Tag: Black-Crowned Night-Heron

Sleepy Tree Penguins…by Brad Marks

I must say, I am coming off a really enjoyable weekend. Linda and I went up to one of our favorite Illinois parks to the north – Chain O’ Lakes State Park in Spring Grove. The boys had an agility competition and I was looking forward to a final outdoor fling before the shut-down. The boys did well, although they definitely felt the heat on that second day as the Midwest ovens were turned on full. Ron met me there and we got some good birding in despite the heat, adding 4 more birds to my annual count which now sits at 386+3. Just 11 more to go to reach that once thought unattainable 400 unique species plateau. Capping off the weekend, Linda and I added multiple biking excursions and a fantastic day of kayaking all while enjoying camping in the woods. All those outdoor activities also erased any doubts I might have about going through with the ankle surgery as it is pretty swollen at the moment. I want to continue enjoying those outings with Linda and add back in the long runs into the mix – the ankle fix is the path to get me there (I really appreciate all the well wishes everyone has been sending my way). While I get ready for that change, Brad is going to bring you an encounter with a species that went through its own change, albeit less invasive. In 2024, the last hyphen was officially removed from his featured feathered friend.

Take it away Brad…

It’s February at home in Illinois, which means it’s cold.  Jan and I have made an annual escape, three years running now, to someplace warmer than Illinois in February.  This year, and probably the next few, we skedaddled to Hilton Head Island.  On one of our last full days, we decided to try someplace recommended by Ted (see his site here).  After driving for about 90 minutes, only getting lost once, I finally found one of the two parking spaces near the Port Royal Cypress Wetlands.  The wetlands seem to be right in the middle of the town of Port Royal, hence the name of the wetlands.  I’m sure there are more spaces available someplace nearby, but I couldn’t easily find them.  Ted probably knows the secret parking locations. 

The cypress wetlands remind me of Hall’s Pond in Brookline, MA (here); a nice respite in the middle of humanity’s hustle and bustle.  In actuality, I’m not sure Port Royal qualifies for “hustling and bustling” as much as Brookline, MA does.

The pond, or wetland, is only a couple of acres of water surface area.  Once the car was parked, cameras made ready, and the car was locked, I walked to the end of the elevated deck above the edge of the water near the parking area.  There were so many birds and turtles on an island in the middle of the water, with a couple of alligators slowly circling, that I completely missed all of the birds napping in the trees right next to me.  Once the first was spotted, then they all started popping out of the branches.

Black-Crowned Night Heron found by Brad and Jan at Port Royal Cypress Wetlands

Hit the jump to read more about this Tree Penguin and all of its friends.

Continue reading Sleepy Tree Penguins…by Brad Marks

Hall’s Pond…by Brad Marks

Going to be setting a new land speed record for getting this last post of the month out – check off another successful meet on the Intrigued post quota. At some point my superiors are going to stop accepting that as a “stretch” goal ha. Have good news for everyone, we have “proof of life” for Brad. That sounds a lot more exciting that it really is as in today’s day and age, it simply means we got a text he’s on his way home. Probably dating myself here, but it feels just like the Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom show. If you recall (assuming you are old enough), Marlin Perkins would sit back in his smoking chair with a snifter of Scotch while Jim is out in the field getting mauled by a pack of Hyenas. “Honey, I would like to get this bird located here {spins globe stopping it with a well placed finger}, what do you think?” “There!!! HELL NO..send Brad.” “Good idea, where’s my snifter?” I am sure he will have a number of future posts covering his adventures. In the meantime we are pulling one of his queue to keep you entertained while I tend to things that go bump in the night.

Three short little days until the first night of the Haunted Trail..as they say..or rather sing “No Sleep ‘Till Brooklyn” (link here). Sure wish I had “Eight days a week”.

Kick it Brad…

If you’ve ever been to Boston, you know how frantic life can be there.  Like any other large city, there are big buildings, crazy people everywhere “driving” with a coffee in one hand and a smartphone in the other, and other people with a smartphone in one hand and a cup of coffee in their other hand posing as pedestrians.  Of course, nearly everyone has obligatory earbuds firmly ensconced.  Jan and I were visiting Boston for the umpteenth time (really, I’ve lost count over the decades) for our goddaughter’s high school graduation.  Knowing I’d like to see what birds were living in and around Boston, our friend Connie suggested I try a little pond near our hotel in Brookline. 

When I first arrived at Armory Park, all I could see was a giant dog park (very few were picking up, BTW, so watch your step if you visit) and a half dozen tennis courts with players who thought they were getting ready for Wimbledon.  It was then that I noticed a heavily wooded area behind a fence with a swing gate; that’s where I headed:  Hall’s Pond.  I went through the gate, wandered along the wooded trail, and came upon a serene little pond with a small deck extending over the water.  The pond is roughly 150 feet wide by about 200 feet long.  The surrounding gardens and wooded area may only be 3-4x as big as the pond itself.

Hall's Pond by Brad Marks

Hit the jump to see more finds from Hall’s Pond.

Continue reading Hall’s Pond…by Brad Marks

The 6 Million Dollar Heron

Welcome to September everyone! This is the critical month around here with the big Halloween Haunted Trail event looming at the end. The Nightmare Lab has been in full production from sunup to well past sundown trying to get this year’s batch of new scares finished. Sooooo glad I no longer have to worry about getting the IT architecture work deliverables done in the midst of the fabrication and assembly – not exactly sure how I managed to hold this event prior to retirement. The main thing getting in the way now is the ultra-training. Unfortunately, the 100K torture, I mean race, is the week immediately after the party so I do not have a lot of room to spare on that front either. Wake up, do my Wordle, head to the lab, emerge in early afternoon to go for a veeeeerrrryyy long run, shower and head back into the lab until my eyes are bloodshot, crawl up the stairs to bed (did I mention the long run ha) and reset the for-loop counter. A huge thanks to Linda who manages to keep me nourished in the midst of this hectic routine. Not a lot of time for posts, but luckily I have a few sets of images ready to go already – just need to add text and press the submit button. Usually use these contingency features to get me out of trouble when I’m short at the end of the month – not when I need to cover an entire month – sigh! Great news though, if everyone promises to “behave”, we might have a special topic to send your way – “If you don’t eat your meat, you can’t have any pudding! How can you have any pudding if you don’t eat your meat!”

Time’s a ticking, let’s get to today’s contingency feature. In honor of my nightly bloodshot peepers, thought our fancy footed friend would be an excellent choice for today’s focus.

Black-Crowned Night-Heron found in Reno, NV in May 2019

Hit the jump to read more about this bionic shorebird.

Continue reading The 6 Million Dollar Heron