F/6.3, 1/500, ISO 1600.
European Starlings
Day 64 / 365
“My family immigrated from Europe”.
Interesting Fact: All of the 200 million European Starlings found in North America today are descendants of approximately 100 birds released in New York City’s Central Park in the early 1890s by an industrialist who wanted to establish, in the U.S., all birds mentioned in the works of Shakespeare. ( http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/160/_/European_Starling.aspx )
F/6.3, 1/125, ISO 400.
Day 24 /365
“I have very nice feathers and I like to show them off, so stop bothering me”.
Interesting Fact: American kestrels do not need to drink free-standing water. They get all the water they need from the moisture of their prey. ( http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?a=2723&q=470372 )
F/6.3, 1/125, ISO 1000.
I would like to thank everyone for an amazing first year. Starting January 1st, I am doing the 365 project so you guys will be able to enjoy new photos from me each day. I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year!
Interesting Fact: Cardinals are a picture of sweetness especially when mate feeding. During this time, the male looks for food and feeds the female by putting the food into its mate’s bill as if kissing each other. ( http://www.birdhouses101.com/cardinal-facts.asp )
F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 110.
Santa keeps his reindeers resting all year long, so they have enough energy for that one special night of the year. But in the meantime, he checks up on everyone while riding his special stallion. Be aware-SANTA IS WATCHING YOU!!!
Interesting Fact: He doesn’t just like milk and cookies.
Things other countries leave out for Santa (or his non-union equivalent), according to Wikipedia:
in Britain and Australia, he is sometimes given sherry or beer, and mince pies instead. In Sweden and Norway, children leave rice porridge. In Ireland it is popular to give him Guinness or milk, along with Christmas pudding or mince pies.
If I were Santa, the United Kingdom and Australia would get all the presents. ( http://io9.com/11-insane-things-you-didnt-know-about-santa-claus-1485017907 )
F/5.6, 1/500, ISO 1000.
This Black-capped Chickadee flew by a few times before he sat on a branch nearby. He started to say few things to me that sounded like “chick-a-dee-dee-dee”, “fee-bee”, “fee-bee-be”. I’m not sure what he was saying but I am guessing it could be something like “Wazzup!” or maybe ” how you doin”. I guess we can only wonder.
Interesting Fact: The song of the Black-capped Chickadee is one of the most complex vocalizations of all animals, acting as a contact call, an alarm call, to identify an individual, or to indicate recognition of a particular flock. ( http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/680/_/Black-capped_Chickadee.aspx )
Hispaniolan Woodpecker
f/5.6, 1/125, ISO 900.
Caught this pecker, pecking away, pecking so hard that the palm tree kept swaying. Don’t peck so hard my little friend because you may go limp at the end.
I came across Hispaniolan Woodpecker in Dominican Republic, its very similar to Red-Bellied Woodpecker of my very first post.
Red-Bellied Woodpecker
F/8.0, 1/1000, ISO 800.
Interesting Fact: Their habitat, which is restricted to Haiti and the Dominican Republic, extends from the coasts, over the deserts to the mountains of the island. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispaniolan_woodpecker )
F/5.6, 1/160, ISO 100
Away on vacation strange knock I hear,
I open the door and what do I see
a Downy Woodpecker up In a tree.
I rush for my camera and run out the door
I snap a few photos and that’s about all.
Interesting Fact: Woodpeckers don’t sing songs, but they drum loudly against pieces of wood or metal to achieve the same effect. People sometimes think this drumming is part of the birds’ feeding habits, but it isn’t. In fact, feeding birds make surprisingly little noise even when they’re digging vigorously into wood. ( http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/downy_woodpecker/lifehistory )
F/5.6, 1/40, ISO 1600.
I have to say this Red Panda has the right idea, lay down and enjoy yourself after a hard week of work. Although, I don’t think you should use the tree, it might be a little bit uncomfortable. But after all, weekend is here, go grab yourself a beer! I almost forgot, this is a Red Panda from Central Park Zoo, it’s so cute I would like to take it home. Enjoy the weekend and the photo.
Interesting Fact: Although the red panda is sometimes called the lesser panda, it is actually the original panda. Westerners discovered it in 1825, nearly 50 years before the giant panda. ( http://www.centralparkzoo.com/animals-and-exhibits/animals/mammals/red-panda.aspx )
F/11.0, 1/125, ISO 140.
Visiting Upstate New York our friends showed us around the area, and when we came across this tree was screaming for a photo. When I saw this unique opportunity, I could not help myself to sing in my head Aerosmith song “Livin’ On The Edge”.
.
Interesting Fact: A single tree produces approximately 260 pounds of oxygen per year. That means two mature trees can supply enough oxygen annually to support a family of four! (
)
It looks like the tree is on fire, but it is not. The clouds and the sun created this cool effect.
Interesting Fact: The Sun is 865,000 miles wide, that makes it 110 times bigger then Earth.
F/10.0, 1/250, ISO 100
Through Open Lens 