F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 200.
American Flamingo
What’s the opposite of a flamingo?
A flamin-stop.
Interesting Fact: At the beginning of the nesting season, they perform mass courtship displays, where hundreds move together in a coordinated walk. ( http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/940/overview/American_Flamingo.aspx )
F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 320, Photoshop CS6.
Mute Swan
A pirate was on his ship and his watchman comes to him and says, “1 enemy ship on the horizont.”
The captain says, “Bring me my red shirt, no men get injured or die.”
So the watchman comes to him and asks, “Why did you want your red shirt?”
The captain says, “Because if i get injured they won’t see and keep on fighting.”
So the watchman comes to him again and says, “20 enemy ships on the horizont.”
The captain says, “Bring me my brown pants.”
Interesting Fact: Mute Swans can adapt to degraded habitat and actually benefit from the spread of the invasive common reed Phragmites australis, which flourishes in disturbed sites. As the reeds spread into lakes and ponds, the swans can build nests farther offshore in the reed beds, where they’re safer from egg predators. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mute_Swan/lifehistory )
F/5.6, 1/500, ISO 200.
Snowy Egret
What did the triangle say to the circle?
You are pointless!
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. After pairing up, Snowy Egrets continue defending the immediate area around the nest, raising their crests and giving rasping calls. Some of their nest predators include raccoons, Great Horned Owls, Barred Owls, American Crows, Fish Crows, American alligators, and gray rat snakes. Highly social all year long, Snowy Egrets forage with gulls, terns, ibises, and other herons, and they nest in colonies alongside many other species, including Great Egrets, night-herons, Glossy Ibises, Little Blue Herons, Tricolored Herons, Cattle Egrets, and Roseate Spoonbills. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snowy_Egret/lifehistory )
F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 250.
Common Terns
How do birds fly?
They just wing it!
Interesting Fact: Common Terns nest in colonies on the ground in areas with loose sand, gravel, shell, or cobble pebbles typically less than 350 feet from the water. They tend to choose areas with scattered, low-growing vegetation to provide cover for chicks. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Tern/lifehistory )
F/5.6, 1/320, ISO 100.
Canada Goose Goslings
What did the blanket say to the bed?
Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!
Interesting Fact: Canada Geese eat grain from fields, graze on grass, and dabble in shallow water by tipping forward and extending their necks underwater. During much of the year they associate in large flocks, and many of these birds may be related to one another. They mate for life with very low “divorce rates,” and pairs remain together throughout the year. Geese mate “assortatively,” larger birds choosing larger mates and smaller ones choosing smaller mates; in a given pair, the male is usually larger than the female. Most Canada Geese do not breed until their fourth year; less than 10 percent breed as yearlings, and most pair bonds are unstable until birds are at least two or three years old. Extra-pair copulations have been documented. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Canada_Goose/lifehistory )
F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 160.
Common Gallinule
Wanna hear a joke about construction?
Never mind, I’m still working on it.
Interesting Fact: Common Gallinules nest in marshes, lakes, and ponds with emergent vegetation. They tend to build nests on top of thick mats of aquatic plants near the water’s edge, but sometimes nest in trees or shrubs. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Gallinule/lifehistory )
Shark Week
F/5.6, 1/500, ISO 360.
Spiny Dogfish Shark
What is a sharks favorite sci-fi show?
Shark Trek
Interesting Fact: Spiny dogfish are bottom-dwellers. They are commonly found at depths of around 50–149 m (164–489 ft), but have been found deeper than 700 m (2,300 ft). ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiny_dogfish )
F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 200.
Killdeer
What do you call a belt with a watch on it?
A waist of time.
Interesting Fact: Killdeer nests are simple scrapes often placed on slight rises in their open habitats. Killdeer may make several scrapes not far away from each other before choosing one to lay in. The duplication may help to confuse predators. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Killdeer/lifehistory )
F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 320.
American Coot
“Babe is it in?”
“Yea.” “Does it hurt?”
“Uh huh.”
“Let me put it in slowly.”
“It still hurts.”
“Okay, let’s try another shoe size.”
Interesting Fact: A slow and meticulous forager, the American Coot plucks at plants while walking, swimming, dabbling with its head just underwater, or in full dives. In flight coots are clumsy and labored (though less so than Common Moorhens). To get airborne, coots typically have to beat their wings while running across the water for many yards. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Coot/lifehistory# )
F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 320.
Ruddy Ducks
Where do sheep go to get haircuts?
To the Baa Baa shop!
Interesting Fact: Ruddy Ducks spend the vast majority of their time on the water. They are fast fliers but have little maneuverability in the air, and they tend to swim and dive rather than fly to escape predators—which include Red-tailed Hawks, Great Horned Owls, mink, raccoons, and red foxes. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruddy_Duck/lifehistory )
Through Open Lens 