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And Since I Have No Place To Go Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow.

January 4, 2020 — 17 Comments

F/7.1, 1/200, ISO 320.

Northern Cardinal Female

Why did the baseball coach throw Cinderella off the team?

Because she ran away from the ball.

Interesting Fact: A week or two before the female starts building, she starts to visit possible nest sites with the male following along. The pair call back and forth and hold nesting material in their bills as they assess each site. Nests tend to be wedged into a fork of small branches in a sapling, shrub, or vine tangle, 1-15 feet high and hidden in dense foliage. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/lifehistory )

 

 

 

Cold Doesn’t Bother Me Anyway.

January 3, 2020 — 2 Comments

F/6.3, 1/160, ISO 320.

Dark-eyed Junco 

What do ghosts serve for dessert?

I Scream.

Interesting Fact: The female chooses the nest site, typically in a depression or niche on sloping ground, rock face, or amid the tangled roots of an upturned tree. Around people, juncos may nest in or underneath buildings. Occasionally, juncos nest above the ground on horizontal branches (rarely as high as 45 feet), window ledges, and in hanging flower pots or light fixtures. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Dark-eyed_Junco/lifehistory )

 

 

 

Let It Snow!

December 31, 2019 — 9 Comments

F/10.0, 1/800, ISO 250.

Dark-eyed Junco

What do you call an old snowman?

Water!

Interesting Fact: The oldest recorded Dark-eyed Junco was at least 11 years, 4 months old when it was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in West Virginia in 2001. It had been banded in the same state in 1991. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Dark-eyed_Junco/lifehistory )

A Bird Does Not Sing Becauces It Has An Answer. It Sings Because It Has A Song.

December 30, 2019 — 22 Comments

F/6.3, 1/100, ISO 320.

Tufted Titmouse

What is the snowman’s breakfast?…

Frosted flakes!

Interesting Fact: The Black-crested Titmouse of Texas and Mexico has at times been considered just a form of the Tufted Titmouse. The two species hybridize where they meet, but the hybrid zone is narrow and stable over time. They differ slightly in the quality of their calls, and show genetic differences as well. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Titmouse/lifehistory )

Steady As She Goes!

December 28, 2019 — 11 Comments

F/6.3, 1/500, ISO 250.

Northern Pintail Duck

What did the salad say to the fridge?

Shut the door, I’m dressing!

Interesting Fact: Seemingly at home on land and water, Northern Pintails waddle through fields and swim gracefully with the tail pointed upwards. They erupt in flight from the water’s surface at a moment’s notice, wheeling and darting through the air on their slender wings.  ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Pintail/lifehistory )

 

 

 

Is Your Tail Up For A Reason Or You Just Happy To See Me?!

December 27, 2019 — 2 Comments

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 250.

Ruddy Duck

Why are Christmas trees so bad at sewing?

They always drop their needles!

Interesting Fact:  Unlike most ducks, they form pairs only after arriving on the breeding grounds each year. Males perform unusual courtship displays in which they stick their tails straight up while striking their bills against their inflated necks, creating bubbles in the water as air is forced from their feathers. They punctuate the end of the display with a belch-like call. Courting males also lower their tails and run across the water, making popping sounds with their feet. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruddy_Duck/lifehistory )

May All Your Troubles Soon Be Gone. Oh, Christmas Lights Keep Shining On.

December 23, 2019 — 13 Comments

F/22.0, 87.0, ISO 125.

Jersey City Downtown

What did the stamp say to the Christmas card?

Stick with me and we’ll go places!

Interesting Fact: The first known electrically illuminated Christmas tree was the creation of Edward H. Johnson, an associate of inventor Thomas Edison. While he was vice president of the Edison Electric Light Company, a predecessor of today’s Con Edison electric utility, he had Christmas tree light bulbs especially made for him. He proudly displayed his Christmas tree, which was hand-wired with 80 red, white and blue electric incandescent light bulbs the size of walnuts, on December 22, 1882 at his home on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Local newspapers ignored the story, seeing it as a publicity stunt. However, it was published by a Detroit newspaper reporter, and Johnson has become widely regarded as the Father of Electric Christmas Tree Lights. By 1900, businesses started stringing up Christmas lights behind their windows.[14] Christmas lights were too expensive for the average person; as such, electric Christmas lights did not become the majority replacement for candles until 1930. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_lights#History )

 

 

 

I Don’t Give A Duck!

December 21, 2019 — 2 Comments

F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 250.

Bufflehead Duck male

Why was the snowman looking through the carrots?

He was picking his nose!

Interesting Fact: During the winter, look for these tiny, black-and-white ducks in sheltered coves along the Atlantic or Pacific coast, or on inland ponds in southern North America. While foraging they spend half their time underwater, so scan carefully and patiently. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bufflehead/ )

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t Be Jealous Of My Beak.

December 20, 2019 — 4 Comments

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 640.

Common Loon 

Why is sex like math?

You add a bed, subtract the clothes, divide the legs, and pray there’s no multiplying!

Interesting Fact: A hungry loon family can put away a lot of fish. Biologists estimate that loon parents and their 2 chicks can eat about a half-ton of fish over a 15-week period.  ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Loon )

Why The Long Face?

December 19, 2019 — 6 Comments

F/6.3, 1/160, ISO 200.

Common Eider 

What did one toilet say to the other toilet?

You look a bit flushed.

Interesting Facts: This species dives for crustaceans and molluscs, with mussels being a favoured food. The eider will eat mussels by swallowing them whole; the shells are then crushed in their gizzard and excreted. When eating a crab, the eider will remove all of its claws and legs, and then eat the body in a similar fashion. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_eider )