(Ebenezer Church Day-Use Area)
Apex, North Carolina
On a cold January day Sally drove me out to explore one of her favorite birding spots. When we got to Jordan Lake the first thing I saw was a solitary great blue heron. It didn’t seem to be fishing or doing anything in particular, so I took lots of photos before it finally decided to slowly saunter away.
Jordan Lake is a 13,940-acre man-made reservoir with 180 miles of shoreline. The Piedmont here in North Carolina has no natural lakes. There are plenty of rivers and creeks, though, and a few temporary, very small, beaver ponds.
There were some gulls flying around way out in the middle of the lake, and the one above bobbing along the ripples. Too far away to identify. But, much to my delight, when my eyes came back to the shoreline, they landed on a killdeer! Like the heron, it didn’t seem to be occupied doing anything. I finally stopped waiting for it to do something and continued walking along the shore.
Sally pointed out a clump of greenery way up in a bare branched tree. My guess was mistletoe and it turns out it was indeed American mistletoe. I had no idea there are 1500 species of mistletoe.
Way up in another tree a goldfinch was singing from its perch. A little too far up for my camera, even with the zoom.
After our long walk along the lakeshore we took a mile-long loop trail into the woods, hoping to see ducks in the ponds, but we were out of luck on that idea.
It was nice being around so much water even though it’s not quite the same as the seashore’s salt water and air, which I still miss! And I didn’t realize that some killdeer do live their entire lives far inland, thousands of miles from the ocean. Always more to learn…
A nice sense of stillness to your photos. Peaceful!
Thank you, Eliza!
Yes, always more to learn! I went to a mushroom identification class yesterday and learned that FL has thousands of unclassified mushrooms that are referred to as LBMs. Little Brown Mushrooms. So much even science has yet to learn.
Imagine, thousands of yet unclassified mushrooms in just one state! The more we know the more we realize we don’t know. It’s no wonder each scientist concentrates on one little part of the world at a time.
What lovely birds! And yes, I recognized that mistletoe right off! You’re fortunate to be so close to bodies of water. I miss so much of that, living inland the way I do.
Thank you, Debbie! You must have a lot more mistletoe in your area to be so familiar with it! Do you also live in an area with no natural lakes? It’s hard for me to imagine, growing up in an area surrounded by so many natural lakes and of course, the sea.
We have more man-made lakes, I think, although there are plenty of creeks. Nothing that comes close to a sandy beach though!
Nice to have a friend to walk with and drive you to a favorite place of hers where there were sea birds! Great to see the Great Blue Heron and a Seagull. The Killdeer seems content to simply be looking around enjoying its day. That is a cool looking photo of the bare tree with the sun bursts! Agreed, not a seashore. But a long walk with Sally seeing something new is a very good thing! How do you know Sally?
It is very nice cultivating a new friendship in this new chapter of my life. I’m glad you enjoyed the pictures as I have so much fun taking them. It’s interesting taking a walk with a passionate birder who uses binoculars instead of a camera. 🙂 Sally is my daughter’s neighbor and she introduced us figuring we had a lot in common, including being the same age.
Oh that’s is a great way to meet and develop a friendship over time. So much to share while learning about each other. I am a binoculars person too. I love spying!
That sounds like a great spot to find birds Barbara. I hope you go on more excursions with Sally to her favorite birding places. You’re lucky the heron stayed still like a statue for so long. Interesting about how many types of mistletoe there are – I would never have guessed that fact. That’s a pretty pudgy Killdeer … it must be finding lots of tasty things to eat and/or not running around as much on those long legs. That’s a beautiful picture with the reflection on that pond you captured at the end.
That killdeer was rather pudgy, wasn’t he? He must be getting plenty of food there and not having to work too hard to get it. I wonder if he or she might be looking for a mate. Killdeer start laying eggs in this area as early as mid-March so I might try to start looking for the young ones mid-April through August. I remember getting some blurry pictures of frantic killdeer parents and three tiny chicks running around in a parking lot in June 2020, back in CT. They were so adorable but I wondered how they had avoided being run over by a car.
Yes, that killdeer was pudgy – it was odd to see that. A fellow blogger here in Michigan has a small farm and a Killdeer “nest” was right on their gravel driveway where they park. You’d think the gravel would pierce the shells? The chicks hatched, were so cute and Ruth and her husband had planted potatoes and the chicks were running around the potato plants. I wonder how many of these youngsters, especially the mother ducks that lead their offspring across a busy highway are killed. Luckily more people these days are eager to stop and take a photo with their phone when they see a duck or goose family (thankfully).
Perhaps the heron and killdeer were just enjoying the sunny day. Beautiful photos, Barbara. ♥ We have killdeer in NE Ohio, too.
Thank you, Robin! Perhaps you’re right, maybe birds know how to just “be” without having to “be doing” something. Soaking up the sun…
What a nice birding walk! I love great blue herons. They have a tendency to appear in places I love. I think of them as my spirit animal.
It’s nice to know about your spirit animal. Finding one that day might have meant to encourage me in navigating the change in my life with grace.
Wonderful trail to explore, love your images! Fab shots of the birdies!!
Thank you, Donna! It was a refreshing change of pace and scenery for me.