giving hints of promise to focusing on the local Sanctuary residents and their first–of-day rituals. It was just cool enough to have constant activity, but not so cold as to be shivering for the experience; just that right balance. The standard three amigos were flying around from one end to the other of the main ponds, giving more than the one chance to catch them in flight with a punctuation every now and then from the Geese that felt left out of the activities. Kind of like Rudolf, but without the red nose or Reindeer Games, so Christmas, or the Sleigh……OK, nothing like Rudolf, but you get the idea…..

The morning would have been content to stay in the one central area and enjoy the activity, but it was time to move on when a pair showed up with their own camera and the unfortunate agenda of taking turns to scare the residents into forced flight all for the gratification of a photo they didn’t not have to work for. With “Ranger Bob” quick marching in the direction of Tweedle-dumb and Tweedle-dumber, a decision to walk the back marshes was in order until that was sorted so as not to be associated with the activity.

Being forced into the decision for the back marsh walk, it was quickly forgotten when the Swallows started to light on the reeds once again, long enough for the chance to use the flash for some better detail in their feathers. They have been around the area long enough now (4-6 weeks) to become accustomed to humans, while you can’t blame then for not letting you get too close, they are now not in constant flight when you are walking. Communing with nature for a short time in an area does result in some of them getting curious and watching you. It does get eerie at times when you slowly turn around and there are 50 of them in the bushes looking at you. Visions of Hitchcock.

The back ponds, still protected from wind and not yet hit by the Geese still had that glassy feel that was only just starting to be broken by the larger wading birds coming to hunt for the late morning after escaping the aforementioned Tweedles. Once they landed and calmed, the slow, deliberate walking demonstrated made it easy to get a number of shots, with the chore being in choosing what to share less than the usual frustration of chasing a good shot.

After the sun rose and was out for a hour, burning off the chill, the Humming Birds really came in full force. Throughout the marshlands there are the sporadic flowering bushes which attract them, and with the trees they tend to rest for a while. With most people seeing them hover and zoom between flowers at the speed of light, is a wonderment to see them perch and preen for up to 15 minutes before zooming off. On heading out of the Sanctuary there is a butterfly garden, and although the butterflies haven’t really shown up for the year, the hummingbirds were more than welcome to take their space. One bush in particular provided a great source of visitations, and an added benefit of a covered picnic table for a vantage point. Not being too close, the hummingbirds were happy to stick around for longer periods of time to have their portraits taken, with arms holding the camera before they were content to stop visiting. When not around, a nearby trellis of flowers and a few of their own buzzing visitors proved a good diversion.

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