Natural Beauty on Maryland's Eastern Shore

     We just returned from a wonderful visit with family on Maryland's Eastern Shore, in an area just about equidistant from the Atlantic Ocean and the Chesapeake Bay. Fascinating day trips abound there. The marsh shown in the first photo is just one scene from a large preserve called Blackwater National Wildlife Preserve, near the Chesapeake Bay, where we observed numerous osprey, about 6 bald eagles, countless egrets, maybe a dozen great blue herons, and many other birds. I so enjoyed seeing the birds and soaking up the beauty of these wetlands that I mostly left the camera in my backpack rather than trying to capture a blurry image of each one. 
     The other three photos (including the nesting osprey--click to enlarge) are from an afternoon at a county park and beach on the Chesapeake Bay near a wee town called Nanticoke where the Nanticoke River flows into Tangier Sound. Notice the heavy cloud bank to the north contrasted with the nearly clear sky to the south; the changing clouds are a magnificent feature of the Eastern Shore--due to the influence of two major bodies of water and numerous inlets, rivers, and wetlands. My kind of place, in other words. 

     Given the laundry, errands, etc. awaiting my attention today, I will leave more description and photos for a future post. Loved being with family and seeing so much natural beauty, but it's great to be home--particularly since a major tropical storm came through Jacksonville in our absence, giving us a bit of worry. Fortunately, we suffered no serious damage to our home or our trees--although it is taking Mark quite awhile to clear up tree debris in the yard.

Question of the day: Do you actively seek out bird sightings, or mostly enjoy the experience when it presents itself?