F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 320.
Cooper’s Hawk
What did the tree say to spring?
What a re-leaf.
Interesting Fact: Dashing through vegetation to catch birds is a dangerous lifestyle. In a study of more than 300 Cooper’s Hawk skeletons, 23 percent showed old, healed-over fractures in the bones of the chest, especially of the furcula, or wishbone. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Coopers_Hawk )
F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 320.
Northern Harrier
A camel meets an elephant.
The elephant asks jokingly: “Why do you have two breasts on your back?”
The camel replies: “With a face like yours, I’d just shut up.”
Interesting Fact: Northern Harriers are the most owl-like of hawks (though they’re not related to owls). They rely on hearing as well as vision to capture prey. The disk-shaped face looks and functions much like an owl’s, with stiff facial feathers helping to direct sound to the ears. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Harrier )
F/6.3, 1/160, ISO 400.
Eastern Bluebird
Doctor is talking to a patient.
Doctor: “Do you do sports?”
Patient: “Does sex count?”
Doctor: “Yes.”
Patient: “Then no.”
Interesting Fact: Eastern Bluebirds typically have more than one successful brood per year. Young produced in early nests usually leave their parents in summer, but young from later nests frequently stay with their parents over the winter. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Bluebird/lifehistory )
F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 160.
Sandhill Crane
What bird can lift the most?
A crane.
Interesting Fact: The Sandhill Crane’s call is a loud, rolling, trumpeting sound whose unique tone is a product of anatomy: Sandhill Cranes have long tracheas (windpipes) that coil into the sternum and help the sound develop a lower pitch and harmonics that add richness. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Sandhill_Crane/lifehistory )
F/6.3, 1/250, ISO 1600.
Short Eared Owl
When does a Owl go “mooooo”?
When it is learning a new language!
Interesting Fact: As suggested by their wide global distribution, Short-eared Owls can travel long distances over vast expanses of ocean. Witnesses have reported seeing these owls descending on ships hundreds of miles from land. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/short-eared_owl/lifehistory )
F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 400.
American Goldfinch
An angry wife was complaining about her husband spending all his free time in a bar, so one night he took her along with him. “What’ll you have?” he asked.
“Oh, I don’t know. The same as you I suppose,” she replied.
So, the husband ordered a couple of Jack Daniel’s and threw his down in one shot. His wife watched him, then took a sip from her glass and immediately spat it out.
“Yuck, that’s TERRIBLE!” she spluttered. “I don’t know how you can drink this stuff!”
“Well, there you go,” cried the husband. “And you think I’m out enjoying myself every night!”
Interesting Fact: American Goldfinches are the only finch that molts its body feathers twice a year, once in late winter and again in late summer. The brightening yellow of male goldfinches each spring is one welcome mark of approaching warm months. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Goldfinch/lifehistory )
F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 250.
Ring-necked Duck
Why did the duck go to jail?
Because he got caught selling quack.
Interesting Fact: Ring-necked Ducks on their breeding grounds occasionally get attacked by the much larger Common Loon, the Red-necked Grebe, and even the much smaller Pied-billed Grebe. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ring-necked_Duck/lifehistory )
F/13.0, 1/500, ISO 800.
Northern Cardinal ( Female )
Why couldn’t the leopard play hide and seek?
Because he was always spotted.
Interesting Fact: A week or two before the female starts building, she starts to visit possible nest sites with the male following along. The pair call back and forth and hold nesting material in their bills as they assess each site. Nests tend to be wedged into a fork of small branches in a sapling, shrub, or vine tangle, 1-15 feet high and hidden in dense foliage. They use many kinds of trees and shrubs, including dogwood, honeysuckle, hawthorn, grape, redcedar, spruce, pines, hemlock, rose bushes, blackberry brambles, elms, sugar maples, and box elders. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/lifehistory )
F/7.1, 1/200. ISO 125.
Great Egret
What did the Buffalo say to his little boy when he dropped him off at school?
Bison.
Interesting Fact: The Great Egret walks with its neck extended and its wings held close to its body. In flight, it is graceful and buoyant, with its neck tucked back against its shoulders and its legs trailing behind. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Egret/lifehistory )
F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 320.
American Coot
What did the rug say to the floor?
Don’t move, I’ve got you covered.
Interesting Fact: Although it swims like a duck, the American Coot does not have webbed feet like a duck. Instead, each one of the coot’s long toes has broad lobes of skin that help it kick through the water. The broad lobes fold back each time the bird lifts its foot, so it doesn’t impede walking on dry land, though it supports the bird’s weight on mucky ground. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/american_coot )
Through Open Lens 