F/6.3, 1/160, ISO 800.
Short Eared Owl
What kind of flower doesn’t sleep at night?
The Day-zzz
Interesting Fact: Normally reluctant to leave the nest, female Short-eared Owls that are forced to flush often defecate on their eggs. The resulting putrid smell may repel predators or mask the scent of the nest. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Short-eared_Owl/ )
F/8.0, 1/2000, ISO 800.
Common Merganser
What did the pencil say to the other pencil?
your looking sharp.
Interesting Fact: Common Mergansers spend the breeding season in northern forested habitats near large lakes and rivers. Since they nest in cavities of large trees, breeding Common Mergansers are usually found in mature forests. They spend winters on large lakes, rivers, and reservoirs in the southern and coastal regions of their breeding range, and in additional wintering grounds across the northern and western United States. They tend to prefer freshwater wintering habitat over saltwater, but they may winter in coastal bays, estuaries, and harbors. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Merganser/lifehistory )
F/6.3, 1/6, ISO 100.
Great Blue Heron
Why couldn’t the pirate play cards?
Because he was sitting on the deck!
Interesting Fact: Great Blue Herons generally move away from the northern edge of their breeding range in winter, with some flying as far south as the Caribbean. Populations in the Pacific Northwest and south Florida are present year-round. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron/maps-range )
F/6.3, 1/125, ISO 1000.
Northern Cardinal ( Male )
Did you hear the joke about the roof?
Never mind, it’s over your head!
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. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/lifehistory )
F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 250.
Tufted Titmouse
A husband and a wife purchased an old home in Northern New York State from two elderly sisters. Winter was fast approaching and the years first snow came early and they were concerned about the house’s lack of insulation.
“If they could live here all those years, so can we!” a husband confidently declared.
One November night the temperature plunged to below zero, and they woke up to find interior walls covered with frost.
A husband called the sisters to ask how they had kept the house warm.
After a rather brief conversation, he hung up.
“For the past 30 years,” he muttered,
“they’ve gone to Florida for the winter.”
Interesting Fact: Titmice build cup-shaped nests inside the nest cavity using damp leaves, moss and grasses, and bark strips. They line this cup with soft materials such as hair, fur, wool, and cotton, sometimes plucking hairs directly from living mammals. Naturalists examining old nests have identified raccoon, opossum, dog, fox squirrel, red squirrel, rabbit, horse, cow, cat, mouse, woodchuck, and even human hair in titmouse nests. Nest construction takes 6 to 11 days. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Titmouse/lifehistory )
F/6.3, 1/60, 500.
Downy Woodpecker
What do snowmen eat for breakfast?
Frosted Flakes.
Interesting Fact: An active woodpecker that moves quickly over tree trunks, branches, and stems of grasses and wildflowers, characteristically leaning against its stiffened tail feathers for support. Downy Woodpeckers move horizontally and downwards on trees much more readily than most other woodpeckers. You may also see them perched atop tall weeds such as goldenrod in late summer, hammering away at a plant gall to get at the larva inside. Occasionally hops on the ground for food. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Downy_Woodpecker/lifehistory )
F/11.0, 1/125, ISO 125.
Cooper’s Hawk
Why was the snowman sad?
Cause he had a meltdown.
Interesting Fact: Cooper’s Hawks build nests in pines, oaks, Douglas-firs, beeches, spruces, and other tree species, often on flat ground rather than hillsides, and in dense woods. Nests are typically 25-50 feet high, often about two-thirds of the way up the tree in a crotch or on a horizontal branch. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Coopers_Hawk/lifehistory )
Happy Valentines Day!
F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 200.
Snowy Egret
How did the telephone propose to its girlfriend?
He gave her a ring.
Interesting Fact: Male Snowy Egrets fight for breeding territories, choose nest sites, and perform noisy courtship displays to attract mates. A ring of other egrets often gathers around a displaying male as he pumps his body up and down, points his bill skyward, and calls. He also performs aerial displays, including one that ends with him dropping toward the ground while tumbling around and around. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snowy_Egret/lifehistory )
F/7.1, 1/200, ISO 250.
Blue Jay
Why is your foot more special than your other body parts?
Because they have their own soul.
Interesting Fact: Blue Jays are found in all kinds of forests but especially near oak trees; they’re more abundant near forest edges than in deep forest. They’re common in urban and suburban areas, especially where oaks or bird feeders are found. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Blue_Jay/lifehistory )
F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 250.
Black-capped Chickadee
“How do you shoot a killer bee?”
“With a bee bee gun.”
Interesting Fact: Adult chickadees don’t migrate. In years when chickadee reproduction is high, young birds sometimes move large distances, but these movements are irregular and are more accurately called “irruptions.”( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-capped_Chickadee )
Through Open Lens 