Newport Rhode Island

Eat Pasta Swim Fasta!

June 4, 2020 — 4 Comments

F/7.1, 1/200, ISO 200.

Black Scoter Duck

Want to hear a construction joke?

Oh never mind, I’m still working on that one.

Interesting Fact: The lined nest is built on the ground close to the sea, lakes or rivers, in woodland or tundra. 5–7 eggs are laid. Each eggs weighs from 60–74 g (2.1–2.6 oz), or 8% of the females body weight. The incubation period may range from 27 to 31 days. Females brood their young extensively for about 3 weeks, after which the still flightless young must fend for themselves. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_scoter )

Be Like A Duck. Remain Calm On The Surface And Paddle Like Hell Underneath.

January 14, 2020 — 9 Comments

F/7.1, 1/200, ISO 200.

Black Scoter

What did the blanket say when it fell off the bed?

Oh sheet.

Interesting Facts: This species dives for crustaceans and molluscs while migrating or wintering on the sea-coasts, and feeds on insects and their larvae, especially caddisflies, fish eggs and, more rarely, vegetation such as duck weed while nesting on freshwater. It forms large flocks on suitable coastal waters in winter quarters. These are tightly packed, and the birds tend to take off together; in the breeding season they are less social. It has been suggested that in coastal waters this species prefers sheltered embayments, and possibly waters that include some mixed depths. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_scoter )

 

 

I Have A Date Tonight, With My Bed. We Are Totally Gonna Sleep Together.

January 11, 2020 — 4 Comments

F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 400.

Common Eider ( Female ) 

Where do vegetables go to get drunk?

The Salad Bar.

Interesting Fact: Eiders are colonial breeders. They nest on coastal islands in colonies ranging in size of less than 100 to upwards of 10,000-15,000 individuals.[13] Female eiders frequently exhibit a high degree of natal philopatry, where they return to breed on the same island where they were hatched. This can lead to a high degree of relatedness between individuals nesting on the same island, as well as the development of kin-based female social structures.[14] This relatedness has likely played a role in the evolution of co-operative breeding behaviours amongst eiders. Examples of these behaviours include laying eggs in the nests of related individuals[15] and crèching, where female eiders team up and share the work of rearing ducklings. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_eider )

 

Don’t Be Jealous Of My Beak.

December 20, 2019 — 4 Comments

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 640.

Common Loon 

Why is sex like math?

You add a bed, subtract the clothes, divide the legs, and pray there’s no multiplying!

Interesting Fact: A hungry loon family can put away a lot of fish. Biologists estimate that loon parents and their 2 chicks can eat about a half-ton of fish over a 15-week period.  ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Loon )

Why The Long Face?

December 19, 2019 — 6 Comments

F/6.3, 1/160, ISO 200.

Common Eider 

What did one toilet say to the other toilet?

You look a bit flushed.

Interesting Facts: This species dives for crustaceans and molluscs, with mussels being a favoured food. The eider will eat mussels by swallowing them whole; the shells are then crushed in their gizzard and excreted. When eating a crab, the eider will remove all of its claws and legs, and then eat the body in a similar fashion. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_eider )

I Have My Goldeneye On You!

January 15, 2019 — 2 Comments

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 160.

Common Goldeneye

Why did the cookie go to the hospital?

He felt crummy!

Interesting Fact: In winter and early spring, male Common Goldeneyes perform a complex series of courtship displays that includes up to 14 moves with names like “masthead,” “bowsprit,” and “head throw kick,” in which the male bends his head back to touch his rump, then thrusts forward and kicks up water with his feet. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Goldeneye/ ) 

Freezing Wipeout!

January 15, 2016 — 5 Comments

surfing wipeouts

F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 800.

Two surfers are at getting ready to paddle out: Surfer one: “Hey, guess what! I got a new longboard for my wife!” Surfer two: “Great trade!”

Interesting Fact: For centuries, surfing was a central part of ancient Polynesian culture. Surfing may have first been observed by Europeans at Tahiti in 1767 by Samuel Wallis and the crew members of the Dolphin who were the first Europeans to visit the island in June of that year. Another candidate is the botanist Joseph Banks[2] being part of the first voyage of James Cook on the HMS Endeavour, who arrived on Tahiti on 10 April 1769. Lieutenant James King was the first person to write about the art of surfing on Hawaii when he was completing the journals of Captain James Cook upon Cook’s death in 1779. ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surfing )

If I Had A Billion Dollars

December 30, 2015 — 24 Comments

mansions

F/11.0, 1/640, ISO 800.

Day 364 / 365

The other day I was showing my new girlfriend around the mansion, the 60 acre garden onto the jetty where the 3 yachts were moored then onto the garage with over 30 classic cars. Oh the look on her face was magic.
I can’t wait to see it when I tell her I’m the gardener.

Interesting Fact: Newport Rhode Island Mansions beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, wealthy southern planters seeking to escape the heat began to build summer cottages on Bellevue Avenue such as Kingscote (1839).[13] Around the middle of the century, wealthy Yankees such as the Wetmore family also began constructing larger mansions such as Chateau-sur-Mer (1852) nearby.[14] Most of these early families made a substantial part of their fortunes in the Old China Trade. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newport,_Rhode_Island )