F/6.3, 1/500, ISO 250.
Northern Pintail
Why are celebrities so cool?
They have a lot of fans.
Interesting Fact: Northern Pintails migrate at night at speeds around 48 miles per hour. The longest nonstop flight recorded for a Northern Pintail was 1,800 miles. ( Northern Pintail Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology )
F/5.3, 1/160, IOS 800.
Great Blue Heron
What do you call when Batman skips out on church?
Christian Bale.
Interesting Fact: Great Blue Herons have specialized feathers on their chest that continually grow and fray. The herons comb this “powder down” with a fringed claw on their middle toes, using the down like a washcloth to remove fish slime and other oils from their feathers as they preen. Applying the powder to their underparts protects their feathers against the slime and oils of swamps. ( Great Blue Heron Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology )
F/10.0, 1/1600, ISO 800.
Common Mergansers
Why can’t you trust an atom?
They make up everything.
Interesting Fact: The female chooses the nest site, which is usually in a natural cavity or woodpecker hole in a live or dead tree, up to 100 feet off the ground and within a mile of water. Common Mergansers nest less frequently in rock crevices, old sheds, chimneys, lighthouses, holes in banks, holes in the ground, hollow logs, and burrows. ( Common Merganser Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
F/8.0, 1/2000, ISO 800.
Common Merganser
Why was the math book so sad?
It had a lot of problems.
Interesting Fact: Common Mergansers spend much of their time afloat, loafing, fishing, and often sleeping on open water. They may form flocks of up to 75 individuals. They often swim in small groups along the shoreline, dipping their heads underwater to search for prey and then diving with a slight leap. Often when one bird dives in a large group, the others follow the leader and disappear. ( Common Merganser Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology )
F/6.3, 1/125, ISO 320.
Pileated Woodpecker
What does a house wear?
Address.
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. ( Pileated Woodpecker Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology )
F/7.1, 1/200, ISO 400.
Northern Flickers
Who do you call when a giant fly attacks the city?
The SWAT team.
Interesting Fact: Nests are generally placed 6-15 feet off the ground, but on rare occasions can be over 100 feet high. Northern Flickers have been known to nest in old burrows of Belted Kingfishers or Bank Swallows. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Flicker/lifehistory )
F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 500.
Northern Flicker
What is a mattress’ favorite season?
Spring.
Interesting Fact: Northern Flickers usually excavate nest holes in dead or diseased tree trunks or large branches. In northern North America look for nests in trembling aspens, which are susceptible to a heartrot that makes for easy excavation. Unlike many woodpeckers, flickers often reuse cavities that they or another species excavated in a previous year. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Flicker/lifehistory )
F/5.6,1/160, ISO 100.
Double-crested Cormorant
What is the difference between the government and the Mafia?
One of them is organized.
Interesting Fact: Double-crested cormorants are gregarious birds that are almost always near water. Their main two activities are fishing and resting, with more than half their day spent on the latter. When at rest, a cormorant will choose an exposed spot on a bare branch or a windblown rock, and often spread its wings out, which is thought to be a means of drying their feathers after fishing. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Double-crested_Cormorant/lifehistory )
F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 400.
Great Blue Heron
What happened when the lion ate the comedian?
He felt funny!
Interesting Fact: Great Blue Herons can hunt day and night thanks to a high percentage of rod-type photoreceptors in their eyes that improve their night vision. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron )
F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 320.
Northern Flicker
What did the math text book say to the Shakespeare text book?
I’ve already got a lot of problems, and I don’t need any of your drama.
Interesting Fact: Although it can climb up the trunks of trees and hammer on wood like other woodpeckers, the Northern Flicker prefers to find food on the ground. Ants are its main food, and the flicker digs in the dirt to find them. It uses its long barbed tongue to lap up the ants. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Flicker/ )
Through Open Lens 