Gone Birding

Yesterday was a gorgeous spring day and we decided to go to the wetlands trail at Raccoon Creek State Park. We were rewarded with many first sightings of the year: a Bluebird, several tiger swallowtails, Yellow Warblers, Catbirds, Red-winged Blackbirds (not really a first since they hang around our yard right now), a Baltimore Oriole, and a snapping turtle (the first ever for me). I tried in vain to get a good photo of a warbler but they never sat still. We had a great time anyway. When we spotted what looked like a log in the pond a passing couple informed us that it was a snapping turtle. It still had all kinds of plant debris on its huge back.
We love the wetlands, except after a heavy rain because the trail does get wet. From spring till fall there is always something new to see there. Besides birds, there are numerous wildflowers, butterflies and other insects and in early summer the bullfrogs provide a noisy concert.

Busy week

Despite my knee problems, I have dusted off my blind to photograph the birds that visit our feeders. Spring is a great time to do that since they all wear their best clothes. Because we have a wooded hillside behind our property (and also because we have three bird feeders) we get a wide variety of birds. Lately, an Eastern Towhee has been showing up under the feeder regularly, and it also entertains us with its beautiful songs. I already have great photos of it from last year and so I was more interested in photographing Blue Jays and Red-winged Blackbirds. The Blue Jays are still eluding me, but I finally took a great shot of a blackbird today. I am eager to increase the number of species in my collection and so this is a great addition. The juncos appear to be gone now, but the White-throated Sparrows are still around and also make good photo objects. I hung up my hummingbird feeder last week and am eagerly waiting for their arrival. That usually happens around the first days of May. Every day, there is something new to see out there and the weather is cooperating too. Happy birding, everybody!

Good news and bad news

Last week, I got two assignments for Pennsylvania Magazine. One of them will be a big photo feature and the other one a regular one. I'm very excited about both jobs.
On Sunday, I attended an art show with my photographs and greeting cards but I did not have a single sale. That was a bad omen since my week got worse from there. My arthritic knee flared up again and has been bothering me since Monday. On top of that, my back also began hurting hellishly. Then yesterday, I took our younger cat to the veterinarian for her annual check-up. She had lost some more weight since last year so I decided to have her blood tested. The veterinarian called me back to inform me that our kitty's kidney enzymes are elevated. She suggested to put kitty on a special diet and I rushed back to her office to pick up the food before the weekend. I don't know yet if she'll take to the food. Right now, she is still bummed out from her rabies shot. I hope we can manage her disease since this is the cat that is attached to my lap all winter. In summer, not so much...
On the birding front, I haven't seen many migrants passing through yet. The only one was an Eastern Towhee I spotted yesterday under our birdfeeder.