Wordless Wednesday - Horned Grebe - Nummy Island

Wordless Wednesday - Golden-crowned Kinglet - The Beanery

Common Loon & Purple Sandpiper - Delaware Bay

Coming home from work this afternoon I noticed some Common Loons swimming in the Delaware Bay by the jetty in front of my house.  I walked down to the beach and walked out the jetty where I saw 2 Purple Sandpipers.  It was cool to find them right in my front yard.  There were also about 10 Sanderling feeding along the water's edge.  Since it was low tide more of the jetty and the beach were exposed.

Common Loon

Purple Sandpiper

Nummy Island

With such great success last week finding Piping Plovers at SH Point I decided to go back and see what birds were around also check out Nummy Island  First stop Nummy Island where there were both Red-throated and Common Loons, American Oystercatchers flying, Red-breasted Mergansers among the birds seen.

Now you see the Loon

And now you don't!
Common Loon in breeding plumage (below)

The tides were higher than I expected for a mid tide as I hadn't considered we just had a Nor'Easter a few days back and now there was a new moon. So off I went to SH Point to watch the birds playing along the waters edge.  So, I carried my chair down to the beach and carefully placed it for good looks at the birds.

After about 1/2 hr there was a sudden higher wave that stranded me in several inches of water as I hadn't realized I placed the chair in a depression.  The wave didn't recede as I would have expected, so my choices were to run through the water in my sneakers then or wait for a few more waves and deeper water.  So I picked up my beach chair, protected my camera and got out of that spot.  Walking back the beach I noted that the tide was much higher than normal and was breaking well above the "normal" breaker line.  The picture to the left is normally quite far from the breakers and the waves were rushing far beyond it onto the protected beach/dune areas.  Driving back through Nummy Island I was amazed to see water lapping at the edges of the road.  I haven't ever seen the water almost ready to flood the road.  (Below is a picture)

Lake Champlain - Villas, NJ

Northern Shovelers feeding

with Turkey Vultures flying overhead

Spring is coming

Late last week there were reports of Piping Plovers arriving back in Cape May County.  I just love the Piping Plover.  It survives through great odds though their numbers are down. They have been seen at the South Cape Beach (the Meadows), Cook's Beach and also in Stone Harbor.   After getting off work I was off to SH Point to walk along the beach.  I was very happy to find 3 Piping Plovers (and probably more), some Semipalmated Plovers among the Sanderlings and Dunlin that were feeding along the water's edge.  There were hundred's of birds feeding and bathing on the beach in the waves.

Sunshine Quilts

I have made 32 blocks so far with a goal of 42 blocks to meet my Lenten challenge.  They are 16 patch using 3.5" squares.  Here they are laid out on the floor.  I have been working on getting my stash cut up.  I have also pieced together 2 tops this weekend for a total of 3 made so far during Lent so I am right on target for meeting my personal challenge of 6 quilt tops plus the blocks.