Bird takie-outie

This brown thrasher has picked up one of George's live meal-worm's (look for them in the fridge!), and is headed home with his meal. The wildlife camera caught him jumping up, before he spread his wings.

Taylor Creek

Went for a walk at Black Rock Lake in the state park. It is fed primarily by Taylor Creek, and is on the Tennessee River side of the Eastern Continental Divide. Saw some bufflehead ducks on the lake.

Taylor, at his creek

Black Rock Lake

Better bluebirds

How about some better bluebird photos? Last month's were taken through window and screen, and weren't so hot. Anyway, they're still here!

Dad guards his house

Mom keeps her eyes peeled for those pesky chickadees

We've been away for a while, dealing with norovirus, bronchitis, kidney stones, and Antibiotic's Revenge (like Montezuma's, but without the trip to Mexico). Better, now!

Bluebird is back

Been in and out of the bird-house, getting ready for nesting, I guess. Last year, our bluebirds moved in about a month earlier than this year.

Sorry about the fuzzy photo; shot from the living room, through glass and screen.

PS - On a walk this morning, spotted a huge pileated woodpecker, in the ravine with the shortcut path between the club docks and Finch Drive. Big, red-headed fellow!

Paddling Yonah Lake

Taylor and I went paddling this morning on Yonah Lake, an impoundment of the Tugaloo River, which forms part of the Georgia-South Carolina border, just downstream of Lake Tugalo. (The river name ends with 2 o's; all other names (lake, park, village, etc.) end with one 'o'.)

Taylor paddles south from Tugalo Park boat launch at head of Yonah Lake

No picture of it, but as we paddled south, we came upon a massive bald eagle in a lakeside tree on the South Carolina shore, startled it, and watched as it circled around us, no more than 100' away. Very, very impressive!

Tugalo Dam, at the head of Yonah Lake.

View of Tugalo Lake, from the road to Yonah Lake. Tugalo Park is a Georgia Power
campground and boat launch, located at the foot of Tugalo Dam,
and at the head of Yonah Lake.

From the road to Yonah Lake, you can see what is probably the biggest house in Rabun County, overlooking Lake Tugalo.

Near top-center is an enormous house on a hilltop overlooking Lake Tugalo.
Photo below shows a Google Earth detail of that house.

The shadows reveal the Disneyland-like towers of this house.

Yonah Lake is the most-downstream of Georgia Power's lakes on the Tallulah watershed. From the top, they are Burton, Seed, Rabun, Tallulah Falls, Tugalo and Yonah. Burton's lake level is 1866' above sea level; Yonah's is 744', and below its dam, 670'; a total drop of 1196', most of it harnessed by hydropower turbines. Yonah has some houses around its shore, but relatively few compared to Burton. Most of the houses on the Georgia side have road access; most of the South Carolina houses are boat-access only.

Bugs for dinner

Our resident male bluebird, with a buggy snack in his beak. Often he'll take such
a treat to the birdhouse, to share with his mate. This telephone wire is where he
stops to ponder, whether to share.

First hummers of spring

Taken with our motion-activated game camera

Here he is in video; be patient, he flits in and out of the picture. This was also taken with the game camera, in video mode. He's gone for good, after 0:18.

Wildlife camera

I'm trying out a Primos 35 wildlife camera. It is designed to be positioned where you expect wildlife and game to be active; it takes pictures (or video) automatically, when motion or a difference in heat activates the sensor. At night, it lights the picture with infrared, which the animals cannot detect. In these photos, the camera was strapped to a porch column, and aimed at the feeder.

Standing room only at the feeder, bird waiting in the tree

Goldfinch on feeder; cherry tree in bloom

Bird of the day

Red-shouldered hawk (we think),
high in tree over Nancy's house

Departure - 26 January - One can toucan!

Indeed, one can. Especially if one tells one's airport transport driver, Marcos, that one hasn't seen a toucan whilst in Costa Rica. In which event, Marcos most assuredly will spot a toucan in the trees on the downhill road between Monteverde and Las Juntas, and will pull over for a Kodak moment.

'Whaccha lookin' at, gringo? Never seen a toucan?'

Though strongly backlit, the yellow breast is slightly discernible

Las Juntas, Costa Rica, was a gold-mining town settled in the late 1800's. This monument, in the middle of a traffic rotary, memorializes the gold miners.

Our depature airport was outside Liberia. The new terminal provides a less-crowded alternative to San Jose's airport, and a convenient entry point to the Pacific coast resorts in Guanacaste province.

Awaiting Delta 356, gate 5: a round of Manipulation, anyone?

Monteverde - 25 January - Quetzals at Curi-Cancha!

We did a wildlife hike in the Curi-Cancha Preserve, a section of woods up the hill from the Quaker cheese factory in Monteverde. Our guide, Rafael, did an amazing job of finding small, elusive birds in a dense cloud-forest setting. Lots of photos follow the break, below; click on 'read more' to see them.

Monteverde - January 23

Wind-sculpted tree, from our balcony

 We went to Selvatura Park, where we visited the hummingbird garden, the butterfly exhibit, and the canopy bridges (a trail including eight suspension bridges over cloud forest canopies). Many more photos after the break.

Star Flyer - 17 January - Nicaragua

San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

A dozen more photos follow the break . . .

Bluebird moves into our birdhouse

We put this birdhouse-on-a-pole near the boathouse bridge, for decorative purposes, mostly. But a pair of bluebirds moved in today, after evicting the nuthatches that had previously claimed it.

This is the place!

While Papa checks out the furnishings, Mama stands on top,
keeping watch for those pesky nuthatches they'd just evicted.

"How's it look in there, hon?"

On our feeder this morning

Red-bellied woodpecker

Hairy woodpecker

Hummer

Hummingbird at dusk, at our balcony feeder.

Need to learn how to force the flash, to bring out the color.

Goldfinch

Yella Fella

Apt. for Wren-t

One bedroom, unfurnished, nice location. Cheep.

Moccasin Creek State Park

Tree swallow, at Moccasin Creek State Park (photo by Georgia)

This state park is located at the head of Moccasin Creek Cove.