We've been under a terrible heat wave which finally broke today with a cooler breeze dropping the temperatures. It was a welcomed relief!
On this Sunday, I was greeted by an interesting swirl of clouds in the sky.
Swirls of Clouds Seeming to Arise From the Spruce Trees
The song sparrow was giving a cheerful call - have a listen...
Song Sparrow Beak Wide Singing
And over at the pond the ducks we had been watching we finally got to see with their ducklings - 11 of them. They're so cute - have a look...
Female Ringnecked Duck with 11 Ducklings
Once she noticed me she swam her ducklings to a safer spot.
Ringnecked Duck with Ducklings Swimming Behind Her
I got quite a surprise when I was checking the spot where I had seen a pair of mallards. The mallards were still there up on a log resting.
Pair of Mallard Ducks Resting on Log Standing on 1 Leg
As I zoomed in on the ducks, into my camera viewer popped a sandhill crane walking in the field behind them. The field was the same color as he was making it harder to pick them up with the naked eye. I had heard them and had been looking around for them but could not see them until now.
Sandhill Crane Walking Behind Mallards Resting on Log
Watch the sandhill crane stroll on by and hear his call in the video below...
Now I was on the lookout for cranes and there were a few of them strolling across the field. They never took flight just walked back and forth.
Pair of Sandhill Cranes Walking in Field by Spruce Tree
Sometimes they broke into a jog like the fellow below. They were cool to watch with their long legs!
Sandhill Crane Necked Stretched Out Starting To Jog
Another Pair of Sandhill Cranes With Ringnecked Duck in Pond
The ringnecked duck we saw in the last picture really came into the pond with a splash, landing right by a coot who was also splashing away.
Ring Necked Duck Coming in for a Landing By Coot
I'll end this post with a shot of the moon which had been out in the daylight hours
Close Up Cresent Moon in Blue Sky
Bird images are for the #FeatheredFriends community hosted by @melinda010100
Big shout out to @ace108 for running the Beautiful Sunday tag every week supporting the accounts. Also to @c0ff33a for the Sublime Sunday tag for your random Sunday posts!
The photos were taken with my Canon PowerShot SX60 HS.
The clouds sort of resemble a spruce tree too.
Sandhill cranes! We had those on the ranch when we lived in Florida!
Cool! Did they come to Florida for the winters?
I can't remember, it was back in the early 1980's....
Oh that crane looked like a t-rex compared to the little ducks and birds!
I can't recall the last post of yours I created but it was long before you achieved (72) Congrats to the old skoolers still blogging and having fun after all these years.
Ya! I ran across your garden blog when I was posting on twitter (which I don't do very often)Your garden has come a long way!
I'm not posting as much but I usually get my 2 posts per week usually with my photography which I've really gotten into and really enjoy sharing!
Thanks for stopping by!