F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 250.
Tree Swallow
What kind of lights did Noah use on the Ark?
Flood lights!
Interesting Fact: Tree Swallows have helped researchers make major advances in several branches of ecology, and they are among the best-studied bird species in North America. Still, we know little about their lives during migration and winter. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tree_Swallow/lifehistory )
F/5.6, 1/500, ISO 200.
Snowy Egret
What did the triangle say to the circle?
You are pointless!
Interesting Fact: Male Snowy Egrets fight for breeding territories, choose nest sites, and perform noisy courtship displays to attract mates. A ring of other egrets often gathers around a displaying male as he pumps his body up and down, points his bill skyward, and calls. He also performs aerial displays, including one that ends with him dropping toward the ground while tumbling around and around. After pairing up, Snowy Egrets continue defending the immediate area around the nest, raising their crests and giving rasping calls. Some of their nest predators include raccoons, Great Horned Owls, Barred Owls, American Crows, Fish Crows, American alligators, and gray rat snakes. Highly social all year long, Snowy Egrets forage with gulls, terns, ibises, and other herons, and they nest in colonies alongside many other species, including Great Egrets, night-herons, Glossy Ibises, Little Blue Herons, Tricolored Herons, Cattle Egrets, and Roseate Spoonbills. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snowy_Egret/lifehistory )
F/8.0, 1/1000, ISO 200.
Monk Parakeets
What do you get when you cross a parrot and a centipede?
A walkie-talkie.
Interesting Fact: Monk Parakeets in North America live in urban and suburban environments, especially around city parks. They are one of the few parrot species able to survive temperate-zone winters. In their native range in South America, Monk Parakeets live in dry savannas with scattered woods up to about 6,000 feet elevation. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Monk_Parakeet/lifehistory )
F/5.6, 1/320, ISO 100.
Canada Goose Goslings
What did the blanket say to the bed?
Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!
Interesting Fact: Canada Geese eat grain from fields, graze on grass, and dabble in shallow water by tipping forward and extending their necks underwater. During much of the year they associate in large flocks, and many of these birds may be related to one another. They mate for life with very low “divorce rates,” and pairs remain together throughout the year. Geese mate “assortatively,” larger birds choosing larger mates and smaller ones choosing smaller mates; in a given pair, the male is usually larger than the female. Most Canada Geese do not breed until their fourth year; less than 10 percent breed as yearlings, and most pair bonds are unstable until birds are at least two or three years old. Extra-pair copulations have been documented. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Canada_Goose/lifehistory )
F/5.6, 1/500, ISO 320.
Elegant Tern
How do you organize an outer space party?
You planet.
Interesting Fact: The oldest recorded Elegant Tern was at least 20 years, 11 months old when it was found in California in 2010, the same state where it had been banded in 1989. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Elegant_Tern )
Shark Week
F/5.6, 1/500, ISO 360.
Spiny Dogfish Shark
What is a sharks favorite sci-fi show?
Shark Trek
Interesting Fact: Spiny dogfish are bottom-dwellers. They are commonly found at depths of around 50–149 m (164–489 ft), but have been found deeper than 700 m (2,300 ft). ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiny_dogfish )
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.”
F/5.6, 1/500, ISO 220.
Least Sandpiper
Why did the teddy bear say no to dessert?
Because he was stuffed.
Interesting Fact: The Least Sandpiper is the smallest shorebird in the world, weighing in at about 1 ounce and measuring 5-6 inches long. Males are slightly smaller than females. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Least_Sandpiper )
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 )
F/6.3, 1/640, ISO 200.
Canada Goose
What do you call a pig that does karate?
A pork chop.
Interesting Fact: Some migratory populations of the Canada Goose are not going as far south in the winter as they used to. This northward range shift has been attributed to changes in farm practices that makes waste grain more available in fall and winter, as well as changes in hunting pressure and changes in weather. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Canada_Goose/lifehistory )
Through Open Lens 