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I Fly So High, I Can Reach The Sky!

February 11, 2016 — 21 Comments

Rough Legged Hawk

F/ 8.0, 1/320, ISO 100.

Rough Legged Hawk ( Dark  )

Is chicken soup good for your health?

Not if you’re the chicken!

Interesting Fact: Nonbreeding adults eat about a quarter-pound of food daily, or a tenth of their body mass—that’s about 5 small mammals. Nestlings start feeding themselves (swallowing lemmings whole) at about 16 days old. It’s estimated that a brood of 2 nestlings requires 26 pounds of food during the 40 days between hatching to fledging. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rough-legged_Hawk/lifehistory )

 

 

 

 

Spot Me If You Can!

February 10, 2016 — 18 Comments

Brown Creeper

F/6.3, 1/200, ISO 1600.

Brown Creeper

What do you call a bunch of chickens playing hide-and-seek?

Fowl play!

Interesting Fact: Brown Creepers burn an estimated 4–10 calories (technically, kilocalories) per day, a tiny fraction of a human’s daily intake of about 2,000 kilocalories. By eating a single spider, a creeper gains enough energy to climb nearly 200 feet vertically. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Creeper/lifehistory )

Monkey Say Monkey Do!

February 8, 2016 — 18 Comments

Snow monkey

Happy Chinese New Year!!  The Year Of The MONKEY.

F/5.6, 1/200, ISO 800.

Snow Monkey

A policeman in the big city stops a man in a car with a monkey in the front seat.
“What are you doing with that monkey?” He exclaimed, “You should take it to the zoo.”
The following week, the same policeman sees the same man with the monkey again in the front seat, with both of them wearing sunglasses. The policeman pulls him over.
“I thought you were going to take that monkey to the zoo!”
The man replied, “I did. We had such a good time we are going to the beach this weekend!”

 

Interesting Fact: Snow monkeys are known as the one of the cleverest species of monkeys. They learn easily and share new skills and hunting (or eating) techniques with other members of the troop and with their offspring.  ( http://www.softschools.com/facts/animals/snow_monkey_facts/106/ )

 

Interesting Fact: Chinese New Year is an important Chinese festival celebrated at the turn of the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is also known as the Spring Festival, the literal translation of the modern Chinese name. Celebrations traditionally run from the evening preceding the first day, to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first calendar month. The first day of the New Year falls on the new moon between 21 January and 20 February.[2] In 2016, the first day of Chinese New Year falls on Monday, February 8th. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year#History )

 

I Will Wait For You!

February 7, 2016 — 19 Comments

Great Blue Heron 1

F/ 5.0, 1/125, ISO 800.

Great Blue Heron

Why did the chicken cross the road half way?

He wanted to lay it on the line!

Interesting Fact:  Despite their impressive size, Great Blue Herons weigh only 5 to 6 pounds thanks in part to their hollow bones—a feature all birds share. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron/lifehistory )

Fly High And Touch The Sky

January 30, 2016 — 19 Comments

Cooper’s Hawk

F/8.0, 1/1000, ISO 200.

Cooper’s Hawk

Why did the rooster run away?

He was chicken!

Interesting Fact: Once thought averse to towns and cities, Cooper’s Hawks are now fairly common urban and suburban birds. Some studies show their numbers are actually higher in towns than in their natural habitat, forests. Cities provide plenty of Rock Pigeon and Mourning Dove prey. Though one study in Arizona found a downside to the high-dove diet: Cooper’s Hawk nestlings suffered from a parasitic disease they acquired from eating dove meat. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Coopers_Hawk/lifehistory )

Don’t Watch The Clock; Do What It Does. Keep Going!

January 29, 2016 — 7 Comments

Zone Tailed Hawk

F/6.3, 1/500, ISO 160.

Rough Legged Hawk ( Dark  )

What do you call a crazy chicken ?

A cuckoo cluck !

Interesting Fact: The Rough-legged Hawk’s cliffside nest, a bulky mass of sticks, sometimes contains caribou bones. Nesting pairs need a lot of space: usually only a single pair will nest on a quarter-mile-long cliff. However, the pair may nest within 100 feet of Gyrfalcons, Peregrine Falcons, or Common Ravens. ( http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/522/overview/Zone-tailed_Hawk.aspx )

 

The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway

January 28, 2016 — 19 Comments

Mallard

F/ 6.0, 1/500, ISO 200.

Mallard

What is a duck’s favorite TV show ?

The feather forecast !

Interesting Fact: Mallard pairs are generally monogamous, but paired males pursue females other than their mates. So-called “extra-pair copulations” are common among birds and in many species are consensual, but male Mallards often force these copulations, with several males chasing a single female and then mating with her. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mallard/lifehistory )

Hang Out With Me!

January 27, 2016 — 27 Comments

Black-Capped Chickadee

F/6.3, 1/500, ISO 400.

Black-Capped Chickadee

What did one chicken say to the other after they walked through poison ivy ?

“You scratch my beak and I’ll scratch yours !”

Interesting Fact: The Black-Capped Chickadee hides seeds and other food items to eat later. Each item is placed in a different spot and the chickadee can remember thousands of hiding places. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-capped_Chickadee/lifehistory )

We Like Warm Hugs!

January 26, 2016 — 29 Comments

snowman

F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 100.

What do Snowmen call their offspring?

Chill-dren.

Interesting Fact: Documentation of the first snowman is unclear. However, Bob Eckstein, author of The History of the Snowman documented snowmen from medieval times, by researching artistic depictions in European museums, art galleries, and libraries. The earliest documentation he found was a marginal illustration from a work titled Book of Hours from 1380, found in Koninklijke Bibliotheek, in The Hague. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowman#History )

Ice Ice Baby!

January 25, 2016 — 25 Comments

Northern Pintail Duck

F/ 6.3, 1/500, ISO 280.

Northern Pintail Duck

Why did the bride refuse to get married in an igloo?

She got cold feet.

Interesting Fact:  The Northern Pintail is among the earliest nesting ducks in North America, beginning shortly after ice-out in many northern areas.  ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Pintail/lifehistory )