Sunday, February 22, 2015

Strip pit sightings

We wanted to get out just a bit yesterday, but did not want to get too far off the beaten path so we ran through the strip pits.  The first things we saw were swans...always at a distance.  Still, they are fun to see.
Nest were the pheasants...only this single pheasant flew up, though.  And that took me by surprise.  So the picture is not sharp at all.  The rest always took off through the dried weeds and grass.
Next up to photograph were the geese--both Canada and White-fronted.  Oh, I could not tell from looking at these dhots.  But I am going by the ones that flew over plus their sounds.  And though you cannot see in this photo, there were a few swans there, too.  But only  a few....nothing like the numbers there the past couple of times.

The above photo shows only a small portion of the geese on the strip pit on this side. I did not even try to photo graph the rest of them as they were farther on down.  
Then this photo is on the south side of the road....in years past we seldom saw anything on this one...oh, maybe a couple pairs of something.  But never in numbers like this.
And of course we saw hawks...Deb identified another shot like this as a rough-legged hawk.  I swear you would think this is the same shot, but if you right click, and click open in a new window, you will see they have different image numbers.

There also the usual Northern Harriers skimming over the ground.

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I did cut out a dress for Lorelei yesterday.  It will have a zipper...do you know how long it has been since I put a zipper in anything?  I cannot even remember the last time I did.  I am not sure if I will work on it today, but am hoping, too.  If it turns out half decent, I will show it on here sometime, but if it is a bust, I probably won't even mention it again.

10 comments:

  1. I did not even know they still make zippers for dresses.. the only thing i see zippers on is jeans and mens pants. good luck.
    that is an awesome sight to see all those birds in one place

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  2. that is a lot of geese. No doubt they'll be heading back home soon, if we ever get some temperatures above freezing!!

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  3. Yikes, what are the birds in huge numbers? I am thinking putting in a zipper is like riding a bike. Once you start, you never forget.

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  4. I have never photographed a pheasant!! Neat!

    Yes, I agree that's a rough-legged hawk.;)

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  5. Your photos are great Rose. Exciting to see the birds in flight, and to see so many of them, amazing!

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  6. Zippers and sleeves are my downfall when I sew. I never can get them just right. It's been ages since I have attempted, but oh I used to love to sew for my daughter when she was little! Then patterns and material got so expensive, it was just cheaper to buy.

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  7. Great shots nonetheless. It always amazes me to see the huge numbers of birds when ever there is water present.

    In your previous post you mentions the cold and how the pioneers survived. I wonder too. A few years ago we---yes even out here---have several feet of heavy wet snow that tore down power lines and broke many many trees. We were without power for 2 weeks---we are lucky we have a wood stove and several Kerosene lamps. I even did some sewing by lamp light. Not a whole lot of fun---bad for the eyes I do believe. It had to be misery for them in the very olden days. Hearty stock or is that hardy?
    MB

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  8. I can't remember seeing a pheasant in current times but do remember seeing one when I was young - it flew in front of our car and hit our windshield as we were traveling to visit my grandmother. :-(

    That is an amazing amount of geese, etc. on the ice!

    Lindy

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  9. Great how you captured the pheasant in the second image. Tom The Backroads Traveller

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