On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Good Morning All,
This weekday feature is for Juicers who are on the road, travelling, etc. and wish to share notes, links, pictures, stories, etc. from their escapades. As the US mainland begins the end of the Earth day as we measure it, many of us rise to read about our friends and their transient locales.
So, please, speak up and share some of your adventures, observations, and sights as you explore, no matter where you are. By concentrating travel updates here, it’s easier for all to keep up-to-date on the adventures of our fellow Commentariat. And it makes finding some travel tips or ideas from 6 months ago so much easier to find…
Have at ’em, and have a safe day of travels!
Should you have any pictures (tasteful, relevant, etc….) you can email them to [email protected] or just use this nifty link to start an email: Start an Email to send a Picture to Post on Balloon Juice
Have a great weekend everyone, there will be some changes to this feature next week!
Once again, Albatrossity shares more of his magnificent work:
Where it was taken: All at Pointe Mouilee State Game Area, half an hour south of Detroit MI
When: Thursday 6/22/2017
Other notes or info about the picture: Summertime birds and wildlife in Michigan, foraging or nesting or feeding babies in the brief time available. This state game area is a popular birding spot in summer, I was told, and it certainly was very birdy when I visited. All pictures were taken with a Canon EOS5D body attached to a Sigma 150-600mm zoom lens.1 – Muskrat in the cattail marsh
2 – Female Baltimore Oriole
3 – Male Baltimore Oriole
4 – Male Indigo Bunting
5 – Male Common Yellowthroat
6 – Female Indigo Bunting carrying nesting material
7 – Yellow Warbler with a nice juicy spider to feed the babies
8 – Osprey with half a fish. Must have eaten the other half.
Such gorgeous creatures – thank you so much, and we look forward to your next submission!
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
That otter!
OzarkHillbilly
I love warblers, every now and again one shows up here and I get all kinds of excited. Then s/he heads back down to the riparian forest that is their natural habitat and I has a sad.
Travel related: Celebrate the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle and other giant things nearby
If’ns you got nuthin’ better to do….
JPL
Lovely pictures!
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Now I’m looking at pictures, and I’m guessing muskrat. lol
Elizabelle
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes:
Tis a muskrat.
Albatrossity: gorgeous photos.
Good morning, all. TGIF.
raven
@OzarkHillbilly: Ah, it reminds me of the old days of the Turtle Races at the Possum Trot!
OzarkHillbilly
@raven: It’s the little things in life that make it fun.
raven
@OzarkHillbilly: In 75 I broke my back in a wreck andI went to the Turtle Races in a full body cast. After a couple of hours a very lubricated woman accosted me for making fun of the turtles and the event. When I explained my situation she spent the next half hour drunkenly trying to make amends!
Sloane Ranger
Beautiful and very tranquil. Thank you Albatrossity.
satby
I miss a few things about my old house in the country, and one of those is the wildlife, especially the birds. Since I moved to town I haven’t seen either the orioles or hummingbirds; never saw a live indigo bunting but my neighbor had one at his feeder once. Now the most exotic birds I get are blue jays and cardinals. So thanks Albatrossity for these gorgeous pictures.
debbie
One spring morning about 10 years ago, a yellow warbler hung out on an electrical wire outside my upstairs bathroom window, singing away. It rang through my entire apartment for several minutes. Best song I’ve ever heard.
rikyrah
I have such respect for those of you who can get those animals in nature shots. Thank you ?
Citizen Scientist
Wow, those are some great bird shots.
Traveling today to the deserts of the southwest. So far, had a regular from my bar and a Harlem Globetrotter on the first leg of flights.
Another Scott
@satby: Here in our NoVA suburb, we almost exclusively got starlings, English sparrows, cardinals and grackles at our black oil sunflower seed feeders (and only saw hummingbirds a few days in the fall) until I got a rollerfeeder and hung it from our dogwood. Now we see downey woodpeckers, red and gold finches, other small sparrows, etc., etc., every day. It’s a revelation, and does keep the squirrels out. (I did see a tiny mouse in it once, though, so I had to get some “hot meats” feed for it. The birds love it and the mammals leave it alone.) Mourning doves eat the pieces that hit the ground.
I have seen a bluebird in a local park, but not around the home. I’ll have to see if they want a different feed.
Good luck!
Cheers,
Scott.
Betty
Fabulous pictures. This feature has made Balloon Juice a even more enjoyable stop every day.
Alain the site fixer
@Betty: and it’s just going to get better!
Major Major Major Major
Aw, little yellow birdie has a snack. GREAT pictures, thanks!
satby
@Another Scott: that’s interesting, thanks! Yes,I mostly get sparrows, starlings, grackles, and the fat squirrel who wraps himself around the seed feeder cylinder for a leisurely meal. So I may have to get that roller one.
Barbara
Those pictures are just beautiful. I can’t decide which one I like the best, but I think it’s between number 5 and 6 — the male yellowthroat looking straight at the camera or the female bunting with those exquisite patterns on her wings. And they both blend in with their surroundings. Pretty enough to print out and hang. Thanks.
gvg
@satby: the local wild birds unlimited store has a newsletter where the owner shares all the latest from local birdfeeder watchers about what is working to get teh most birds. Local Audubon society may also have newsletter and experts. the WBU store had a garden tour recently that I went on, and most if not all of those most successful at attracting lots were putting out jelly. I was surprised at how many species they said loved jelly, not just oriels. My own experience is that persistance builds up a population that expects to be fed and cover near the feeder so small birds can hide from hawks but too far for squirrel jumping is helpful. I use squirrel/raccoon baffles on the poles myself.