new jersey nature

And It Was All Yellow!

April 15, 2020 — 18 Comments

F/7.1, 1/200, ISO 250.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet 

Why did the boy take a ladder to school?

It was a high school.

Interesting Fact: Ruby-Crowned Kinglets make their nests in trees, occasionally as high up as 100 feet. Females choose a nest site near the tree trunk or suspended from small twigs and branchlets. Because of the nest site’s height and often remote location, not much is known about kinglet nesting habits. Their nest sites, chosen by the females, are protected and often hidden by overhanging foliage. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruby-crowned_Kinglet/lifehistory )

 

 

Welcome To The Duck Side. We Have Quackers.

April 10, 2020 — 11 Comments

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 320.

Ruddy Duck 

Why didn’t my girlfriend believe I was a ghost?

She could see right through me.

Interesting Fact:  The nest is usually made of dead, dry plant materials, though some are built entirely with green vegetation. It starts as a platform and becomes more bowl-like throughout the construction process, with an inner cup measuring 4–12 inches across and 0.5–5 inches deep. Ruddy Ducks usually weave a canopy of vegetation over their nests. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruddy_Duck/lifehistory )

Bad Hair Day: Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That!

April 8, 2020 — 12 Comments

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 200.

Red-breasted Mergansers 

Can February March?

No, but April May.

Interesting Fact:Red-breasted Mergansers nest along forested riverbanks, marsh edges, lakeshores, coastal islands, and sandy shores with vegetation. They are never far from water. Female Red-breasted Mergansers select a spot on the ground under dense cover from low tree branches, fallen logs, or boulders. They nest alone or in colonies often with gulls and terns. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-breasted_Merganser/lifehistory )

 

 

Don’t Look Back You’re Not Going That Way

April 6, 2020 — 18 Comments

F/5.6, 1/500, ISO 220.

Least Sandpiper

Browsing in a pet shop, a man sees a beautiful parrot with a red
string tied to its left leg and a green string tied to its right
leg, and asks the store owner about the different colored strings.
“This is a highly-trained parrot,” the owner explains. “If you
pull the red string, he’ll speak French.  If you pull the green
string, he’ll speak Spanish.”
The customer asks, “What happens if I pull both strings?”
“I’ll fall off my perch, dummy!” screeches the parrot.

Interesting Fact: Eastern populations probably fly nonstop over the ocean from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and New England to wintering grounds in northeastern South America, a distance of about 1,800 to 2,500 miles. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Least_Sandpiper/lifehistory )

 

Sing… The World Needs Your Music In It.

March 30, 2020 — 10 Comments

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 320.

Eastern Wood-Pewee

Why can’t you write with a broken pencil?

Because it’s pointless.

Interesting Fact: The Eastern Wood-Pewee’s lichen-covered nest is so inconspicuous that it often looks like a knot on a branch. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Wood-Pewee )

 

 

Sleeping Beauty.

March 29, 2020 — 6 Comments

F/6.3, 1/160, ISO 200.

Common Snapping Turtle

What do you get when you mix an elephant with a rhino?

Elephino!!!

Joke complementary of: robinwrites

F/5.6, 1/125, ISO 200.

F/5.6, 1/500, ISO 400.

Interesting Fact: Snapping turtles ambush their prey from the bottom of the water. Fish mistake their tongue for warms and viola dinner is served. yum

Sorry… We Are Busy Sunbathing.

March 28, 2020 — 13 Comments

F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 320.

Red-Eared Slider Turtle

What did the Sewage Worker say to his apprentice?

Urine for a surprise.

Interesting Fact: Red-eared sliders do not hibernate, but actually brumate; while they become less active, they do occasionally rise to the surface for food or air. Brumation can occur to varying degrees. In the wild, red-eared sliders brumate over the winter at the bottoms of ponds or shallow lakes. They generally become inactive in October, when temperatures fall below 10 °C (50 °F).[9] During this time, the turtles enter a state of sopor, during which they do not eat or defecate, they remain nearly motionless, and the frequency of their breathing falls. Individuals usually brumate underwater, but they have also been found under banks and rocks, and in hollow stumps. In warmer winter climates, they can become active and come to the surface for basking. When the temperature begins to drop again, however, they quickly return to a brumation state. Sliders generally come up for food in early March to as late as the end of April. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-eared_slider )

Everyday May Not Be Good, But There Is Something Good In Everyday.

March 27, 2020 — 14 Comments

F/9.0, 1/250, ISO 320.

Muskrat

Why did the dog sit in the shade?

Because he didn’t want to be a hot dog!

Interesting Fact: Native Americans have long considered the muskrat to be a very important animal. Some predict winter snowfall levels by observing the size and timing of muskrat lodge construction.[26]  In several Native American creation myths, the muskrat dives to the bottom of the primordial sea to bring up the mud from which the earth is created, after other animals have failed in the task. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muskrat#Behavior )

 

I See Sky Of Blue!

March 26, 2020 — 20 Comments

F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 320.

Eastern Bluebird 

Imagine you are in a water tank with a roof. There are no objects in the tank to help you escape. How do you get out?

Stop imagining.

Interesting Fact: Males vying over territories chase each other at high speed, sometimes grappling with their feet, pulling at feathers with their beaks, and hitting with their wings. The boxes and tree cavities where bluebirds nest are a hot commodity among birds that require holes for nesting, and male bluebirds will attack other species they deem a threat, including House Sparrows, European Starlings, Tree Swallows, Great Crested Flycatchers, Carolina Chickadees, and Brown-headed Nuthatches, as well as non-cavity nesters such as robins, Blue Jays, mockingbirds, and cowbirds. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Bluebird/lifehistory )

Peck Like There Is No Tomorrow!

March 5, 2020 — 12 Comments

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 400.

Pileated Woodpecker 

Why do mummies make great spies?

They’re good at keeping things under wraps.

Interesting Fact: Pileated Woodpeckers forage in large, dead wood—standing dead trees, stumps, or logs lying on the forest floor. They make impressive rectangular excavations that can be a foot or more long and go deep inside the wood. These holes pursue the tunnels of carpenter ants, the woodpecker’s primary food. The birds also use their long, barbed tongues to extract woodboring beetle larvae (which can be more than an inch long) or termites lying deep in the wood. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pileated_Woodpecker/lifehistory )