An Amazing Day at Ottawa

 It was a pretty quiet day on the river today.  I saw that the drive was open at Ottawa in Ohio, so I decided to head down there.

First up is a Canada goose and her baby.

An egret.

Another egret.

I'm not sure what kind of duck this is but it looks kind of cool.

I had to get a few pictures of it.

I like this one the most.

One more.

A puddle duck that looks like he's throwing up a salad.

Another puddle duck.

I think this is a muskrat.

they have such cool looking red eyes.

Another.

Close up of a Canada goose.

I thought this duck looked kind of like a vulture.  Turns out it's called a gallinule.  It used to be called a moorhen.

And egret, I love these birds.

A pair of painted turtles.

A heron.

As he was looking for food.

I love these birds too.

Another heron.

I went over to Magee next.  I saw that the eagle family was in the nest.  The younger eagle looked like he was practicing how to fly.

Dad was just kind of watching over.

Mom brought fish for dinner but I wasn't able to catch her flying over.

Nearby, there was a group of people taking pictures of something.  turns out it was a fox but I wasn't able to get any pictures of him.  It's really no surprise because he looked scared at all the people.

This is a blue-gray gnatcatcher.  He was not a fun bird to try to get a picture of.  This was probably the best of the bunch.

This eagle was at Ottawa.  I think there are 5 or 6 eagle pairs that live in the area now.  Frankly it is amazing.

It was starting to get windy.

The sky was getting grayer, so I decided to head home.

Eagles in Ottawa and Ducks in Magee

 As I was looking on Facebook today, I saw that the wildlife drive at the Ottawa National Wildlife Preserve was open.  So I ended up heading down there.  It was a little cold and windy but not too bad.   I also went over to the Magee Marsh, so these pictures are from both places.

As I was looking for another bird, I heard the sound of a Sandpiper, so I looked down and took a picture of it.

There was an eagle flying overhead.

The swans were looking for food.

But I think they were a little on the cold side.

A Canada Goose.

A mallard.  I just wish the sun were out a little more, I love the way their heads look in the sun.

A pair of mallard drakes and a hen.

I think this one is a gadwall.

I think this one is a greater scaup but I'm not sure.

Another angle of him and a better picture.

This one is a northern shoveler taking off.

Some Birds in Ohio

 I saw that the wildlife drive was going to be open this weekend, so I decided to head down to Ottawa today.  After yesterday's ice storm, it was nice to be in the upper 40s again today.

It looks like the trumpeter swans have returned.  Although they may have been back last month too.

It seems like there are a few more of them this time though.

They are pretty neat looking birds.

A pair of them swimming around.

Sort of looking at me.

A pair again.

I decided to head over to Magee as well.  I think this nest was moved from its spot closer to the road.

It is an eagle pair.  I'm not sure when the eaglets hatch but I think it's soon.

A Canada goose.

It was a little on the windy side today.

I headed back to Ottawa.  I saw some eagles.  As I rounded a corner, I saw this guy.  Unfortunately, he was further away than I liked.  But I think it's a decent shot.

I headed down one of the roads, I don't normally take and I saw this kestrel.

He was not an easy bird to get a picture of, but I'll post it, since I don't have many.

But I was able to get some better pictures.

I think he was posing in this picture.  At least briefly.

I was really happy to see this bird.  Many people consider the robin as the bird of spring.  They are mostly right but it seems like many robins stick around.  This is a red winged blackbird.  It seems like they are one of the early migrators.  It also doesn't seem like they come back until it is really spring.  Granted weather can get wonky but I think spring is finally here. 

And I leave you with a Canada goose.