_RK_3310 black and white warbler 2014

This small boldly marked bird is a black-and-white warbler – my first ever sighting of one.
If my friend had not shown it to me I would have missed it – even with it’s bright markings.
It is a busy bird and likes to stay in the shadows.

Full lunar eclipse, full moon, October 8, 2014.  I struggled trying to get my camera right and give to all of you decent photos.  There were several photographers, videographers and binocular users at the site on the lake and there was sharing of how-tos.  The maximum coverage occurred after the moon entered the horizon haze, got outmatched by the rising sun and was lost to our view.  There was a collective sigh.

06:32:43 AM October 8, 2014

_RK_3549 lunar eclipse 06-32-43 2014

06:36:50 AM October 8, 2014

_RK_3552 lunar eclipse 06-36-50 2014

06:39:59 AM October 8, 2014

_RK_3554 lunar eclipse 06-39-59 2014

_RK_3257 merlin flight 2014

Merlins can accelerate in flight at tremendous speeds.
I watched this one leave its perch in a tree and impossibly quick it was past me and down the canal line.

_RK_3295 merlin in tree med2014

The sharply swept back, long tapered wings say “falcon”. This is the falcon known as a merlin.
They sometimes visit Mattamuskeet Refuge for the winter.

IMG_1388 sunrise sun ghost med 2014

Sometimes, with my face to the camera, I don’t see the surprises that are waiting for me when I get home and upload the day’s work –
like this subtle ghost of the sun watching itself rise so brilliantly a few degrees to the east.