F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 250.
Common Merganser
Did you hear the watermelon joke?
It’s pitful.
Interesting Fact: Common Mergansers spend much of their time afloat, loafing, fishing, and often sleeping on open water. They may form flocks of up to 75 individuals. They often swim in small groups along the shoreline, dipping their heads underwater to search for prey and then diving with a slight leap. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Merganser/lifehistory )
F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 320.
Northern Harrier
A camel meets an elephant.
The elephant asks jokingly: “Why do you have two breasts on your back?”
The camel replies: “With a face like yours, I’d just shut up.”
Interesting Fact: Northern Harriers are the most owl-like of hawks (though they’re not related to owls). They rely on hearing as well as vision to capture prey. The disk-shaped face looks and functions much like an owl’s, with stiff facial feathers helping to direct sound to the ears. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Harrier )
F/6.3, 1/250, ISO 1600.
Short Eared Owl
When does a Owl go “mooooo”?
When it is learning a new language!
Interesting Fact: As suggested by their wide global distribution, Short-eared Owls can travel long distances over vast expanses of ocean. Witnesses have reported seeing these owls descending on ships hundreds of miles from land. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/short-eared_owl/lifehistory )
F/13.0, 1/640, ISO 320.
Barn Swallow
What did the blanket say to the bed?
Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!
Interesting Fact: According to legend, the Barn Swallow got its forked tail because it stole fire from the gods to bring to people. An angry deity hurled a firebrand at the swallow, singeing away its middle tail feathers. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barn_Swallow/lifehistory )
F/13.0, 1/640, ISO 250.
Red-tailed Hawk
How do trees access the internet?
They log in.
Interesting Fact: Red-tailed Hawks occupy just about every type of open habitat on the continent. This includes desert, scrublands, grasslands, roadsides, fields and pastures, parks, broken woodland, and (in Mexico) tropical rainforest. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/lifehistory )
F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 320.
Laughing Gull
Why is a river rich?
It has banks on both sides.
Interesting Fact: The adult Laughing Gull removes the eggshells from the nest after the eggs hatch. If the shells are not removed, a piece can become lodged on top of the slightly smaller unhatched third egg and prevent it from hatching. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Laughing_Gull/lifehistory )
F/13.0, 1/640, ISO 250.
Osprey
What did the fish say when he swam into the wall?
Dam!
Interesting Fact: Ospreys are unusual among hawks in possessing a reversible outer toe that allows them to grasp with two toes in front and two behind. Barbed pads on the soles of the birds’ feet help them grip slippery fish. When flying with prey, an Osprey lines up its catch head first for less wind resistance. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Osprey/lifehistory )
F/ 9.0, 1/320, ISO 250.
Brown Pelicans
Why does Piglet smell so bad?
Because he plays with Pooh.
Interesting Fact: Pelicans usually feed above estuaries and shallow ocean waters within 12 miles of shore, but sometimes venture over the deeper waters past the narrow continental shelf of the Pacific coast. They occasionally feed by sitting on the surface and seizing prey with their bills, like other pelican species, usually when a dense school of fish is close to the surface and the water is too shallow and muddy to plunge. They also steal food from other seabirds, scavenge dead animals, and eat invertebrates such as prawns. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Pelican/lifehistory )
F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 160.
Common Tern
What do you call cheese that is not yours?
Nacho Cheese
Interesting Fact: Plunges into water from flight; may hover briefly before plunging. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Tern/lifehistory )
F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 250.
Great Blue Heron
Why was strawberry sad?
Because her mom was in a jam.
Interesting Fact: Great Blue Herons nest mainly in trees, but will also nest on the ground, on bushes, in mangroves, and on structures such as duck blinds, channel markers, or artificial nest platforms. Males arrive at the colony and settle on nest sites; from there, they court passing females. Colonies can consist of 500 or more individual nests, with multiple nests per tree built 100 or more feet off the ground. ( https://throughopenlens.com/tag/great-blue-heron/ )
