Peru

George and I just back from 10 days in Peru. We visited the three main areas of the country: the coast, the mountains and the jungle. On the coast we stayed at Second Home Peru, the home and studio of famous Peruvian artist Victor Delfin. The small hotel is located in the neighborhood of Barranco just outside Lima. It is perched atop the cliffs that overlook the Pacific Ocean. Here we enjoyed the hospitality of Lilian Delfin, viewed the studio of Victor Delfin and enjoyed his wonderful artwork that filled the hotel. A highpoint of our trip was meeting Senor Delfin. We took a tour of Lima, including the Archeology Museum of Larco Ferrera and The Plaza Mayor, and the Monastery of San Fransisco. We also took a bus ride to the town of Ica where we were able to go on to Paracas and the Ballestas Island. It was here we saw Humboldt Penguins and sealions and thousands of birds that use the islands to nest and perch.
In the mountains we visited Cuzco. From our base there we went to the many ruins and sites in the Sacred Valley and of course our train ride to Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu. I still can't believe I was there, standing at the top of that mountain looking down on one of the most well known Wonders of the World.
Our last part of the trip took us to the jungle where we stayed at the Tambopata National Reserve. Here we visited a clay lick to see macaws and parrots, took a canoe ride around an oxbow lake, and climbed a very tall observation tower to observe the wildlife in the canopy. This, along with walks and boat rides made it possible for me to add 64 new birds to my life list.

Harford Glen Revisited

For sometime now I have been wanting to take the long walk all around the park. It is a 5 mile hike through the woods, around the lake, up and down some steep hills and along the river. It is very picturesque but can also be rather humid and buggy in the summer. I decided to celebrate the first day of summer with this long anticipated walk. It was wonderful. There is something about being alone in the woods in the quiet of the early morning that is very satisfying and uplifting.



These two fawns were all alone and very curious about me. I wonder where their mother was.


Lake Atikisson

Summer sunrise in the forest

Great Egret on the Lake

A quiet path

Winter's Run

A Cautious Deer

Harford Glen Park

George and I took a great morning walk at Harford Glen Park. This is another one of Harford Counties gems. Just less than a mile from busy Route 24 is a little oasis of forest, wetland and a bounty of wildlife.


Today the park was full of geese and goslings.



A Red-Winged Blackbird


This is a small section of a beaver dam that runs about 25 feet. The two beavers that made it completed all the work in just two weeks.



Wild Iris

Backyard Birding

Sometimes you don't have to go very far at all to have a really good birding day. This morning was a perfect example. Just sitting on the deck in my back yard I was able to see 29 species in a short 1 hour. It helps that it is the peak of spring migration and the Choke Cherry tree is in full bloom.

Here is the list:

Bald Eagle

Cardinal

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Red-shouldered Hawk

Blue Jay

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Great Blue Heron

Common Crow

Common Yellowthroat

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Common Grackle

Magnolia Warbler

Downy Woodpecker

Mockingbird

Black and White Warbler

White-breasted Nuthatch

Catbird

Prairee Warbler

Tufted Titmouse

American Robin

Northern Oriole

Carolina Chicadee

Wood Thrush

American Goldfinch
Canada Goose

Red-eyed Vireo

House Sparrow

Mourning Dove

Chipping Sparrow

Lillian Holt Park

Today's walk took George and I to a park we used to live near and visit quite often. Lillian Holt Park was always a good place to see warblers in the spring so we headed there early this morning. After watching birds dart in and out of the foliage for about an hour we came up with some birds worthy of our trip. Besides the usual common birds we always see, we saw the Blackburnian Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Magnolia Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, American Redstart, Ovenbird, Eastern Wood Peewee, Great Creasted Flycatcher, Belted Kingfisher and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

The park has changed a lot since we were last there about 15 years ago, but oddly the same warblers in the same places.

Heavenly Day

Kilgore Falls

Today George and I took a short drive north in Harford County to Rocks State Park to a place we had heard about but never visited. We walked down a beautiful wooded path, across Deer Creek to Kilgore Falls. The falls are 19' high and are the second highest vertical waterfall in Maryland. The location was used for the filming of Tuck Everlasting. We were lucky to get there early so that we had the opportunity to enjoy the falls alone.

Nassau, Bahamas

Here are a few views from my recent trip to Nassau, Bahamas. My sister invited me to join her on a short weekend cruise and the price was irresistible. We enjoyed the sun and warmth of the Caribbean during the cold weather at home. We sailed from Jacksonville to Freeport and Nassau in the Bahamas.

Longwood Gardens

Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square Pennylsvania is having it's Fall Color Display from now until late November and my sister and I headed up there to check it out. I usually visit the gardens in the summer to see the perennials and again at Christmas to see the lights and holiday decorations. I wasn't sure what to expect in the fall. I found that there is still lots to see in the gardens, everything from late summer annuals to chrysanthemums. The displays of pumpkins and squash were impressive. The topiary bees in the conservatory were especially interesting. It was my first visit since the completion of the Children's Garden and that was stunning. Another new addition are the four treehouses built throughout the gardens. I highly recommend a fall visit to the gardens.

A Sharpbill on the nest, incubating | the Internet Bird Collection

I just added this video to The Internet Bird Collection. While taken over a year ago, I think it is important enough to document. The discovery of the nest was an important ornithological find and the pictures and videos that we took were the first ever taken anywhere in the world.

A Sharpbill on the nest, incubating | the Internet Bird Collection

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Monument to William Wallace, Stirling, Scotland

Scottish Fields

Glencoe

I just returned from a trip to Scotland. I recently discovered that I had family there and the main purpose of my trip was to meet all my long lost relatives. I expected that the experience of meeting family would be rewarding. I had never really had Scotland on my list of must see countries, so I didn't know a lot about it as a destination and didn't know what to expect. I was in for a real treat.
The Scottish landscape is breathtaking: lovely rolling hills, lochs and quaint towns. It is a small country so in a week I was able to visit Glasgow, Edinburgh, the Highlands, the Borders and Loch Ness and Loch Lomond and the Cairngorns. I was impressed by the cleanliness of the towns and cities. Every little stone house had a neatly cared for garden in the front. Stone walls lined the highways. Fields everywhere had sheep and there was one lovely old castle after another along the roads. If asked what the high point of my trip was, I would have to say it was the visit to Glencoe. It is a place shrouded in mystery, sorrow and history. Standing and looking at the beautiful green valley, surrounded by grand hills, I felt I was transported to another time. At this altitude in the states the mountains would be covered with trees, hiding the beauty of the hills themselves. Here the mountains are adorned by exposed rock, low bushes and heather. On the day I visited the sky was blue with great white clouds. I was told I was lucky to visit here on a day of some of Scotland's best weather. I will never forget Glencoe.

Blue and Yellow Macaw

While visiting my sister in Jacksonville, Florida we drove to St. Augustine and went to the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. These beautiful Macaws are residents there.