animals

Keep Your Head Up!

November 28, 2015 — 9 Comments

Carolina Wren

F/6.3, 1/800, ISO 800.

Carolina Wren

Day 332 / 365

What is a parrot’s favorite game?

Hide and Speak!

Interesting Fact: Unlike other wren species in its genus, only the male Carolina Wren sings the loud song. In other species, such as the Stripe-breasted Wren of Central America, both members of a pair sing together. The male and female sing different parts, and usually interweave their songs such that they sound like a single bird singing. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Carolina_Wren/lifehistory )

 

You Would Think, It Would Be Another Knock Knock Joke

November 27, 2015 — 8 Comments

Yellow Bellied Sapsucker

F/ 6.3, 1/800, ISO 800.

Yellow Bellied Sapsucker

Day 331 / 365

What do you get if you cross a parrot with a woodpecker?

A bird that talks in mores code!

Interesting Fact: The sapwells made by Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers attract hummingbirds, which also feed off the sap flowing from the tree. In some parts of Canada, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds rely so much on sapwells that they time their spring migration with the arrival of sapsuckers. Other birds as well as bats and porcupines also visit sapsucker sapwells. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-bellied_Sapsucker/lifehistory )

I’m Glad I’m Not a Turkey!

November 26, 2015 — 15 Comments

Dark-eyed Junco

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERONE!!!

F/ 6.3, 1/640, ISO 900.

Dark-eyed Junco 

Day 330 / 365

Chicken talking to the turkey: “Only Thanksgiving and Christmas??? You’re lucky, with us its any Sunday.”

Interesting Fact: Juncos are the “snowbirds” of the middle latitudes. Over most of the eastern United States, they appear as winter sets in and then retreat northward each spring. Some juncos in the Appalachian Mountains remain there all year round, breeding at the higher elevations. These residents have shorter wings than the migrants that join them each winter. Longer wings are better suited to flying long distances, a pattern commonly noted among other studies of migratory vs. resident species.  ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Dark-eyed_Junco/lifehistory )

How Is My Mohawk!

November 25, 2015 — 17 Comments

Tufted Titmouse

F/8.0, 1/125, ISO 320.

Tufted Titmouse

Day 329 / 365

Why did the chicken say, “Meow, oink, bow-wow, and moo?”

He was studying foreign languages.

Interesting Fact: Tufted Titmice hoard food in fall and winter, a behavior they share with many of their relatives, including the chickadees and tits. Titmice take advantage of a bird feeder’s bounty by storing many of the seeds they get. Usually, the storage sites are within 130 feet of the feeder. The birds take only one seed per trip and usually shell the seeds before hiding them. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Titmouse/lifehistory )

I Just Wanna Fly!

November 15, 2015 — 18 Comments

Red-tailed Hawk

F/ 9.0, 1/320, ISO 500.

Red-tailed Hawk

Day 319 / 365

What birds spend all their time on their knees?

Birds of prey!

Interesting Fact: Birds are amazingly adapted for life in the air. The Red-tailed Hawk is one of the largest birds you’ll see in North America, yet even the biggest females weigh in at only about 3 pounds. A similar-sized small dog might weigh 10 times that. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/lifehistory )

That Taste A Little Weird?

November 14, 2015 — 17 Comments

Gadwall

F/ 11.0, 1/400, ISO 320.

Gadwall Ducks

Ring Billed Gulls

Day 218 / 365

A duck goes into a bar and says, ‘I would like a drink. I am old enough.’
The bartender replies, ‘You need to be able to prove who you are.’
The duck pulls out a mirror. He looks in it, nods his head, and says, ‘Yep, that’s me.’
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Interesting Fact: Female Gadwall produce an egg a day while they are laying their 7–12-egg clutches. To meet their demand for protein during this stressful time, female Gadwall eat more invertebrates than males during this period—in addition to using reserves of nutrients they’ve stored in their bodies during the winter. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gadwall/lifehistory )

The Duck Says Quack!

November 8, 2015 — 12 Comments

Ruddy Duck

F/ 10.0, 1/400, ISO 250.

Ruddy Duck

Day 312 / 365

What did the duck say when he dropped the dishes?

I hope I didn’t quack any!”
Interesting Fact: Though Ruddy Ducks are native to the Americas, one population became established in England after captive ducks escaped in 1952. This population grew to about 3,500 individuals by 1992, and now appears to be expanding into the Netherlands, France, Belgium, and Spain. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruddy_Duck/lifehistory ).

How Much Wood Could A Woodchuck Chuck, If A Woodchuck Could Chuck Wood?

October 29, 2015 — 34 Comments

Groundhog

F/6.3, 1/60, ISO 640.

Groundhog (Woodchuck)

Day 302 / 365

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, and chuck as much wood as a woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood.

Interesting Fact: Groundhogs hibernate meaning they spend their winters sleeping.  They hibernate from October to late March. Groundhogs prepare for hibernation by putting on weight.  Then they live off the fat until they come out of hibernation. ( http://www.kidsplayandcreate.com/fun-groundhog-facts-and-groundhog-day-facts-for-kids/ )

 

 

You Don’t Know Quack!

October 25, 2015 — 14 Comments

Ruddy Duck 1

F/ 13.0, 1/640, ISO 800.

Ruddy Duck

Day 298 / 365

A man and a duck are walking down the street together. Suddenly the man notices a low-flying airplane coming right for them. The man yells “DUCK!!!!” and the duck looks back at the man with an angry face and yells “MAN!!!!”

Interesting Fact: Ruddy Ducks are very aggressive toward each other and toward other species, especially during the breeding season. They are even known to chase rabbits feeding on the shore. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruddy_Duck/lifehistory )

Excuse Me?! I Hear Everything That You Saying! 

October 24, 2015 — 10 Comments

Boston Terrier

F/ 5.6, 1/60, ISO 200.

Boston Terrier

Day 297 / 365

What does this dog and my phone have in common?

They both have collar I.D.

Interesting Fact: The Boston terrier breed originated around 1870, when Robert C. Hooper of Boston, purchased a dog, Judge from Edward Burnett known later as Hooper’s Judge, who was of a Bull and Terrier type lineage. Hooper’s Judge is either directly related to the original Bull and Terrier breeds of the 19th and early 20th centuries, or Judge is the result of modern English Bulldogs being crossed into terriers created in the 1860s for show purposes, like the White English Terrier. The American Kennel Club cites Hooper’s Judge as the ancestor of almost all true modern Boston Terriers. ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Terrier )