The great outdoors

And there it was, the huge osprey that I had seen earlier exiting the water clutching a fish. I had been scanning the trees in the hopes of finding the bird and found it to be as awesome as I had imagined.
It has been a good day for wildlife. I stalked about eight wood ducks for half an hour, without real photographic success. I saw a couple of blue herons, a kingfisher, and a green heron which I had never seen before (and is actually not very green at all). I also spotted a female hooded merganser; a fish eating small duck with a fro.
Early morning kayak trips are paying off. The world is waking up and I am there to witness it.

The mountains are green again, and the weather is perfect. Every few minutes I get a waft of fresh blooms. All around me I hear different bird calls. I wish I could distinguish them. I'll have to work on that but I have now learned the noise that wood ducks make, a very distinctive low whistle. I'm also working on the pictures. I have to learn not to get too excited about these birds and make a quieter, more calculated approach to them.

And the season is just beginning.

For the record, this is my 300th post. For real this time.