Jordan Lake. The eastern wood-pewee is a medium sized flycatcher. And as is true of all flycatchers their heads are always in motion – swiveling all about looking for insects to dash after, catch and gobble up. Then repeat the dash and catch!
Jordan Lake State Park
CategoryUncommon Visitor to Jordan Lake
On our cruise this morning all of a sudden Captain Doug said “Doc do you see that smallish long-legged bird standing on that log over there?” Goodness! It was an immature white ibis. They are common in our coastal areas but don’t often come this far inland.
Disgruntled Chipping Sparrow
Jordan Lake. Dawn this morning was nicely cool and crisp… at least to me! However, this immature chipping sparrow was definitely not happy about the drop in temperature. Most birds have a body temperature of 105 to 109°F. So this morning when the air temperature was 67°F this little bird fluffed up to trap its own body heat because it was actually feeling cold.

Doc Ellen’s Snippets August 18, 2023
Jordan Lake. The following critters show up as brief clips from this morning: adult chipping sparrow feeding its fledgling, immature red-headed woodpecker, blue-gray gnatcatcher, American crow, American goldfinch, pennant dragonfly, great egret and an osprey. I hope you enjoy these little pieces of my morning!
Osprey Sunrise
Jordan Lake. It is 23 minutes after sunrise. Mom Osprey has gone fishing and is returning to the nest area to feed her two fledglings. They’ve been out flying and trying to catch fish on their own but she is quite willing to help them along – especially first thing in the morning with a nutritious breakfast.

Soaking Wet
Jordan Lake. The overnight storms soaked everything. This tiny wee blue-gray gnatcatcher was wet down to the skin. It had to take time out before looking for breakfast to get all of its feahters straight and ready for flight.
