Category Archives: Travel

I found summer!

by Amy Posted on 11 June 2009

Summer had yet to arrive in our part of the country when we left home yesterday. The high temp in our part of Lake County, Illinois was just 60°F whereas the normal is 76°F. Tomorrow & Saturday are predicted in the low 70’s. After driving south for the past two days, I know where summer has been hiding. OMG it’s hot here!

This afternoon we had a hot, sweaty picnic at the lovely Georgia Veterans State Park where we were joined by curious Northern Mockingbirds and a few Common Grackles watching us from Spanish moss-covered trees. We took a short walk there after lunch and actually saw our first ever Tufted Titmouse. They range in our part of Illinois but for some reason they are kind of hard to find in our county.

We’re now staying at a hotel close to the Space Coast with the main goal of seeing the Space Shuttle launch on Saturday morning. But first, some (hopefully good) birding!

There is a group of Least Terns flying around the roof of our hotel, transporting fish and making a lot of noise. Are they feeding young?

While trying to make a video of the tern shenanigans, this flock of White Ibis flew by. Can’t wait to see some more southern birds tomorrow!

Share the birds, share the love!

Posted in Florida, Travel, Video | Leave a comment

Skywatch Friday: The Pinery

by Amy Posted on 14 May 2009

On April 29th, on our way from Chicagoland to Niagara Falls, we stopped at The Pinery Provincial Park in Ontario. It was a huge and beautiful park and I was so sorry we did not have time to explore. We kept our visit very short but were able to walk the .8 km Pine Trail before hitting the highway once more.

The trail lived up to its name. Beautiful tall pine trees reached up to the bright blue sky.

Not all trees were green yet, though. It probably won’t be too long now though, I imagine, before these are also full of leaves soaking in the sun.

The last part of the trail was flooded. We walked around the water and headed back to the car. The refreshing walk was a welcome break between many hours of highway driving.

Be sure to visit Skywatch Friday to see the other stories of the sky submitted for this week.

Share the birds, share the love!

Posted in Skywatch Friday, Travel | 7 Comments

Scene-stealing gulls at Niagara Falls

by Amy Posted on 12 May 2009

Gulls were plentiful at Niagara Falls. I saw both Herring and Ring-billed. I’m no gull hero so I certainly could have missed other species.

This Ring-billed Gull drew a small crowd of photographers as it posed in front of the Falls on the Canadian side.

I couldn’t resist a shot, myself. I suppose I ‘should have’ gotten the Falls in the shot too, but I was only thinking about this one-legged beauty.

Gulls lined the rocky walls of the Niagara River. Part of the state park on the American side was closed off for breeding gulls.

These high-adrenaline gulls actually bathed in the Niagara River, not too far from the falls. Now that’s some fresh water!

Share the birds, share the love!

Posted in North America, Travel | Leave a comment

Not birding at Niagara Falls

by Amy Posted on 10 May 2009

It was a whirlwind trip: less than 80 hours and over 1300 miles. The goal: see Niagara Falls. No time for birding. Yeah, right!

The falls were extremely impressive. Here are the Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side.

And here are the American Falls, with a Maid of the Mist boat in the foreground.

Walking along the river on the Canadian side, we soaked in the views. I soaked in a few Canadian birds, too, so I was always running behind. And then this was the view I had of my family for most of the day.