Family Portrait

I had to head back to the trail I visited Sunday - and happy to say that it was almost deserted today.  The few people I encountered were masked and considerate.  And the birds were abundant!  

I have been keeping an eye on a Mute Swan nest for the last several weeks and when I was here on Sunday, I saw a little fuzzy head in the nest so I knew they'd started hatching.  To my utter joy, both parents had the kids out for a little swim when I got there.  I can't tell you how much time I spent snapping away, but I can tell you that I didn't leave that spot until Mom took the four tired kids back to the nest.  It was hard to choose "one" shot, but this is it for me.  

Other highlights during my 2.5 mile amble were multiple Baltimore Orioles, my season-first Eastern Kingbirds (a pair, busy hunting insects), a late season white-crowned sparrow and a good offering of Yellow Warblers, song sparrows and swamp sparrows in full song.  It was cool but very enjoyable.

Back at home, I went to work on my fountain/water feature...only to discover that the damned pump I bought a few days ago seems insufficient to pump water up the tube.  I find that my patience for things like this is quite short at the moment, so after reaching maximum irritation, I walked away from it.  To be continued...

And in late breaking news ... Mister Bluebird was back in the garden just now, with a (new?) female in tow. He was busy showing her the nest box, singing, etc.  So, we shall see...

Be safe.  Be kind. 

xo
Debbi

Covid Stats
Total positives as of today in NJ- 130,593
Total deaths in NJ - 8,244
Total cases in Sussex County - 987 deaths - 120