F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 250.
Ring-necked Duck
Why did the duck go to jail?
Because he got caught selling quack.
Interesting Fact: Ring-necked Ducks on their breeding grounds occasionally get attacked by the much larger Common Loon, the Red-necked Grebe, and even the much smaller Pied-billed Grebe. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ring-necked_Duck/lifehistory )
F/13.0, 1/500, ISO 800.
Northern Cardinal ( Female )
Why couldn’t the leopard play hide and seek?
Because he was always spotted.
Interesting Fact: A week or two before the female starts building, she starts to visit possible nest sites with the male following along. The pair call back and forth and hold nesting material in their bills as they assess each site. Nests tend to be wedged into a fork of small branches in a sapling, shrub, or vine tangle, 1-15 feet high and hidden in dense foliage. They use many kinds of trees and shrubs, including dogwood, honeysuckle, hawthorn, grape, redcedar, spruce, pines, hemlock, rose bushes, blackberry brambles, elms, sugar maples, and box elders. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/lifehistory )
F/7.1, 1/200. ISO 125.
Great Egret
What did the Buffalo say to his little boy when he dropped him off at school?
Bison.
Interesting Fact: The Great Egret walks with its neck extended and its wings held close to its body. In flight, it is graceful and buoyant, with its neck tucked back against its shoulders and its legs trailing behind. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Egret/lifehistory )
F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 320.
American Coot
What did the rug say to the floor?
Don’t move, I’ve got you covered.
Interesting Fact: Although it swims like a duck, the American Coot does not have webbed feet like a duck. Instead, each one of the coot’s long toes has broad lobes of skin that help it kick through the water. The broad lobes fold back each time the bird lifts its foot, so it doesn’t impede walking on dry land, though it supports the bird’s weight on mucky ground. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/american_coot )
F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 250.
Sandhill Crane
Where do fortune tellers dance?
At the crystal ball.
Interesting Fact: The earliest Sandhill Crane fossil, estimated to be 2.5 million years old, was unearthed in the Macasphalt Shell Pit in Florida. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Sandhill_Crane/ )
F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 320.
Brown Creeper
How do you make a tissue dance?
Put a little boogie in it.
Interesting Fact: The Brown Creeper builds a hammock-like nest behind a loosened flap of bark on a dead or dying tree. It wasn’t until 1879 that naturalists discovered this unique nesting strategy. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Creeper/lifehistory )
F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 200.
Snowy Egret
A little boy asked his father, “Daddy, how much does it cost to get married?”
And the father replied, “I don’t know, son, I’m still paying for it.”
Interesting Fact: During the breeding season, adult Snowy Egrets develop long, wispy feathers on their backs, necks, and heads. In 1886 these plumes were valued at $32 per ounce, which was twice the price of gold at the time. Plume-hunting for the fashion industry killed many Snowy Egrets and other birds until reforms were passed in the early twentieth century. The recovery of shorebird populations through the work of concerned citizens was an early triumph and helped give birth to the conservation movement. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snowy_Egret )
F/6.3, 1/125, ISO 200.
Red-Eared Slider Turtle
What did one elevator say to the other?
I think I’m coming down with something!
Interesting Fact: Red-eared sliders are almost entirely aquatic, but as they are cold-blooded, they leave the water to sunbathe to regulate their temperature. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-eared_slider )
F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 250.
Desert Cottontail Rabbit
What do rabbits say before they eat?
Lettuce pray.
Interesting Fact: Due to the variable temperature of living conditions, desert cottontails must be adequate thermoregulators to minimize water loss during the hotter seasons and require shaded areas of their environment to conduct evaporative water loss through thermal heat transfer. In open-desert areas, they can withstand for a short period with extremely high temperatures of around 45 °C and have a large evaporative water loss capacity of around 1.5% body mass/hour, though cottontails can withstand longer in an ideal environment with shaded areas. To cope with evaporative heat loss, they do panting and undergo changes in production of their basal metabolic rate in relation to the ambient temperature of the environment. Ears of desert cottontails make up 14% of their body size and may help with thermoregulation. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_cottontail )
F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 320.
Yellow Warbler Immature (Northern)
How do you make an egg laugh?
Tell it a yolk.
Interesting Fact: In addition to the migratory form of the Yellow Warbler that breeds in North America, several other resident forms can be found in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Males in these populations can have chestnut caps or even chestnut covering the entire head. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow_Warbler/overview )
Through Open Lens 