Outer Banks NC, May 2021

> Mon May 17 Sat May 15 <

Sun May 16

We headed up to the Weeping Radish for lunch that day but on our way out stopped on the sound side of Kill Devil Hills to look at the Osprey nests that we saw the night before. I was able to watch on pair of them working on their nest. One bird flew a few circles and dropped into the water to catch ... a stick for the nest. Still great to see and get to photograph. We took a drive that evening through the Alligator River NWR to try to see bears. We succeeded! The photos didn't quite work out but we saw this one bear in the grass, and on our return trip, standing up to look around.

Osprey
Osprey
Female Common Grackle
Female Common Grackle
Juvenile Double-crested Cormorant
Juvenile Double-crested Cormorant
American Crow
American Crow
Ospreys nesting, one leaving the nest
Ospreys nesting, one leaving the nest
On the search
On the search
... the other stayed behind
... the other stayed behind
Osprey soaring
Osprey soaring
Found a branch for the nest
Found a branch for the nest
Return with the prize
Return with the prize
Great Egret
Great Egret
Yellow-Bellied Slider
Yellow-Bellied Slider
Kellie said "Turtle". Me: is it a pretty turtle? "Not really, more of a muddy rock with a head."
Ears! I saw ears!
Ears! I saw ears!
Autofocus failure 1: Too close
Autofocus failure 1: Too close
Autofocus failure 2: Too far
Autofocus failure 2: Too far
sigh! At least we got to see the bear stand up out of the grass.
Northern Blue Flag wild irises
Northern Blue Flag wild irises
seen in the wetlands at Alligator river