ca wild

Strike A Pose

May 24, 2023 — 12 Comments

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 100.

Brown Pelicans

I bought some shoes from a drug dealer.

I don’t know what he laced them with, but I’ve been tripping all day.

Interesting Fact: The closely related Peruvian Pelican lives along the Pacific Coast of South America from southern Ecuador to Chile. It’s a little larger than a Brown Pelican, with fine white streaking on its underparts and a blue pouch in the breeding season. These two species are the only pelicans that plunge-dive for their food. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Pelican/lifehistory )

If You Dare Come A Little Closer!

April 13, 2023 — 9 Comments

F/8.0, 1/1000, ISO 200.

Black-crowned Night-Heron

What did the big chimney say to the little chimney?

“You’re too young to smoke.”

 Interesting Fact: Some populations stay in one place year-round, while others disperse short distances of 5–60 miles. Others migrate farther, such as from Massachusetts to Florida and the Caribbean, or from Alberta to Mexico and Cuba. Migrants follow the coast or the Mississippi River flyway. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-crowned_Night-Heron/lifehistory )

Blue Looks Good On You!

April 6, 2023 — 14 Comments

F/5.6, 1/160, ISO 320.

California Scrub-Jay

Why did Papa Smurf send Smurfette to see a doctor???

She was always feeling blue…

Interesting Fact: Look closely, and you’ll see an intriguing difference between the California Scrub-Jay and its close relative, Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay. The bill of a California Scrub-Jay is stout and hooked, giving it extra power and grip as the birds hammer open acorns in their oak woodland habitats. By comparison, Woodhouse’s have thinner, more pointed bills that nimbly reach deep into pinyon pine cones to pull out the pine nuts inside. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/California_Scrub-Jay )

Be Different!

March 23, 2023 — 6 Comments

F/5.6, 1/500, ISO 360.

Western-Grebe

Why did the traffic light turn red?

You would too if you had to change in the middle of the street!

Interesting Fact:  The Western Grebe, like other grebes, spends almost all its time in water and is very awkward when on land. The legs are so far back on the body that walking is very difficult. Western Grebes are adept swimmers and divers. Courtship happens entirely in the water, including a well-known display known as “rushing,” where two birds turn to one side, lunge forward in synchrony, their bodies completely out of the water, and race across the water side by side with their necks curved gracefully forward. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Western_Grebe/lifehistory )

I’m Sorry I Offended You Whith My Common Sense

March 21, 2023 — 10 Comments

F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 250.

Common Murre

Where do polar bears vote?

The North Poll.

Interesting Fact:  In the Atlantic, some populations include “bridled” or “ringed” individuals, which have a white eye-ring and a white line extending backward from the eyes. Bridled birds are more common farther north. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Murre/overview )

My Spirit Animals Is Grey Goose!

March 20, 2023 — 8 Comments

F/5.6, 1/800, ISO 160.

Greylag goose

How do you make an egg-roll?

You push it!!!

Interesting Fact: Young greylags stay with their parents as a family group, migrating with them in a larger flock, and only dispersing when the adults drive them away from their newly established breeding territory the following year.[18] At least in Europe, patterns of migration are well understood and follow traditional routes with known staging sites and wintering sites. The young learn these locations from their parents which normally stay together for life. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greylag_goose#Behaviour )

You Give Me Goosebumps!

March 10, 2023 — 20 Comments

F/6.3, 1/640, ISO 160.

Greylag goose

What concert costs 45 cents?

50 Cent featuring Nickleback.

Interesting Fact: Greylag geese are gregarious birds and form flocks. This has the advantage for the birds that the vigilance of some individuals in the group allows the rest to feed without having to constantly be alert to the approach of predators. After the eggs hatch, some grouping of families occur, enabling the geese to defend their young by their joint actions, such as mobbing or attacking predators.[17] After driving off a predator, a gander will return to its mate and give a “triumph call”, a resonant honk followed by a low-pitched cackle, uttered with neck extended forward parallel with the ground. The mate and even unfledged young reciprocate in kind. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greylag_goose#Behaviour   )

Haven’t You Heard That The Bird Is The Word ?!

February 18, 2023 — 2 Comments

F/5.6, 1/125, ISO 125.

Anna’s Hummingbird

What did the summer say to the spring?

Help! I’m going to fall.

Interesting Fact: Hummingbirds are very smart and they can remember every flower they have been to, and how long it will take a flower to refill. ( http://www.worldofhummingbirds.com/facts.php )

Simon Sez Stand On One Leg!

December 17, 2022 — 5 Comments

F/5.6, 1/500, ISO 400.

Heermann’s Gull

How do you communicate with a fish?

Drop him a line!

Interesting Fact: The Heermann’s Gull is the only North American gull that breeds south of the United States and comes north to spend the nonbreeding season. After breeding is over in July, the gull quickly comes north all the way to southern Canada. It heads back southward by December, and most breeders are at the breeding islands by March. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Heermanns_Gull/lifehistory )

Walk Like You Talk!

November 12, 2022 — 18 Comments

F/5.6, 1/500, ISO 250.

Black-bellied Plover ( Juvenile )

I went to a seafood disco last week… and pulled a mussel.

Interesting Fact: Wary and quick to give alarm calls, the Black-bellied Plover functions worldwide as a sentinel for mixed groups of shorebirds. These qualities allowed it to resist market hunters, and it remained common when populations of other species of similar size were devastated. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-bellied_Plover/overview )