Month: March 2016

Thirsty Thursday!

March 31, 2016 — 17 Comments

Red-winged Blackbird

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 320.

Red-winged Blackbird

Where does a blackbird go for a drink?

To a crow bar.

Interesting Fact: The Red-winged Blackbird is a highly polygynous species, meaning males have many female mates – up to 15 in some cases. In some populations 90 percent of territorial males have more than one female nesting on their territories. But all is not as it seems: one-quarter to one-half of nestlings turn out to have been sired by someone other than the territorial male. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-winged_Blackbird/lifehistory )

Splash Off!

March 30, 2016 — 17 Comments

American Black Duck

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 320.

American Black Duck

Two monsters went duck-hunting with their dogs but without success. “I know what we’re doing wrong,” said the first one. “What’s that then?” asked the second. “We’re not throwing the dogs high enough!”

Interesting Fact: The colors of the bill and legs are used to determine their age and sex. These differences led to an earlier belief that there were two subspecies, a northern, red-legged race, and a southern “common” one. ( http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/392/overview/American_Black_Duck.aspx )

Let’s Get Back On Track!

March 28, 2016 — 29 Comments

High Line Park

F/7.1, 1/200, ISO 320.

How do trees access the internet?

They log on.

Interesting Fact: The High Line (also known as the High Line Park) is a 1.45-mile-long (2.33 km) New York City linear park built in Manhattan on an elevated section of a disused New York Central Railroad spur called the West Side Line.[1] Inspired by the 3-mile (4.8-kilometer) Promenade plantée (tree-lined walkway), a similar project in Paris completed in 1993, the High Line has been redesigned and planted as an aerial greenway and rails-to-trails park. (

Happy Easter To Everybunny!

March 27, 2016 — 18 Comments

Cottontail Rabbit

F/5.6, 1/250, ISO 400.

Cottontail Rabbit

What do you call a bunny with a large brain?

An egghead.

Interesting Fact: They browse at night on grasses and herbs and are fond of garden fare such as peas and, of course, lettuce. In winter, their diet becomes a bit coarse and consists of bark, twigs, and buds. During the day, cottontails often remain hidden in vegetation. If spotted, they flee from prey with a zigzag pattern, sometimes reaching speeds of up to 18 miles (29 kilometers) an hour. ( http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/cottontail-rabbit/ )

Quack Pack!

March 25, 2016 — 8 Comments

Harlequin Ducks

F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 400.

Harlequin Duck  

What do you call a crate of ducks?

A box of quackers!

Interesting Fact: Also called the Sea mouse because of its very unducklike squeaks. Other names include Circus duck or painted duck for its beautiful colors. ( http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/360/overview/Harlequin_Duck.aspx )

Don’t Lose Hope When The Sun Goes Down The Stars Come Out

March 24, 2016 — 66 Comments

sunset

F/13.0, 1/640, ISO 320.

Some people can tell what time it is by looking at the sun.

But I have never been able to make out the numbers.

Interesting Fact: Sunset colors are typically more brilliant than sunrise colors, because the evening air contains more particles than morning air. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunset#Historically )

 

 

And Now My Beak Is Stuck!

March 23, 2016 — 20 Comments

Marbled Godwit

F/5.6, 1/500, ISO 200.

Marbled Godwit

Why does it take pirates so long to learn the alphabet?

Because they spend years at C!

Interesting Fact: It often inserts its entire bill into the mud, and its head is totally submerged at times. ( http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/251/overview/Marbled_Godwit.aspx )

Where flowers bloom, so does hope.

March 21, 2016 — 31 Comments

Crocus

F/8.0, 1/250, IOS 320.

Crocus

What did the big flower say to the little one?

You’re really growing, bud!

Interesting Fact: The first crocus seen in the Netherlands, where crocus species are not native, were from corms brought back in the 1560s from Constantinople by the Holy Roman Emperor’s ambassador to the Sublime Porte, Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq. A few corms were forwarded to Carolus Clusius at the botanical garden in Leiden. By 1620, the approximate date of Ambrosius Bosschaert‘s painting (illustration, below), new garden varieties had been developed, such as the cream-colored crocus feathered with bronze at the base of the bouquet, similar to varieties still on the market. Bosschaert, working from a preparatory drawing to paint his composed piece spanning the whole of spring, exaggerated the crocus so that it passes for a tulip, but its narrow, grass-like leaves give it away. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocus#History )

Spring Is A Nature’s Way Of Saying “Let’s Party!”

March 20, 2016 — 14 Comments

Happy First Day Of Spring!

Narcissus

F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 320.

Narcissus ( Daffodils )

When do people start using their trampoline?

Spring-Time

Interesting Fact: Spring is one of the four conventional temperate seasons, following winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of the term varies according to local climate, cultures and customs. When it is spring in the Northern Hemisphere, it will be autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. At the spring equinox, days are approximately 12 hours long with day length increasing as the season progresses. Spring and “springtime” refer to the season, and also to ideas of rebirth, rejuvenation, renewal, resurrection and regrowth. Subtropical and tropical areas have climates better described in terms of other seasons, e.g. dry or wet, monsoonal or cyclonic. Often, cultures have locally defined names for seasons which have little equivalence to the terms originating in Europe. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_(season)#Meteorological_reckoning )

Don’t Stick Your Beak Where It Doesn’t Belong

March 19, 2016 — 21 Comments

Ring-billed Gull

F/9.0, 1/200, ISO 100.

Ring-billed Gull

What do you get when you cross a bird and a lawn mower?

Shredded tweet.

Interesting Fact: Many, if not most, Ring-billed Gulls return to breed at the colony where they hatched. Once they have bred, they are likely to return to the same breeding spot each year, often nesting within a few meters of the last year’s nest site. Many individuals return to the same wintering sites each winter too.  ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ring-billed_Gull/lifehistory )