F/7.1, 1/200, ISO 400.
Pied-Billed Grebe
Breaking news!
Energizer Bunny arrested – charged with battery!
Interesting Fact: Pied-billed Grebes are fairly poor fliers and typically stay on the water—although rare individuals have managed to fly as far as the Hawaiian Islands, Europe, the Azores, and the Canary Islands. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pied-billed_Grebe/ )
F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 640.
Double-crested Cormorant
How does NASA organize a party?
They planet
Interesting Fact: The male chooses the nest site and then attracts a female. Nests can be on the ground, on rocks or reefs with no vegetation, or atop trees, which may be alive when a cormorant colony first forms but typically die after a few years from the guano build-up. Nests are built in the center of a colony first, then expand outward. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Double-crested_Cormorant/lifehistory )
F/7.1, 1/200, ISO 400.
Pied-Billed Grebe
Did you hear about the big zombie party?
It was DEAD & full of STIFFS!
Interesting Fact: Like other grebes, the Pied-billed Grebe eats large quantities of its own feathers. Feathers may at times fill up more than half of a grebe’s stomach, and they are sometimes fed to newly hatched chicks. The ingested plumage appears to form a sieve-like plug that prevents hard, potentially harmful prey parts from passing into the intestine, and it helps form indigestible items into pellets which they can regurgitate. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pied-billed_Grebe )
F/6.3, 1/1000, ISO 450.
American Tree Sparrow
Why don’t skeletons fight each other?
They don’t have the guts
Interesting Fact: Misleadingly named by European settlers reminded of Eurasian Tree Sparrows back home, American Tree Sparrows are ground birds. They forage on the ground, nest on the ground, and breed primarily in scrubby areas at or above the treeline. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Tree_Sparrow/lifehistory )
F/ 5.6, 1/1250, ISO 400.
Mute Swan
What did the nose say to the finger?
Stop picking on me.
Interesting Fact: The Mute Swan is reported to mate for life. However, changing of mates does occur infrequently, and swans will remate if their partner dies. If a male loses his mate and pairs with a young female, she joins him on his territory. If he mates with an older female, they go to hers. If a female loses her mate, she remates quickly and usually chooses a younger male. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mute_Swan/lifehistory )
F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 250.
Mute Swans
How do you organize an outer space party?
You planet.
Interesting Fact: The Mute Swan is reported to mate for life. However, changing of mates does occur infrequently, and swans will remate if their partner dies. If a male loses his mate and pairs with a young female, she joins him on his territory. If he mates with an older female, they go to hers. If a female loses her mate, she remates quickly and usually chooses a younger male. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mute_Swan/lifehistory )
F/6.3, 1/ 160, ISO 320.
Chipping Sparrow
How do farmers party?
They turnip the beets.
Interesting Fact: The early naturalists had a gift for description you just don’t see anymore. In 1929, Edward Forbush called the Chipping Sparrow “the little brown-capped pensioner of the dooryard and lawn, that comes about farmhouse doors to glean crumbs shaken from the tablecloth by thrifty housewives.” ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Chipping_Sparrow/lifehistory )
F/6.3, 1/100, ISO 500.
Chipping Sparrow
Why do fish live in salt water?
Because pepper makes them sneeze.
Interesting Fact: In summer, male Chipping Sparrows defend territories against other Chipping Sparrows, but often tolerate other species as long as they don’t go too near the nest. After the breeding season, Chipping Sparrows form flocks of several dozen, foraging together among grasses and at bird feeders. Their flight pattern is energetic, straight, and only slightly undulating. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Chipping_Sparrow/lifehistory )
F/7.1, 1/200, ISO 400.
Pied-Billed Grebe
How is being at a singles bar different from going to the circus?
At the circus the clowns don’t talk.
Interesting Fact: When in danger, Pied-billed Grebes sometimes make a dramatic “crash-dive” to get away. A crash-diving grebe pushes its body down with its wings thrust outward. Its tail and head disappears last, while the bird kicks water several feet into the air. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pied-billed_Grebe/ )
Through Open Lens 