In 2016 I’m doing a 365 Nature project. Each day of the year I will post something here about nature. It may be any format, a photo, video, audio, sketch or entry from my nature journal. It could be a written piece. Each day I will connect to nature in some way and share it here by the end of that day. You can keep up-to-date by subscribing to the RSS feed or be notified by email. See all the 365 Nature posts.
This morning there was a break in the clouds and I headed to Magnuson Park to try out my macro lens with my new camera. Despite the rolling clouds-sun-clouds there was quite a bit going on in the park. It was still a bit cool for abundant dragonflies, but they were still there. I found Eight-spotted Skimmers and Cardinal Meadowhawks as well as Blue-eyed Darners and Common Green Darners. One Blue-eyed Darner was perched along the shore and I was able to get close to take some photos. That’s the benefit with the cooler weather, the dragonflies are harder to find, but if you can find them they are easier to photograph. I also encountered a swallowtail that landed and let me take photos for a change.
And of course there were baby birds everywhere. One Mallard family was resting right next to the path and allowed me to pass by without even moving. There was also a family of Pied-billed Grebes with five chicks and they all tried to get up on the adult’s back, but five seemed to be one too many and it was like a round of musical chairs to see who would be left out. Once in awhile the adult would have enough and sit up tall, flap the wings and shake them all out – only for the chicks to climb right back up again. Nearby there was a nest with another adult sitting on top. I saw Pied-billed Grebe chicks in the same pond last year as well.
Wow!