January: Birds

I did not do a “Year in Review” in 2023. I had taken on a new part-time job in the fall of 2022, and I just could not find the time to do it. And I still have that job so I’m still awfully busy, but I’m determined. So I have decided to do pairs of photos this time, one per month for each year, 2022 and 2023. January 29, 2022 – This beautiful Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) perched on a branch just yards away and posed for me. I was entering Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge to meet a…

#AdventWord #Herald

One of the reasons I began kayaking is because you can get closer to birds in a kayak than on land. The lower profile of a kayak on water and the smooth, silent movement–assuming you aren’t splashing your paddle!–seems to alarm them less. I came fairly close to the male Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga) perched on a snag over Black Bayou Lake. Was he calling to his mate? Signaling that he was ready to take his turn on their nest? Warning away other birds? Announcing appreciation for the beauty and bounty around him? God told Job, Ask the beasts and the…