Wild Bunch!

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 320.

Wild Turkeys

Why couldn’t the leopard play hide and seek?

Because he was always spotted.

Interesting Fact: The female scratches a shallow depression in the soil, about 1 inch deep, 8–11 inches wide, and 9–13 inches long. Wild Turkeys use only the dead leaves or other plant materials already present at the nest site. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wild_Turkey/lifehistory )

 

Alone We Are Strong… Together We Are Stronger!

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 200.

Red-breasted Merganser

Why can’t a leopard hide?

Because he’s always spotted!

Interesting Fact:  The Red-breasted Merganser breeds farther north and winters farther south than the other American mergansers. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-breasted_Merganser/lifehistory )

Emo Ducks

red-breasted-mergansers

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 200.

Red-breasted Mergansers

Is it dangerous to swim on a full stomach?

Yes. It’s better to swim in water.

Interesting Fact: The Red-breasted Merganser breeds farther north and winters farther south than the other American mergansers. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-breasted_Merganser/lifehistory )

Finally! Spring Is Here!

F/6.3, 1/160, ISO 320.

Northern Cardinal ( Female )

What season is it best to go on a trampoline?

Spring time

Interesting Fact: The brilliant red of a male Northern Cardinal calls attention to itself when males are around. You can also find cardinals by getting a sense of the warm, red-tinged brown of females – a pattern you can learn to identify in flight. Away from backyards, cardinals are still common but inconspicuous owing to their affinity for dense tangles. Listen for their piercing chip notes to find where they are hiding. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/overview  )

Sorry. Yesterday Was The Deadline For All Complaints.

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 500.

Northern Cardinal ( Female )

What do you give an elephant that’s going to be sick?

Plenty of space!

Interesting Fact: Males sometimes bring nest material to the female, who does most of the building. She crushes twigs with her beak until they’re pliable, then turns in the nest to bend the twigs around her body and push them into a cup shape with her feet. The cup has four layers: coarse twigs (and sometimes bits of trash) covered in a leafy mat, then lined with grapevine bark and finally grasses, stems, rootlets, and pine needles. The nest typically takes 3 to 9 days to build; the finished product is 2-3 inches tall, 4 inches across, with an inner diameter of about 3 inches. Cardinals usually don’t use their nests more than once. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/lifehistory )

What Was That?

F/13.0, 1/500, ISO 800.

Northern Cardinal ( Female )

Why couldn’t the leopard play hide and seek?

Because he was always spotted.

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. They use many kinds of trees and shrubs, including dogwood, honeysuckle, hawthorn, grape, redcedar, spruce, pines, hemlock, rose bushes, blackberry brambles, elms, sugar maples, and box elders. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/lifehistory )

Do You Think I Give A Quack!

F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 160.

Wood Duck

Why couldn’t the leopard play hide and seek?

Because he was always spotted.

Interesting Fact: Natural cavities for nesting are scarce, and the Wood Duck readily uses nest boxes provided for it. If nest boxes are placed too close together, many females lay eggs in the nests of other females. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck )

First Major Obstacle And DONE!

F/6.3, 1/125, ISO 640.

Canada Goose ( Juvenile )

Why couldn’t the leopard play hide and seek?

Because he was always spotted.

Interesting Fact: The oldest known wild Canada Goose was a female, and at least 33 years, 3 months old when she was shot in Ontario in 2001. She had been banded in Ohio in 1969. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Canada_Goose/lifehistory )