F/8.0, 1/320, ISO 100.
Song Sparrow
Day 51 / 365
“Got any food? ”
Interesting Fact: They recognizes enemies by both instinctual and learned patterns, and adjusts future behavior based on both its own experiences in encounters, and from watching other birds interact with enemies. ( http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/146/_/Song_Sparrow.aspx )
F/5.6, 1/60, ISO 100.
Tulips
Day 50 / 365
STOP! Tulips Time. 🙂
Interesting Fact: During WWII, some people in the Netherlands were forced to eat tulips because there wasn’t any other food. “Bread made from tulips is not very good … like wet sawdust” according to a Dutch man who grew up on a tulip farm during the war. (Also, part of the bulb is poisonous, apparently.) ( http://alloveralbany.com/archive/2011/05/06/20-facts-about-tulips )
F/6.0, 1/3200, ISO 640.
Day 48 / 365
I wonder if the water froze in the water tower since it is so cold outside.
Interesting Fact: Most water towers hold 50 times more water than an average backyard pool. ( http://www.watertowers.com/facts.html )
F/8.0, 1/125, ISO 100.
Merlin
Day 47 / 365
“I see you, and after you take that photo I am out of here ”
Interesting Fact: Merlin pairs have been seen teaming up to hunt large flocks of waxwings: one Merlin flushes the flock by attacking from below; the other comes in moments later to take advantage of the confusion. ( http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/merlin/lifehistory )
F/6.3, 1/320, ISO 1600.
Gadwall Duck
Day 45 / 365
Even on a frozen ocean you can find love today.
Interesting Fact: Gadwall sometimes steal food from American Coots and from other ducks.
( http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/gadwall/lifehistory )
Bonus Valentine Facts: 2. Valentine’s Day may have a rather gory history. As one variation of a popular myth goes, Claudius II, the Emperor of Rome, forbade young men from marrying because he wanted them as soldiers in his army instead. St. Valentine defied him and married people in secret, so he was executed on Feb. 14 in the year AD 269 – or so the story goes. ( http://m.ibtimes.com/valentines-day-facts-history-fun-ideas-free-burritos-singles-awareness-other-things-1813226 )
F/6.3, 1/125, ISO 1600.
Peregrine Falcon
Day 39 / 365
Don’t Mind The Mess I Was Just Having A Snack!
Interesting Fact: Falcons are the swiftest birds of prey and are very muscular. In level flight the travel about 50 kilometers (31 miles) an hour. In a dive, called a “stoop” they reach speeds over 300 kilometers (186.33 miles) an hour! ( http://www.powayusd.com/teachers/lharvey/falcon2006/facts.htm )
F/14.0, 1/60, ISO 100.
Day 33 / 365
This sign had only one way to freeze..
Interesting Fact: One story of the origin of the one-way street in the United States originated in Asbury Park, New Jersey. On 9 September 1934, the on-fire SS Morro Castle[10] was towed to the shore near the Asbury Park Convention Center and the sightseeing traffic was enormous. The Asbury Park Police Chief decided to make the Ocean Avenue one-way going North and the street one block over (Kingsley) in one-way going south creating a circular route. By the Fifties this cruising the circuit became a draw to the area in itself since teens would drive around it looking to hook up with other teens. The circuit was in place until the streets went back to two way in 2007 due to new housing and retail development. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-way_traffic )
F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 100.
Day 27 /365
I like warm hugs!
Interesting Fact: The first snowman ever documented was from 1380. There is a marginal illustration from a work titled Book of Hours found in the Koninklijke Bibliotheek, in The Hague.That’s one old snowman. ( http://blog.lulus.com/tag/snowman-facts/ )
F/6.3, 1/1000, ISO 400.
Bufflehead Duck
Day 25 / 365
Freezing my bum off for an hour in one spot today paid off. 🙂
Interesting Fact: Buffleheads are highly active and will undertake dives almost continuously. One duck will serve as a sentry, watching for predators as the others in the group dive in search of food. ( http://www.withmephotographyblog.com/10-interesting-facts-about-the-bufflehead )
F/6.3, 1/125, ISO 400.
Day 24 /365
“I have very nice feathers and I like to show them off, so stop bothering me”.
Interesting Fact: American kestrels do not need to drink free-standing water. They get all the water they need from the moisture of their prey. ( http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?a=2723&q=470372 )
Through Open Lens 