chilling

Look Into My Eyes, You Are Getting Sleepy!

June 17, 2016 — 19 Comments

Black-crowned Night-Heron 1

F/ 6.3, 1/640, ISO 200.

Black-Crowned Night-Heron ( Juvenile )

How do you wake up Lady gaga?

Poke her face.

Interesting Fact: The familiar evening sight and sound of the Black-crowned Night-Heron was captured in this description from Arthur Bent’s Life Histories of North American Marsh Birds: “How often, in the gathering dusk of evening, have we heard its loud, choking squawk and, looking up, have seen its stocky form, dimly outlined against the gray sky and propelled by steady wing beats, as it wings its way high in the air toward its evening feeding place in some distant pond or marsh!” ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-crowned_Night-Heron/lifehistory )

Because I’m Bad, I’m Bad, Really, Really Bad

May 31, 2016 — 32 Comments

Common Grackle 1

F/7.1, 1/200, ISO 320.

Common Grackle  

A guy walks into an antique store and buys a grandfather clock, he walks out of the shop with it and accidentally walks into a drunk guy. (they both fall over and the clock gets smashed to bits)
The guy says to the drunk, “Why don’t you watch where your going?” and the drunk says, “Why don’t you carry a wrist watch like everybody else?”

Interesting Fact: You might see a Common Grackle hunched over on the ground, wings spread, letting ants crawl over its body and feathers. This is called anting, and grackles are frequent practitioners among the many bird species that do it. The ants secrete formic acid, the chemical in their stings, and this may rid the bird of parasites. In addition to ants, grackles have been seen using walnut juice, lemons and limes, marigold blossoms, chokecherries, and mothballs in a similar fashion. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Grackle/lifehistory )

I Always Have To Deal With Paparazzis

May 29, 2016 — 14 Comments

White-Tailed Deer 1

F/5.6, 1/50, ISO 100.

White-Tailed Deer

Who did Bambi invite to his birthday party?

His nearest and deer-est friends.

Interesting Fact: White-tailed deer, the smallest members of the North American deer family, are found from southern Canada to South America. In the heat of summer they typically inhabit fields and meadows using clumps of broad-leaved and coniferous forests for shade. During the winter they generally keep to forests, preferring coniferous stands that provide shelter from the harsh elements. ( http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/white-tailed-deer/ )

Why Wasn’t I Casted In The “Angry Bird” Movie?!

May 25, 2016 — 10 Comments

Chipping Sparrow 1

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 100.

Chipping Sparrow 

Bob: You know Tom, sometimes I don’t understand life.
Tom: What do you mean?
Bob: When we were a younger, we learnt to talk and to walk. At school, we always have to sit down and shut up…

Interesting Fact: In much of the West, Chipping Sparrows disperse shortly after breeding to move to areas with better food resources. It’s not unusual to see Chipping Sparrows on alpine tundra or along roadsides in open grasslands. This results in the common misperception that they bred in those areas, when really they simply moved there to molt. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Chipping_Sparrow/lifehistory )

A Little Birdie Told Me…

May 1, 2016 — 24 Comments

Chipping Sparrow

F/7.1, 1/200, ISO 500.

Chipping Sparrow 

Bacon and eggs walk into a bar and order a beer, the bartender says sorry, we don’t serve breakfast.

Interesting Fact: Chipping Sparrows typically build their nests low in a shrub or tree, but every once in a while they get creative. People have found their nests among hanging strands of chili peppers, on an old-fashioned mower inside a tool shed, and on a hanging basket filled with moss. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Chipping_Sparrow/lifehistory )

I Am Not Yelling! This Is How I Talk!

April 29, 2016 — 8 Comments

Brown-headed Cowbird ( Female )

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 320.

Brown-headed Cowbird ( Female )

A man inserted an ‘ad’ in the classifieds: “Wife wanted.” Next day he received a hundred letters.

They all said the same thing: “You can have mine.”

Interesting Fact: Social relationships are difficult to figure out in birds that do not build nests, but male and female Brown-headed Cowbirds are not monogamous. Genetic analyses show that males and females have several different mates within a single season. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown-headed_Cowbird/lifehistory )

So They Say Orange Is The New Black, What If I’m Both?!

April 26, 2016 — 25 Comments

Eastern Towhee

F/6.3, 1/40, ISO 400.

Eastern Towhee

What did the bird say after his cage fell apart?

“Cheap, cheap!”

Interesting Fact: Eastern Towhees are common victims of the parasitic Brown-headed Cowbird. Female cowbirds lay eggs in towhee nests, then leave the birds to raise their cowbird young. In some areas cowbirds lay eggs in more than half of all towhee nests. Towhees, unlike some other birds, show no ability to recognize or remove the imposter’s eggs. Female cowbirds typically take out a towhee egg when laying their own, making the swap still harder to notice. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Towhee/lifehistory )

 

You Can’t See Me I’m Camouflage!

April 23, 2016 — 22 Comments

Yellow-Rumped Warbler

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 400.

Yellow-Rumped Warbler

A magician was working on a cruise ship in the Caribbean.
The audience would be different each week, so the magician
allowed himself to do the same tricks over and over again.
There was only one problem:  The captain’s parrot saw the
shows each week and began to understand how the magician did
every trick.  Once he understood he started shouting in the
middle of the show:
“Look, it’s not the same hat”
“Look, he is hiding the flowers under the table”
“Hey, why are all the cards the Ace of Spades ?”
The magician was furious but couldn’t do anything, it was,
after all, the captain’s parrot.
One day the ship had an accident and sank.  The magician
found himself on a piece of wood in the middle of the ocean
with the parrot, of course.  They stared at each other with
hate, but did not utter a word.
This went on for a day and another and another.
After a week the parrot said:  “OK, I give up.  Where’s
the boat?”

Interesting Fact: The Yellow-rumped Warbler is the only warbler able to digest the waxes found in bayberries and wax myrtles. Its ability to use these fruits allows it to winter farther north than other warblers, sometimes as far north as Newfoundland.  ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-rumped_Warbler/lifehistory )

They Call Me Mellow Yellow

April 17, 2016 — 24 Comments

Yellow Warbler

F/ 6.3, 1/640, ISO 200.

Yellow Warbler

A lady went to a pet shop.
“I’d like to buy two yellow canaries,” she told the owner.
“We don’t have any canaries, but we have these,” the owner
said, as he showed the lady some pale green parakeets.
“That’s not what I’m looking for,” the lady stated.
But the pet store owner refused to give up. He said, “Just
think of them as yellow canaries that aren’t quite ripe yet.”

Interesting Fact: Life can be dangerous for a small bird. Yellow Warblers have occasionally been found caught in the strands of an orb weaver spider’s web. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow_Warbler/lifehistory )

Feed Me!

April 11, 2016 — 12 Comments

Heermann's Gull

F/7.1, 1/800, ISO 200.

Heermann’s Gull

If someone ever says, “What are you staring at?”

Say “I don’t know, give me a minute.”

Interesting Fact: The Heermann’s Gull, like many other gulls, frequently steals food from other birds. The Brown Pelican is a frequent victim. An adult Heermann’s Gull is most likely to try to steal food from an adult pelican, and an immature gull is more likely to steal from an immature pelican. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Heermanns_Gull/lifehistory )