Nice shot Ei!   

I've never seen a cardinal like this but I've seen plenty of blue jays over the years with this malady. No worries, they have all regrown the feathers. They are a strange sight!   

    You better quit talking about it and get on over there!  I want to read some reports from you!   

No Janet I never heard an osprey sing but I sure had plenty of sightings. They are gorgeous in flight!  

PS

    Donna your captions are hysterical!   

   Today Rochester falcon watchers Joyce,SusanC,BrianH,Jeanne,MarciaL,KathyO,Dana,CarolP and myself took a ride out to the Montezuma wildlife refuge about 45 miles east of Rochester. This is where Jemison was released and  we didn't spot him anywhere.
   I rode along with Joyce, Brian and Susan. We first went to the Armitage eagle nest where I saw my very first Bald eagle in the wild. You needed binocs to spot him but halfway up a tree in the distance you could clearly see the white on his head. Thankfully it was windy and it kept blowing a branch out of the way so you could find this national treasure. We also spotted its nest, a very impressive looking structure indeed! As I was awe struck with the eagle Brian yelled there was an Osprey behind me flying across the field. I turned around and saw my very first Osprey but wait there was another up there flying just above the treeline. Zowee hot diggity dog! How lucky am I to have seen two of the most awesome raptors on earth within minutes of each other.
   From there we went to Tschache(pronounced like shockey)Pool. What a haven for wildlife. There were Juvenile and adult Bald eagles and golden eagles all over the place. Many Osprey gracing the sky(which I have fallen in love with). I saw Trumpeter swans,Cormorants of which there were many. Egrets of some sort and more shorebirds than I've ever seen in one place.
   Next up was May's point pool where we discovered an Osprey on the branch of a tree with a very pink chunk of salmon in it's talon eating on and off for a good long while. His mate was to the left and up a bit farther in an adjacent tree. Just adding to my new fondness for these gorgeous birds. Across the road from this location Marcia and Brian saw a fleeting glimpse of an Ibis of some kind which Marcia had wanted to see.
   We met up with CarolP,Kathy,Dana and Jeanne (who had to leave) at the visitors center. All of us went to another place where we saw Sandhill cranes (I think) many Great Blue Herons,gulls,egrets and more. My favorite here and another first was a Northern Harrier which kept flying and hovering just above the ground seeking prey. The amber color on the underside of this bird of prey was just stunning. By this time the temperature was dropping, the wind was getting stronger and the rains came. So we packed it in for bird watching on this day.
   We visited the Montezuma Winery and sampled their vintage wines before we left the refuge and ended a wonderful day at the Iron Skillet diner for a bite to eat before heading home.
   Truly this was a banner day for this bird watcher and one I will never forget.
  

    Absolutely stunning!  Thanks piggy.   

   Very interesting Donna.   

"I love how they describe nature."    Me too!   

   I love Skidboot!  The hedgehog was very cute. Thanks Donna. Bobbie I think sometimes humans are such idiots that they make animals look intelligent.   

   Nice double rainbow Donna!   

A frog?

 

   That's totally cool!   

She is adorable!