wildlife

Love is in the Air

by Ingrid

Valentine’s Day … a day for love.  Love is in the air here along the Texas Gulf Coast and it hasn’t eluded me.  I have a new love in my life whom I find totally irresistible and adorable.  Oh, not to worry, I haven’t replaced Al …. yet 😆

First, I’ve been thoroughly entertained by observing the Great Blue Herons in the neighborhood.  They have been hard at work building their nests.

roosting grounds
I love watching this couple build their nest together.
Great Blue Heron
The male retrieves the building materials and together they build their nest
Great Blue Heron
Then the female works on fine-tuning the nest – making it just right

And while it seems the Great Blue Herons have already partnered up, some of the other shore birds are still in the courting stage.

roseate spoonbill
There was a lot of vying for attention going on in this group
Grebe
This cute Grebe couple appeared to be discussing lunch options
cormorant
cormorants sitting in silence – awkward 😆
coot
Coot, they are a hoot
shovel ducks
shovel ducks – out for an afternoon paddle together
skimmers
skimmers taking a break – they’ve decided to see other birds
roseate spoonbill
roseate spoonbills having fun on the pier – first date, going well
spoonbill
singles club

AND now for the latest love in my life ……

brahma bull
kiss me now!

I am in love with this little Brahma calf.  Isn’t he the cutest?  So adorable and irresistible. Think Al will notice the elephant brahma in the room.

brahma bull
let’s play!
brahma
We love our daily visits.  While his cousins play with each other (in the background), Bammi and I visit.
brahma
Can I come home with you?

This is one time, Al is grateful we don’t own acreage.  Unfortunately, I’ll be saying goodbye to Bammi the Brahma soon.  I have high hopes for this little stud muffin – a world where he never hears the word hamburger.

brahma
Don’t leave me … it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all!

Wishing you all a very Happy Valentine’s Day … a day filled with love and joy.  My romantic husband has already surprised me with my favorite chocolates, a single red rose, and will be taking me out to lunch – a seafood lunch.  I’ll pass on the hamburger, thank you!

great blue heron
Watching and waiting for her man to return. Dude, hurry up! I need those building supplies to finish the nursery nest. 

blog-name14

91 thoughts on “Love is in the Air”

  1. Pingback: Things to do in Rockport | Live Laugh RV

  2. What a delightful post, Ingrid! I like all the love references for Valentine’s Day, and the little calf is adorable. But most especially, your bird photos are fantastic (as always) and the number of species here is astounding. Your years of enjoying Rockport and all the birds has convinced me to visit this area, thanks so much.

    Like

    1. I do think you and Athena would enjoy the birding in this part of the country as do folks from around the world. It’s only a three hour drive south of San Antonio and could make for a wonderful vacation…. and perhaps even a book plot 😉

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks Ellen. The Texas Gulf Coast has become a second home to us…. or would that be third? Hmm, and where’s number one? LOL We do enjoy the area for a month or two.

      Like

    1. Thanks Debbie. Hope things dry out for you soon so you can get back on the road. And if you can’t, maybe you’ll be around to enjoy some newborns 😉

      Like

  10. Only you can come up with such a great theme with appropriate and fantastic photos! I love those GBH building nests. I could tell you are having a great time with all those feathered friends giving you outstanding photos.

    Like

    1. It has been an amazing time this year along the coast. One of the best, but I’m looking forward to returning to the desert. It’s a cool, windy day today so I’ll be working hard with that ‘delete’ button 😉

      Like

  13. Again…outstanding photos! The little brahma calf is adorable! Yes, love is in the air…happy Valentine’s Day.

    Like

  14. I LOVE that little bull! Reminds me of the movie City Slickers and the calf, Norman..I say that you find some acreage or a nice farmer to board him and save him from becoming dinner…Hey, maybe he could become a rodeo bull in the future!!! Love those Great Blues…amazing photos…

    Like

    1. And I am soooo a City Slicker which is what’s extremely entertaining to Al. You should see me ride a horse – comical. Too bad you couldn’t make it to Texas this winter. The weather has been awesome (for the most part) and the birding has been equally awesome.

      Like

      1. “Birdlandville” – love it and may have to use your unique terminology. Some photos are easy to caption while others take a little thought. I didn’t put much thought into any of these 😄 It has been a wonderful visit.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. I’m hoping my photography has improved over the years. I’m shooting with more purpose and thought these days instead of my previous method of “point and pray” 😄

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you – that first photo is one of my favorites. It’s all about timing, and as many times as I’ve returned to the roosting site, I haven’t been able to capture anything close to that first shot. I have two more weeks to keep trying 😉

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks Larry – I’m still using the same bridge camera (well, actually I’m on my second one. I know how to wear out a camera lol) that I’ve used for the past 2+ years – Panasonic Lumix FZ200. It zooms from 28-600. With all the shooting I do, I’ve learned it’s capabilities and short comings. I recently started editing with Lightroom because I got a new computer and Picasa was no longer available.

      Like

    1. Bammi is one cute ‘little’ guy that will grow up to be one heck of a big dude. His daddy is bigger than my Toyota truck 😲 I backed away from the fence quickly when daddy came over to check me out … huge!!!

      Like

  23. Such a sweet post. Happy Valentine’s Day. :-)) Your photos of the Great Blue Herons are especially wonderful. How close were you? And what lens were you using?

    Like

    1. I am so excited to have stumbled upon the GBH roosting site. They seem like they are done building thus my timing was great. I got lucky once again. I still shoot with by Panasonic bridge camera exclusively. I was able to zoom in to the 35mm equivalence of 400mm in that top photo then cropped down somewhat. I do have to be careful cropping because the pixels blow out easily. One day I’ll get a camera with a larger sensor, but for now I love not having to change lenses.

      Like

    1. Thanks Pam. Unfortunately, all cute babes grow up and I think Bammi will grow up and surpass the size of my Tacoma. His daddy is one huge guy, bigger than my little truck – scary dude that had me scurrying away from the fence and had Al chuckling 😄

      Like

  29. che cosa c’è di più bello ed elegante della danza-volo degli uccelli? e cosa di più deliziosamente buffo del muso di un piccolo vitello? la tua scelta dell’amore originale e simpatica
    mille grazie, lieta di averti conosciuta
    Annalisa

    Like

    1. Glad you enjoyed my attempt at humor today. I’m thrilled with some of the images I’ve managed to capture this season and the heron photo at the top of this post is one of my favorites.

      Like

    1. It was fun going through all my photos and discovering the couple images I’d captured. Seemed fitting to share them on Valentine’s Day 😊

      Like

  36. Every time I see blue herons n trees, I think they look so out of place. They are so big and gangly, they belong on the ground or something. Lovely shots!!

    Like

Comments are closed.