F/5.6, 1/1600, ISO 400.
Mute Swan
What did the digital clock say to his mother?
Look ma, no hands!
Interesting Fact: All of the Mute Swans in North America descended from swans imported from Europe from the mid 1800s through early 1900s to adorn large estates, city parks, and zoos. Escapees established breeding populations and are now established in the Northeast, Midatlantic, Great Lakes, and Pacific Northwest of the U.S. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mute_Swan )
F/6.3, 1/1000, ISO 450.
Mute Swan
What do you call a funny chicken?
A comedi-hen
Interesting Fact: Mute Swans form long-lasting pair bonds. Their reputation for monogamy along with their elegant white plumage has helped establish them as a symbol of love in many cultures. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mute_Swan/lifehistory )
Bonus Valentine Facts: Feb. 14 was officially designated St. Valentine’s Day in 1537 by King Henry VII of England. ( http://www.ibtimes.com/valentines-day-facts-history-fun-ideas-free-burritos-singles-awareness-other-things-1813226 )
F/10.0, 1/1600, ISO 800.
Common Merganser
What’s the secret to telling a good postman joke?
It’s all in the delivery
Interesting Fact: Males chase each other during communal courtship displays, sometimes bumping or striking each other. Females sometimes lay their eggs in other ducks’ nests, including other Common Mergansers as well as Hooded Mergansers or Common Goldeneyes. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Merganser/lifehistory )
F/8.0, 1/2500, ISO 800.
Common Merganser
What do you call a snowman in the summer?
Puddle
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. Often when one bird dives in a large group, the others follow the leader and disappear. They can stay under for up to 2 minutes, but they normally dive for less than 30 seconds. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Merganser/lifehistory )
F/ 7.1, 1/800, ISO 200.
Mute Swan and Cygnets
A three year old walked over to a pregnant lady while waiting with his mother in the doctors office.
He inquisitively ask the lady, “Why is your stomach so big?”
She replied, “I’m having a baby.”
With big eyes, he asked, “Is the baby in your stomach?”
She said, “He sure is.”
Then the little boy, with a puzzled look, asked, “Is it a good baby?”
She said, “Oh, yes. It’s a real good baby.”
With an even more surprised and shocked look, he asked…
“Then why did you eat him?”
Interesting Fact: Hans Christian Andersen’s fairly tale The Ugly Duckling chronicles the woes and triumphs of a young, Mute Swan that hatches in a clutch of duck eggs but goes on to become a beautiful swan. Some speculate that the book was based on Andersen’s own less-than-handsome looks as a youngster. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/mute_swan/lifehistory )
F/9.0, 1/1250, ISO 800.
Black-Crowned Night-Heron
What do you get if you cross a parrot with a shark?
A bird that will talk you ear off!
Interesting Fact: A breeding Black-crowned Night-Heron will brood any chick that is placed in its nest. The herons apparently don’t distinguish between their own offspring and nestlings from other parents. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-crowned_Night-Heron/lifehistory )
F/8.0, 1/2000, ISO 800.
Common Merganser
Duck Week Last Day
A duck walks into a bar and says to the bar tender “I’ll have a beer”.
The bartender says “Hey! where did you come from?”
The duck says “I’m working the construction site across the street”.
And the bartender says, “Well why are you working construction when you could be making millions in the circus?”
And the duck said “What would the circus want with a brick laying duck?”
Interesting Fact: You may see gulls trailing flocks of foraging Common Mergansers. They wait for the ducks to come to the surface and then try to steal their prey rather than fishing on their own. Occasionally even a Bald Eagle will try to steal a fish from a merganser. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Merganser/lifehistory )
F/ 7.1, 1/1600, ISO 400.
Common Merganser ( Female )
Mute Swan
Duck Week Continues!
What do baby swans dance to?
Cygnet-ure-tunes!
Interesting Fact: Young Common Mergansers leave their nest hole within a day or so of hatching. The flightless chicks leap from the nest entrance and tumble to the forest floor. The mother protects the chicks, but they catch all of their own food. They start by diving for aquatic insects and switch over to fish at about 12 days old. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Merganser/lifehistory )
F/ 6.3, 1/160, ISO 320.
Great Blue Heron
Day 273 / 365
What holiday is observed by all birds?
Feather’s Day!
Interesting Fact: Great Blue Herons aren’t likely to visit a typical backyard. However, they are sometimes unwelcome visitors to yards that include fish ponds. A length of drain pipe placed in the pond can provide fish with a place to hide from feeding herons. Herons, like most of our birds, are legally protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. ( http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/great_blue_heron/lifehistory )
F/10.0, 30.0, ISO 100.
Day 245 / 365
I woke up on a park bench and had no idea where I had been
And then I remembered, I’d been to the park
Interesting Fact: The first parks were English deer parks,[citation needed] land set aside for hunting by royalty and the aristocracy in medieval times. They had walls or thick hedges around them to keep game animals (e.g., stags) in and people out. It was strictly forbidden for commoners to hunt animals in these deer parks. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park#History )
Through Open Lens 