Month: January 2016

And They’re Off!

January 8, 2016 — 16 Comments

Hooded Mergansers

F/ 6.3, 1/400, ISO 1600.

Hooded Mergansers

Duck Week Continues!

A circus owner walked into a bar to see everyone crowded about a table watching a little show. On the table was an upside down pot and a duck tap dancing on it. The circus owner was so impressed that he offered to buy the duck from its owner. After some wheeling and dealing, they settled for $10,000 for the duck and the pot. Three days later the circus owner runs back to the bar in anger, “Your duck is a ripoff! I put him on the pot before a whole audience, and he didn’t dance a single step!” “So?” asked the ducks former owner, “did you remember to light the candle under the pot?”

Interesting Fact: Along with Wood Ducks and other cavity-nesting ducks, Hooded Mergansers often lay their eggs in other females’ nests. This is called “brood parasitism” and is similar to the practice of Brown-headed Cowbirds, except that the ducks only lay eggs in nests of their own species. Female Hooded Mergansers can lay up to about 13 eggs in a clutch, but nests have been found with up to 44 eggs in them. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hooded_Merganser/lifehistory )

I Hear You Loud And Clear!

January 7, 2016 — 24 Comments

Ruddy Duck

F/ 9.0, 1/320, ISO 250.

Ruddy Duck

Duck Week Continues!

A duck walks into a bar, sits down at the barstool, and waits for the bartender. The bartender walks up, hands the duck a menu, waits a while, and comes back to take his order. “What’ll it be?” the bartender says.

The duck says, “I think I’ll have the grapes.”

“Well, I’m sorry sir, but this is a bar, we don’t serve grapes here. Now, I’ll let you look a bit longer and wave when you know what you want.”

The duck looks at the menu, then waves the bartender down.

“Ok, you got your order?” The duck nods, saying, “I’ll think I’ll have the grapes.”

The bartender, kind of peeved from the duck, says, “Look Mac, we don’t have any grapes here. This is a bar. We don’t serve grapes, so what will you have?!”

The duck looks at him in the eyes and says, “I’ll have the grapes.”

The bartender, enraged, shouts, “If you ask for the grapes one more time I’m going to nail your feathered a** to the barstool!!” The bartender cools off a bit. “Now what will you get?!”

“Got any nails?”

“OF COURSE WE DON’T HAVE ANY NAILS! WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS IS? A HARDWARE STORE?”

“Good, got any grapes?”

Interesting Fact: Ruddy Ducks get harassed by Horned Grebes, Pied-billed Grebes, and American Coots during the breeding season. The grebes sometimes attack Ruddy Ducks from below the water, a behavior known as “submarining.” ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruddy_Duck/lifehistory )

It’s About To Get Real!

January 6, 2016 — 36 Comments

common merganser female and swan

F/ 7.1, 1/1600, ISO 400.

Common Merganser ( Female )

Mute Swan 

Duck Week Continues!

What do baby swans dance to?

Cygnet-ure-tunes!

Interesting Fact: Young Common Mergansers leave their nest hole within a day or so of hatching. The flightless chicks leap from the nest entrance and tumble to the forest floor. The mother protects the chicks, but they catch all of their own food. They start by diving for aquatic insects and switch over to fish at about 12 days old. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Merganser/lifehistory )

Duck Punk!

January 5, 2016 — 43 Comments

hooded merganser female

F/6.3, 1/500, ISO 250.

Hooded Merganser ( Female )

Duck Week Continues!

What do ducks like to eat?

Quackers!

Interesting Fact: Hooded Mergansers find their prey underwater by sight. They can actually change the refractive properties of their eyes to improve their underwater vision. In addition, they have an extra eyelid, called a “nictitating membrane,” which is transparent and helps protect the eye during swimming, like a pair of goggles. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hooded_Merganser/lifehistory )

That’s Quacktastic !

January 4, 2016 — 26 Comments

Wood Duck

F/ 6.3, 1/40, ISO 1600.

Wood Duck

Duck Week Continues!

What do you get when you cross a duck with a computer?

A quackintosh.

Interesting Fact: Wood Ducks pair up in January, and most birds arriving at the breeding grounds in the spring are already paired. The Wood Duck is the only North American duck that regularly produces two broods in one year. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/lifehistory )

Swimming With Purpose!

January 3, 2016 — 12 Comments

Harlequin Duck

F/ 10.0, 1/400, ISO 400.

Harlequin Duck

Duck Week!

What time does a duck wake up?

At the quack of dawn!

Interesting Fact: When engaged in behavioral interactions, the Harlequin Duck gives distinctly unducklike squeaks, the source of one of its local names: sea mouse. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Harlequin_Duck/lifehistory )

What’s Up?

January 2, 2016 — 22 Comments

Red tailed Hawk

F/11.0, 1/500, ISO400.

Red-tailed Hawk

What is a parrot’s favorite game?

Hide and Speak!

Interesting Fact: The “Harlan’s Hawk” breeds in Alaska and northwestern Canada, and winters on the southern Great Plains. This very dark form of the Red-tailed Hawk has a marbled white, brown, and gray tail instead of a red one. It’s so distinctive that it was once considered a separate species, until ornithologists discovered many individuals that were intermediate between Harlan’s and more typical Red-tailed Hawks. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/lifehistory )

My New Years Resolution Is 1080p

January 1, 2016 — 46 Comments

2016

Happy New Year Everyone!

Welcome 2016!

F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 400.

New Years Resolutions List

  1. Lose weight by inventing an anti-gravity machine
  2. Stop repeating myself again, and again, and again.
  3. I will read the manual… just as soon as I can find it.
  4. I will stop making lists…..

Interesting Fact: There are two ways to make ice sculpture: You can carve into a block of ice or make a mold. Blocks of ice are obtained from frozen rivers and lakes. Typically water that freezes slowly makes clear ice and is preferred by artists to make ice sculptures. In some places, artificial blocks of ice are made for this purpose. ( http://www.ehow.com/about_5393158_history-ice-sculptures.html )