Happy Mother's Day

It has been so nice spending Mother's Day with my parents. We headed out early to Jackson Bottom Wetlands, hoping to get a little walking/photography/birding in before the rain started again. Most of our walk was under misty skies with some heavier rain as we finished. We lingered along the stretch of trail where they have 20 or so nest boxes - tree swallows were swooping, twittering, eating and defending prime real estate...and we were entranced. This shot of a male tree swallow shows the light rain - the overcast skies created beautifully saturated colors on the bird, requiring only a slight adjustment to exposure and a small crop. Have I mentioned that I really like photographing birds in the rain?

We made a side trip to Fernhill Wetlands and were quickly rained out under a downpour. Seemed like a good time for a hot tea/coffee and then lunch. By the time we finished eating, there were big expanses of blue sky so we headed back to Fernhill where we enjoyed a wonderful long walk. I added two new species of bird to my "life list" - Vaux's Swift and Western Grebe.

I will put a couple of other fave shots from today in Extra - a House Wren singing,a Goldfinch in some lavender and a Spotted Towhee.

We finished off the day having burgers - not a traditional Mother's Day meal, but just what we wanted. Tomorrow we are meeting up with two fellow Blippers for some photos and fun - hopefully the weather will cooperate!

Thanks for stopping by.

Xo
Debbi