My love of corvids does not stop with crows. I tried to take advantage of any opportunity I had to photograph a Common Raven, a bird I never see at home. So I was delighted to discover the picture above. It’s not in sharp focus but that’s part of what I like about it. I think it looks more like a painting, and I credit the Raven with its artistic sense. There’s another slightly-different shot at the bottom of this post.
So even though most of these photographs from August 21, 2019, are of birds on land, so to speak, the presence of the sea in this part of the world is always dominant. I believe these were all taken on the island of Grand Manan.
Below is the habitat in which I was somehow able to find a Killdeer, followed by a series of photographs of the bird itself.
Killdeer
Later when we visited the beach, we spied a Willet which was even farther away and matching its surroundings.
More Ravens in flight…
Below is a lone Semi-Palmated Sandpiper, also barely distinguishable from the habitat. I love the scrubby vegetation and rocks and water and…
The group below is a few of many photographs that I took of a couple of Ravens on the beach. One Raven was foraging on a dead fish only to have another Raven crash-land in. I think they are young birds, because of the brownish cast to their head feathers, and they are probably siblings too, which accounts for their playful but non-threatening behavior.
A little flora break…
And the land and sea-scape…
A few images that didn’t make it into the last post are below. The upper left photo is a Double-Crested Cormorant, and the remainder of the photographs are of Common Eiders, birds I had never seen before this trip.
One problem with reviewing photos I took more than half a year ago is forgetting what they were of. I think these might be rosehips, related to the rose in the flora photos above. It looked like fruit to me but the leaves give it away.
Ravens in the mist…
Well, I may be back sooner with some more recent observations. Spring is sort of here. We had one or two very warm-like-summer days, then the winds shifted and we are chilly again, with snow in the forecast for next week although I expect it will not be substantial. It’s even hard to count on a forecast for the next few hours let alone next week. But sunshine is always welcome, and today we have had lots of it. Thanks for stopping by!
Those are not rowans if your rowans are anything like ours. I liked your land and sea scapes. You did well to spot those birds camouflaged against the sea shore.
I just updated the post, how funny. I think they’re rosehips. Something I never think about, but the leaves are the same as the wild rose in the photo above. Thanks!
They look like rose hips to me.
Yay! My mind would be a lot clearer perhaps if I wasn’t thinking about work. But I am not going to complain!
Looks like rose hips to me, probably Rugosa roses, which are fairly salt-tolerant and often grow near the seashore.
Very cool. Thanks!