F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 320.
Northern Pintail Duck
How do crazy people go through the forest?
They take the psycho path.
Interesting Fact: When it comes to breeding, Northern Pintails don’t waste any time. They start nesting as soon as the ice starts to thaw, arriving by late April in places as far north as the Northwest Territories, Canada. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Pintail/ )
F/6.3, 1/160, ISO 800.
Short Eared Owl
What kind of flower doesn’t sleep at night?
The Day-zzz
Interesting Fact: Normally reluctant to leave the nest, female Short-eared Owls that are forced to flush often defecate on their eggs. The resulting putrid smell may repel predators or mask the scent of the nest. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Short-eared_Owl/ )
F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 200.
Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation
What do you get when you cross a snowman and a vampire?
Frostbite.
Interesting Fact: The Rose Island Light, built in 1870, is on Rose Island in Narragansett Bay in Newport, Rhode Island in the United States. It is preserved, maintained and operated by The Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation.
One of a group of New England lighthouses built to an award-winning design by Vermont architect Albert Dow,[3] Rose Island Light has sisters at Sabin Point, Pomham Rocks, and Colchester Reef. The lighthouse stands atop a bastion of Fort Hamilton, which was built in 1798-1800. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_Island_Light )
F/8.0, 1/2000, ISO 800.
Common Merganser
What did the pencil say to the other pencil?
your looking sharp.
Interesting Fact: Common Mergansers spend the breeding season in northern forested habitats near large lakes and rivers. Since they nest in cavities of large trees, breeding Common Mergansers are usually found in mature forests. They spend winters on large lakes, rivers, and reservoirs in the southern and coastal regions of their breeding range, and in additional wintering grounds across the northern and western United States. They tend to prefer freshwater wintering habitat over saltwater, but they may winter in coastal bays, estuaries, and harbors. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Merganser/lifehistory )
F/6.3, 1/6, ISO 100.
Great Blue Heron
Why couldn’t the pirate play cards?
Because he was sitting on the deck!
Interesting Fact: Great Blue Herons generally move away from the northern edge of their breeding range in winter, with some flying as far south as the Caribbean. Populations in the Pacific Northwest and south Florida are present year-round. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron/maps-range )
F/7.1, 1/800, ISO 200.
Western Grebe
A man was stranded on a desert island for 10 years.
One day a beautiful girl swims to shore in a wet suit.
Man: “Hi! Am I ever happy to see you.”!
Girl: “Hi! It seems like you’ve been here along time. How long has it been since you’ve had a cigarette?”
Man: “It’s been ten years!”
With this information the girl unzips a slot on the arm of her wet suit and gives the man cigarette.
Man: “Oh thank you so much!”
Girl: “So tell me how long its been since you had a drink?”
Man: “It’s been ten years” The girl unzips a little longer zipper on her wet suit and comes out with a flask of whiskey and gives the man a drink.
Man: “Oh. Thank you so much. You are like a miracle”!
Finally the girl starts to unzip the front of her wet suit and asks the man leadingly, “So tell me then, have you been bored?”
The man looked at her and said excitedly: “Oh, my God, don’t tell me you’ve got a surfboard in there too?”
Interesting Fact: Western Grebes breed on freshwater lakes and marshes with extensive open water bordered by emergent vegetation. During winter they move to saltwater or brackish bays, estuaries, or sheltered sea coasts and are less frequently found on freshwater lakes or rivers. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Grebe/lifehistory )
F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 320.
Brown Creeper
Past, present and future walk into a bar.
It was tense!
Interesting Fact: The Brown Creeper spends most of its time spiraling up tree trunks in search of insects. It holds its short legs on either side of its body, with the long, curved claws hooking into the bark, and braces itself with its long, stiff tail. Both feet hop at the same time, making the bird’s head duck after each hop. Because of its specialized anatomy, the Brown Creeper rarely climbs downward: once high in a tree, it flies down to begin a new ascent at the base of a nearby tree. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Creeper/lifehistory )
F/6.3, 1/125, ISO 1000.
Northern Cardinal ( Male )
Did you hear the joke about the roof?
Never mind, it’s over your head!
Interesting Fact: Males sometimes bring nest material to the female, who does most of the building. She crushes twigs with her beak until they’re pliable, then turns in the nest to bend the twigs around her body and push them into a cup shape with her feet. The cup has four layers: coarse twigs (and sometimes bits of trash) covered in a leafy mat, then lined with grapevine bark and finally grasses, stems, rootlets, and pine needles. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/lifehistory )
F/6.3, 1/160, ISO 160.
Wood Duck
What do you call an old snowman?
Water!
Interesting Fact: Breeding pairs search for nest cavities during early morning. The male stands outside as the female enters and examines the site. They typically choose a tree more than 1 foot and often 2 feet in diameter, with a cavity anywhere from 2–60 feet high (higher sites seem to be preferred). ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/lifehistory )
F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 250.
Tufted Titmouse
A husband and a wife purchased an old home in Northern New York State from two elderly sisters. Winter was fast approaching and the years first snow came early and they were concerned about the house’s lack of insulation.
“If they could live here all those years, so can we!” a husband confidently declared.
One November night the temperature plunged to below zero, and they woke up to find interior walls covered with frost.
A husband called the sisters to ask how they had kept the house warm.
After a rather brief conversation, he hung up.
“For the past 30 years,” he muttered,
“they’ve gone to Florida for the winter.”
Interesting Fact: Titmice build cup-shaped nests inside the nest cavity using damp leaves, moss and grasses, and bark strips. They line this cup with soft materials such as hair, fur, wool, and cotton, sometimes plucking hairs directly from living mammals. Naturalists examining old nests have identified raccoon, opossum, dog, fox squirrel, red squirrel, rabbit, horse, cow, cat, mouse, woodchuck, and even human hair in titmouse nests. Nest construction takes 6 to 11 days. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Titmouse/lifehistory )
Through Open Lens 