F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 400.
Black-Capped Chickadee
Did you hear about the actor who fell through the floorboards?
He was just going through a stage.
Interesting Fact: Every autumn Black-capped Chickadees allow brain neurons containing old information to die, replacing them with new neurons so they can adapt to changes in their social flocks and environment even with their tiny brains. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-capped_Chickadee/lifehistory )
F/10.0, 1/640, ISO 160.
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
Why was the big cat disqualified from the race?
Because it was a cheetah.
Interesting Fact: A bridge across the Narrows had been proposed as early as 1927, when structural engineer David B. Steinman brought up the possibility of such a crossing.[3] At the time, Staten Island was isolated from the rest of New York City, and its only direct connection to the other four boroughs was via the Staten Island Ferry to South Ferry in Manhattan, or 39th and 69th Streets in Brooklyn.[4] In 1928, when the chambers of commerce in Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, and Staten Island announced that the Interboro Bridge Company had proposed the future construction of the “Liberty Bridge” to United States Department of War. The bridge’s towers would be 800 feet (240 m) high and it would cost $60 million in 1928 dollars.[5] In November 1929, engineers released plans for the 4,500-foot (1,400 m) Liberty Bridge spanning the Narrows,[6] with 800-foot-tall towers.[7] It was hoped that the new construction would spur development on Staten Island, along with the Outerbridge Crossing and the Bayonne Bridge, which were under construction at the time. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verrazano-Narrows_Bridge#History )
F/ 7.1, 1/200, ISO 160.
Why did summer catch autumn?
Because autumn is fall.
Interesting Fact: Butterflies have the typical four-stage insect life cycle. Winged adults lay eggs on the food plant on which their larvae, known as caterpillars, will feed. The caterpillars grow, sometimes very rapidly, and when fully developed, pupate in a chrysalis. When metamorphosis is complete, the pupal skin splits, the adult insect climbs out, and after its wings have expanded and dried, it flies off. Some butterflies, especially in the tropics, have several generations in a year, while others have a single generation, and a few in cold locations may take several years to pass through their whole life cycle. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly )
F/ 6.3, 1/125, ISO 800.
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
I went to the zoo today and asked if they had any talking parrots.
The zookeeper said they didn’t, but they had a woodpecker that knew morse code.
Interesting Fact: You may occasionally see a Red-bellied Woodpecker flying quickly and erratically through the forest, abruptly changing direction, alighting for an instant and immediately taking off again, keeping up a quick chatter of calls. Scientists categorize this odd behavior as a type of play that probably helps young birds practice the evasive action they may one day need. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-bellied_Woodpecker/lifehistory )
F/ 9.0, 1/320, ISO 250.
Northern Pintail Ducks
Day 354 / 365
What’s another name for a clever duck?
A wise quacker!
Interesting Fact: Like the Mallard, the Northern Pintail breeds in a variety of habitats all across northern North America and Eurasia. Also like the Mallard, island populations have splintered off and evolved into separate species. Two closely related forms can be found on Crozet and Kerguelen islands in the very southern Indian Ocean, known as Eaton’s Pintail (Anas eatoni) ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Pintail/lifehistory )
F/ 6.3, 1/60, ISO 320.
White-throated Sparrow
Day 353 / 365
A couple of birds made a date to meet on the ledge outside the tenth floor of a skyscraper. The female was there on time, but the male arrived an hour late. “Where were you? I was worried sick.” “It was such nice day, I decided to walk.”
Interesting Fact: Although they look nothing alike and aren’t particularly closely related, the White-throated Sparrow and the Dark-eyed Junco occasionally mate and produce hybrids. The resulting offspring look like grayish, dully marked White-throated Sparrows with white outer tail feathers. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-throated_Sparrow/lifehistory )
F/ 10.0, 1/400, ISO 320.
House Finch
Day 347 / 365
Three birds were walking down the street. Two walked into a bar, the other one ducked!
Interesting Fact: The red of a male House Finch comes from pigments contained in its food during molt (birds can’t make bright red or yellow colors directly). So the more pigment in the food, the redder the male. This is why people sometimes see orange or yellowish male House Finches. Females prefer to mate with the reddest male they can find, perhaps raising the chances they get a capable mate who can do his part in feeding the nestlings. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/House_Finch/lifehistory )
F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 200.
Day 340 / 365
What does the bee Santa Claus say?
Ho hum hum!
Interesting Fact: Bees were kept in man-made hives in Egypt in antiquity.[5] The walls of the Egyptian sun temple of Nyuserre Ini from the 5th Dynasty, dated earlier than 2422 BC, depict workers blowing smoke into hives as they remove honeycombs.[6] Inscriptions detailing the production of honey are found on the tomb of Pabasa from the 26th Dynasty (c. 650 BC), and describe honey stored in jars, and cylindrical hives. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beehive )
F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 400.
Belted Kingfisher
Day 339 / 365
A guy calls his boss and says “I can’t come to work today
The boss asks why and the guy says “It’s my eyes.”
“What’s wrong with your eyes?” asks the boss.
“I just can’t see myself coming to work, so I’m going fishing instead….”
Interesting Fact: As nestlings, Belted Kingfishers have acidic stomachs that help them digest bones, fish scales, and arthropod shells. But by the time they leave the nest, their stomach chemistry apparently changes, and they begin regurgitating pellets which accumulate on the ground around fishing and roosting perches. Scientists can dissect these pellets to learn about the kingfisher’s diet without harming or even observing any wild birds. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Belted_Kingfisher/lifehistory )
F/5.6, 1/60, ISO 320.
Day 338 / 365
Do you know what is the hardest part of learning to ride a bike?
The pavement.
Interesting Fact: There are several early but unverified claims for the invention of bicycle-like machines. The earliest comes from a sketch said to be from 1493 and attributed to Gian Giacomo Caprotti, a pupil of Leonardo da Vinci. In 1998 Hans-Erhard Lessing described this as a purposeful fraud.[1][2] However, the authenticity of the bicycle sketch is still vigorously maintained by followers of Prof. Augusto Marinoni, a lexicographer and philologist, who was entrusted by the Commissione Vinciana of Rome with the transcription of da Vinci’s Codex Atlanticus. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_bicycle )
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