Cape May Warbler
Ya just gotta love May! I've been birding like crazy, but haven't been taking many pictures of birds. Yesterday was excellent for warbler diversity, but the warm and mild weather have them preferring to forage way up in the canopy which is really beginning to leaf out (ouch, warbler neck). Yesterday morning our group of birders had 20 warbler species at Pheasant Branch Conservancy, including gorgeous looks at a Cape May Warbler singing away atop a tree in the sunlight. For most warblers, Pheasant Branch is merely pit stop; a great stop-over point to refuel for their next leg of migration. Camera in hand, there are other colorful and delightful subjects for the nature photographer to capture right on the woodland floor. Here are some recent additions to my wildflower library:
Wild Geranium
Wood Anemone
Spring Beauty
Leisure
What is this life, if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?
No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
W. H. Davies
(selected passages)
What is this life, if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare?
No time to stand beneath the boughs,
And stare as long as sheep and cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
W. H. Davies
(selected passages)
All images © 2007 Mike McDowell
