F/6.3, 1/100, ISO 320.
Tufted Titmouse
What is the snowman’s breakfast?…
Frosted flakes!
Interesting Fact: The Black-crested Titmouse of Texas and Mexico has at times been considered just a form of the Tufted Titmouse. The two species hybridize where they meet, but the hybrid zone is narrow and stable over time. They differ slightly in the quality of their calls, and show genetic differences as well. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Titmouse/lifehistory )
F/6.3, 1/500, ISO 250.
Northern Pintail Duck
What did the salad say to the fridge?
Shut the door, I’m dressing!
Interesting Fact: Seemingly at home on land and water, Northern Pintails waddle through fields and swim gracefully with the tail pointed upwards. They erupt in flight from the water’s surface at a moment’s notice, wheeling and darting through the air on their slender wings. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Pintail/lifehistory )
F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 250.
Ruddy Duck
Why are Christmas trees so bad at sewing?
They always drop their needles!
Interesting Fact: Unlike most ducks, they form pairs only after arriving on the breeding grounds each year. Males perform unusual courtship displays in which they stick their tails straight up while striking their bills against their inflated necks, creating bubbles in the water as air is forced from their feathers. They punctuate the end of the display with a belch-like call. Courting males also lower their tails and run across the water, making popping sounds with their feet. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruddy_Duck/lifehistory )
F/22.0, 87.0, ISO 125.
Jersey City Downtown
What did the stamp say to the Christmas card?
Stick with me and we’ll go places!
Interesting Fact: The first known electrically illuminated Christmas tree was the creation of Edward H. Johnson, an associate of inventor Thomas Edison. While he was vice president of the Edison Electric Light Company, a predecessor of today’s Con Edison electric utility, he had Christmas tree light bulbs especially made for him. He proudly displayed his Christmas tree, which was hand-wired with 80 red, white and blue electric incandescent light bulbs the size of walnuts, on December 22, 1882 at his home on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Local newspapers ignored the story, seeing it as a publicity stunt. However, it was published by a Detroit newspaper reporter, and Johnson has become widely regarded as the Father of Electric Christmas Tree Lights. By 1900, businesses started stringing up Christmas lights behind their windows.[14] Christmas lights were too expensive for the average person; as such, electric Christmas lights did not become the majority replacement for candles until 1930. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_lights#History )
F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 250.
Bufflehead Duck male
Why was the snowman looking through the carrots?
He was picking his nose!
Interesting Fact: During the winter, look for these tiny, black-and-white ducks in sheltered coves along the Atlantic or Pacific coast, or on inland ponds in southern North America. While foraging they spend half their time underwater, so scan carefully and patiently. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bufflehead/ )
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 )
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 )
F/6.3, 1/60, ISO 640.
American Black Bear
What do you call a knight who lets people borrow his stuff?
Sir lends a lot
Interesting Facts: When winter arrives, black bears spend the season dormant in their dens, feeding on body fat they have built up by eating ravenously all summer and fall. They make their dens in caves, burrows, brush piles, or other sheltered spots—sometimes even in tree holes high above the ground. Black bears den for various lengths of time governed by the diverse climates in which they live, from Canada to northern Mexico. ( https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/a/american-black-bear/ )
F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 320.
Mount San Jacinto State Park ( Desert View Trail )
Why did the snowman call his dog Frost?
Because frost bites!
Interesting Fact: Mount San Jacinto State Park is in the San Jacinto Mountains, of the Peninsular Ranges system, in Riverside County, California, United States. A majority of the park is within the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument.[1] The park is near the Greater Los Angeles and San Diego metropolitan areas. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_San_Jacinto_State_Park )
F/5.0, 1/60, ISO 320.
Happy Halloween!
What does a skeleton orders at a restaurant?
Spare ribs!!!
Interesting Fact: Today’s Halloween customs are thought to have been influenced by folk customs and beliefs from the Celtic-speaking countries, some of which are believed to have pagan roots.[35][36]Jack Santino, a folklorist, writes that “there was throughout Ireland an uneasy truce existing between customs and beliefs associated with Christianity and those associated with religions that were Irish before Christianity arrived”.[37] Historian Nicholas Rogers, exploring the origins of Halloween, notes that while “some folklorists have detected its origins in the Roman feast of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the festival of the dead called Parentalia, it is more typically linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain, which comes from the Old Irish for “summer’s end”. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween#History )
Through Open Lens 