Rain, Rain Go Away

Have any of the blogger flock from West Virginia wondered what happened to all the rain we had? Plus, what happened to all the rain since we all got home? How about all the rain in Ohio, Pennsylvania, etc.? Well, now you know. It all came to the Falls of the Ohio in Louisville, Ky. I went there Saturday for Birdathon, and this is what I saw. Click to enlarge the photo. See that faint line almost to the trees? That's the McAlpin Dam, about half a mile away, which is 30 feet tall. The water is just pouring over the top. All five gates on the rest of the dam are fully opened so that large logs, refrigerators, tires, barrels, etc. can come over to lodge along our shore.

The cormorants didn't mind, but most other shore birds and waders have gone elsewhere for a while. I did find this Spotted Sandpiper in the brush, and was really excited.

When I got home however, some of my pictures came out looking this this -- waaayyy overexposed. Ack!! I had my new Nikon P90 in shutter priority mode, with speed of 1/60 and expected it to adjust the aperture for the bright light, but apparently it didn't. I returned the next day and took more in superauto mode, which did fine. Then went back to the same shutter setting, and this time it made the appropriate aperture settings. The focus looks a little fuzzier than I expected too. I hope it's not getting sick.

Everyone knows the male Red-winged Blackbird, right? Loud, colorful red epaulets on the shoulders...a real showoff.

The female Red-winged Blackbird is a lot quieter, and harder to find. This lovely girl was picking through the cattail fluff for the softest lining for her nest. Isn't she pretty? Her mate, on the other hand, scolded me continuously while I snuck around looking for a clear vantage point.

I've been keeping an eye on the Cooper's Hawks next door, but couldn't resist when this Red-Shouldered put on a soaring demonstration right above my head.

I hope all of you had a pleasant and relaxing Mother's Day.