It’s usually pretty quiet in our corner of the lake until boating season kicks off Memorial Day, continuing through Labor Day~ for the most part, just us and the birds.
Herons are here year round~ we have a permanent resident in our cove ~you can see the one in my header, strolling down our dock.
In his case, trespassers are welcome :)
Sea Gulls flock around February~
Squatting on our neighbor’s dock~
Osprey return around the end of February/March to nest.
It’s always a challenge to boat close enough to get a glimpse of any chicks.
We keep our fingers crossed that the Purple Martins return each spring~
This year like last, they are cohabitating with the house sparrows.
We’ve sent eviction notices to the sparrows, but they are choosing to ignore them :)
The geese are here year round~
I always look forward to seeing the goslings!
Last week we had a different variety of bird, noisy for our quiet cove~ two Blackhawk helicopters doing water rescue maneuvers.
The North Carolina National Guard and their Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team (NCHART), were conducting training exercises on Lake Norman, practicing rescuing victims from the water.
These teams rescued approximately 350 residents in North Carolina after Hurricanes Frances and Ivan in 2004, and are called on to rescue stranded/injured hikers from remote mountain areas.
Warning, objects flying overhead are a lot closer than they appear~ enough to rattle the floors and windows and cause Chloe & Gracie distress. . .not that it takes much to cause Chloe distress :)
By day three of these maneuvers, I was wishing for noise cancelling headphones to hear myself think.
My lens isn’t “zoomy” enough, but to give you an idea of how close they were, there are photos with our house ( #7 and #13) in the background, taken by the Charlotte Observer.
While this training is necessary and fun to watch, I’m happy that our regular lake birds aren’t quite so noisy :)
“Sounds” like a little excitement indeed! I agree with you, I’m sure it was fun for a while… Lovin’ the baby geese-Happy Weekend:@)
Well, I was wondering about the word blackhawk in your title! The training exercises would have been interesting for about an hour, and then they would have been unnerving, I’m sure. We have herons that live on ponds near us, and I think they are beautiful creatures. Your photos of one in flight is gorgeous.
We have had most of those birds at our lake place, with the exception of the Osprey. A Great Blue Heron resides in our cove, permanently. His voice just simply says Lake to me. We love watching the birds at the lake.
We’ve even had Blackhawks. Our lake is near Ft Leonard Wood. It is something to see these helicopters fly over so close to us, several at a time. Once we saw them coming directly across the lake toward our condo. However they haven’t been as close as “yours”.
Great photos!!! Loved this post.
I so miss the birds that “visited” us on our lake in Florida…so much better than the chatter of golfers!!!….They are beautiful…but I can only imagine their horror with the Blackhawk hovering over their space…I am surprised they did their maneuvers so close to homes…exciting to watch, but I can imagine it getting a little “noisy” after a while!!….
Have a wonderful weekend!
Thoroughly enjoyed your photos! Thanks for sharing.
Love your pictures. The baby geese are so darn cute.
Loved the birds. You have so many wonderful things in nature going on by your house on the water. Have enjoyed all your posts on your surroundings….and I do think the horse in the field has finally become your friend…smile. What a dream place to live. Seems like you have it all there. Can I move it :D
Nann
Oops…that was suppose to say can I move in:D
Wonderful photos, even of the mechanical bird in rescue mode….So much wild life in your lake…!
There is a Hawaiian ‘Io (hawk) that has been coming around our place quite a bit lately…Seems there might be a nest nearby and the male is scouting around for food in the area…
Gosh, I don’t know which is more exciting to see..the herons or the blackhawk helicopter! I think the herons. :) I thought about you a couple of weeks ago when we came back home from NJ and crossed over Lake Norman. The Lake Norman looks so nice from the road. Not like some lakes which have commercial or “rustic” boat docks visable.
Mary, I can just imagine how stressed the girls were with all this noise. From the newspaper images, it looks as if they were right outside your door. Fun to see a view of the house from the lake.
Hope you all are enjoying a beautiful weekend of quiet times lakeside.
~ Sarah
Your shots are outstanding, the wings ready for flight are fabulous… So many wonderful feather friends to enjoy.
Wow on 3 days of rescue, I hear you on noise cancellaion… I have seen to many search and rescues at the beach, sadly too many deaths… This week we watched the fire dept repel down huge crumbling cliffs that pummel to the sea using their trucks as anchors. I screamed out the window thank you for saving us. They must have been using your tablescapes as their gps coords to come back day after day to see what’s new while still thinking of the safety of others too :)
The goslings are too too sweet.
Great photos, love seeing the birds in flight. How beautiful to live on a lake.
What fabulous photos! I love all the wildlife you have on your lake. We have an egret(heron family)that visits every summer and eats everyone’s koi from their ponds. But we love it anyway! A few years ago it built a nest in my backyard and laid eggs but never returned to sit on them. I’m expecting to see it in my yard or on my roof any day now. What magnificent birds! We also have lots of ducks that visit and lead their little ducklings through the neighborhood. I love them all and seeing your photos is the perfect way to start this Sunday morning. Thank you, Mary!
Beautiful shots of the birds. How wonderful to live in an area to be able to see so many varieties.
Exciting ‘big bird’ maneuvers too :)
Mary, I so enjoyed this post. What beautiful, beautiful wildlife for you to enjoy. Even nesting ones! Unbelievably, we have blue herons here in the desert at a little lake (the rest of the world would call it a pond). I am amazed every time I see them. How do they fly? A true feat of nature! Honestly with that view, I don’t know how you get a thing done! :) My son spent some time in Black Hawk helicopters a few weeks back so those were of interest as well.
Being “in touch with nature” takes on a whole new meaning when you’re on or around the lake! Lovely photos!
Ah so many birds, but I can well see how the noise would get to you.
– The Tablescaper
I love all your birds, The heron and Osprey shots are wonderful. It is good to see that they practice on their rescuing missions. Lovely photos, thanks for sharing. Have a lovely week!
Seeing all the birds that habitate at your lake brings back memories of being in Fl. at my FIL’s and seeing all of them too. The blackhawk maneauvers would have been fun to see but only for a short time. In our first house we lived VERY close to an airport and the noise was LOUD! Trying to catch up on blogs. XO, Pinky
Just discovered your blog when starting my own board of Birds I’ve Seen Around Lake Norman on Pinterest. Enjoyed it all, neighbor!