I Forgot My Swimsuit!

F/7.1, 1/200, ISO 400.

Pied-Billed Grebe

Breaking news!

Energizer Bunny arrested – charged with battery!

Interesting Fact: Pied-billed Grebes are fairly poor fliers and typically stay on the water—although rare individuals have managed to fly as far as the Hawaiian Islands, Europe, the Azores, and the Canary Islands. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pied-billed_Grebe/ )

What The Duck?

bufflehead

F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 250.
Bufflehead Duck

Two ducks are in a pond.

One went “Quack quack!”

And the other duck said “That’s funny I was just about to say that!”

Interesting Fact: The Bufflehead nests almost exclusively in holes excavated by Northern Flickers and, on occasion, by Pileated Woodpeckers. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bufflehead/lifehistory )

Swim Your Heart Out!

F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 250.

Bufflehead Duck 

What do you call two ducks and a cow?

Quackers and Milk.

Interesting Fact: Bufflehead fossils from the late Pleistocene (about 500,000 years ago) have been found in Alaska, California, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Texas, and Washington. One California fossil that resembles a modern Bufflehead dates to the late Pliocene, two million years ago.  ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bufflehead/lifehistory )

Just Out And About!

F/7.1, 1/200, ISO 400.

Pied-Billed Grebe

How is being at a singles bar different from going to the circus?

At the circus the clowns don’t talk.

Interesting Fact: When in danger, Pied-billed Grebes sometimes make a dramatic “crash-dive” to get away. A crash-diving grebe pushes its body down with its wings thrust outward. Its tail and head disappears last, while the bird kicks water several feet into the air. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pied-billed_Grebe/ )

Swim At Your Own Risk!

Pied-Billed Grebe Juvenile

F/6.3, 1/640, ISO 6400.

Pied-Billed Grebe ( Juvenile )

Day 286 / 365

What robs you while you’re in the bathtub?

A robber ducky.

Interesting Fact: Pied-billed Grebes can trap water in their feathers, giving them great control over their buoyancy. They can sink deeply or stay just at or below the surface, exposing as much or as little of the body as they wish. The water-trapping ability may also aid in the pursuit of prey by reducing drag in turbulent water. ( http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pied-billed_Grebe/lifehistory )

Stealth Mode!

Common Merganser 2

F/6.3, 1/1000, ISO 560.

Common Merganser

Day 73 / 365

She suspects him of cheating, so she decided to follow him today.    She is literally on his tail.      🙂

Interesting Fact: Common Mergansers usually nest in natural tree cavities or holes carved out by large woodpeckers. Sometimes mergansers take up residence in next boxes, provided the entrance hole is large enough. On occasion they use rock crevices, holes in the ground, hollow logs, old buildings, and chimneys.  ( http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Merganser/lifehistory )

Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming!

canvasback ducks

F/6.3, 1/60, ISO 320.

Day 4 / 365

I wonder where they can be swimming in such a hurry, maybe they are late to be somewhere or maybe they are just afraid of me. 🙂

Interesting Fact: Canvasbacks are diver ducks well equipped with their own form of flippers—large webbed feet that make them smooth and graceful swimmers. They spend much of their time in the water and use their long bills to feed by digging through bottom sediments in search of aquatic plant stems and roots, or submerged insects, crustaceans, and clams. ( http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/canvasback/ )