I’ll pretty much take what I can get by this point in the year! Hope it seems has flown in on the wings of a bird…or two.
It started of course with the geese, to whom I bid farewell last Autumn. Their familiar honking calls overhead pull your eyes skyward to their oh-so-welcome v-formations headed north at last.
Resting along the way
The song birds, shortly after, started frequenting my bird feeders as they returned a little worse for wear.
Then one morning I looked out and there he was walking his perimeter and making sure all was as he’d left it – the majestic great blue heron. Even the cheeky mallard ducks came for a closer look.
On closer inspection it looks like he’s had a tough journey north. It has been a brutal winter for us all and Spring is late in coming.
And then a new visitor – new to me since it seems he’s called the ‘common’ Merganser, a diving duck who fishes for whatever else lives in the pond.
Soon his fair, red headed, lady joined him along with other relatives making the journey to who knows where. She proved much more difficult to photograph whether because she was shy, better camouflaged or was having a bad hair day is hard to say.
The blossoms may not be blooming nor any flowers pushing up from the earth yet but the birds are coming home and so Spring can’t be far behind…
Womanseyeview's Blog 
Lovely photos, Carol. Hopefully by now you are enjoying the full throttle of early summer and not only glimpses of life like in the early spring. 🙂
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That’s a fine family of bird friends you have there! 🙂 Ours Spring is intermittent, but at least it’s started. While it makes up its mind, I’m popping to the Algarve. I’ll give your best regards to the birdlife down there. Love your ‘new style’ post 🙂
I don’t want to jinx things but I think our spring may be starting…although a trip to the Algarve, just in case, sounds like a great plan – enjoy!
Gorgeous bird pics. I just love seeing the GBH. If a day goes by without mine coming to my backyard, I feel cheated. 🙂
He does seem a bit bedraggled though and has now flown on to wherever he was going. Lucky you to have a more long term GBH!
Such a lovely post… they are coming back for all their pretty poses for you to capture! Spring has sprung and it will be in full blown beauty very soon. I guarantee! 🙂
Thanks for the guarantee Nancy – appreciate the support!
Oh, ypou’ll have to come and visit our local nature reserve sometime. Situated on long-ago exploited gravel pits, the bird life is stupendous. And there’s always a heron. Perhaps he’s the one who flies overhead most mornings…..
As I’m noticing more of the birdlife that surrounds us I can see the attraction of being a birdwatcher. I think I’d like to watch their sunset activities as opposed to the dawn chorus though!
Oh the blue heron is handsome. How lovely for the birdlife to be returning. Hurry up spring!
Thank you for cheering on my Spring as you greet your Autumn!
Lovely pictures. We are lucky in southwest Ohio in having the Canada geese stay with us all year long.
Some people find geese a nuisance but I agree with you – you’re lucky to have them all year!
So Pretty!
Thank you – it is fascinating watching the seasons change.
Your spring can’t be far away now! !
Oh I hope not – can’t remember it taking so long before! But the birds can’t be wrong.
Nature has a way of letting us know the seasons. ♡♡
Don’t you find when watching herons you feel as though you are truly looking at the descendants of dinosaurs? They just shout pterodactyl to me everytime! Great shots.
I forgot about the link to the dinosaurs but you’re so right about the herons and how obvious it seems! I did manage a couple of photos I liked but I’m wrestling with a tripod right now to try and steady my shots and not finding it at all fun or effective…do you use one?
I only use a tripod if I’m shooting at 1/60 s or slower. And, I do find it awkward and annoying. I saw someone recommended positioning your camera on a bean bag or similar on a wall ledge or rock when you’re out and about rather than lugging a tripod around. Most of my summer late evening flower pics have been taken with a tripod and with the camera on the timer. It’s a fiddly affair!
The birds know more than we do. Spring is on its way. 🙂
It’s so true. Wildlife picks up on different signals than we do so I’m happy to trust them on the question of the imminent arrival of our Spring!
How lovely to have such wonderful visitors! I can’t help but wonder if some of them have left us to go visit you as our winter “lakes” dry up down here. Lovely images. The heron is a particular favorite of mine.
I think that is part of the thrill of these birds – they do get around to amazing places. The fact that their visits are time limited makes their visits more precious.
What gorgeous images you have captured of these feathered friends. Isn’t it wonderful to see them coming back? 🙂
Their return is so welcomed and seeing them pass through to their summer homes is a marvel. My photos are rather hit and miss as proven by that elusive female Merganser – she is a beauty in the flesh/feather though!
As much as I dislike winter it makes me so appreciate spring. Send the birds farther north. All I’ve seen so far are the geese and a few robins!
Hopefully we’ll see more on our hike this weekend…if the rain lets up a little!
Do you have all these visitors on your doorstep? Lucky you:)
Yes we are lucky to have a nice view of the pond and all its drama. Thanks for the visit.
Hi Carol! Glad to see your birds are returning! Spring will come to your beautiful countryside before long. I bet Romy is waiting for fresh green grass!
We are having a cooler and wetter spell down here in our part of Oregon this week. The rain is much needed. Unfortunately, the fruit trees are blooming a bit too early.
It’s so true – if there’s anyone who wants spring more than us humans it’s the horses after a winter of boring hay. Romy and his friends are watching for the greening of the grass! Hope your fruit trees make it through – they say given the record breaking cold we had this winter our regions fruit trees may not bear anything this year.
It’s always exciting to see the world come back alive again after the winter. Great photos – especially the Blue Heron. It’s always a thrill to see one 🙂
I’m really taken with that Heron and if he’s bringing spring along behind him so much the better!
As I sit here shivering, listening to the rain beating on the skylight, I have to be optimistic that warmer weather WILL come!!