Always Stretch Before Swimming!

F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 500.

Ruddy Duck

What is crazy and walks along the sides of buildings?

A walnut.

Interesting Fact: Ruddy Ducks are very aggressive toward each other and toward other species, especially during the breeding season. Unlike most ducks, they form pairs only after arriving on the breeding grounds each year. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruddy_Duck/lifehistory )

This Water Is Freezing!!!

F/5.6, 1/500, ISO 100.

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron ( Juvenile )

Why did the boy eat his homework?

Because his teacher said it was a piece of cake!

Interesting Fact: Yellow-crowned Night-Herons forage both during the day and at night—in coastal areas the tide can trump the time of day: most foraging occurs from 3 hours before high tide to 3 hours after. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Yellow-crowned_Night-Heron/lifehistory )

 

Be Like A Duck And QUACK!

F/6.3, 1/400, ISO 400.

Green-Winged Teal

How do you make a tissue dance?

Put a little boogie in it.

Interesting Fact: The Aleutian Islands of Alaska support their own race of Green-winged Teal, Anas crecca nimia. Unlike other Green-winged Teal populations, this race doesn’t migrate. In winter the birds move from summering sites on ponds and lakes to the islands’ beaches, where they forage in tide pools and on shallow-water reefs. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Green-winged_Teal/lifehistory )

I Quack You Quack We Quack Together

F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 320.

Ring-necked Ducks

Why did the old woman put roller skates on her rocking chair?

Because she wanted to rock and roll.

Interesting Fact: This bird’s common name (and its scientific name “collaris,” too) refer to the Ring-necked Duck’s hard-to-see chestnut collar on its black neck. It’s not a good field mark to use for identifying the bird, but it jumped out to the nineteenth century biologists that described the species using dead specimens.  ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ring-necked_Duck/lifehistory )

 

 

 

Your Worries Will Float Away

gadwall

F/6.3,1/250, ISO 400.

Gadwall

Why are bad school grades like a shipwreck in the Arctic Ocean?

They’re both below C level!

Interesting Fact: Gadwall have increased in numbers since the 1980s, partly because of conservation of wetlands and adjacent uplands in their breeding habitat through the Conservation Reserve Program and the North American Waterfowl Management Plan. Their habit of nesting on islands within marshes gives them some protection from predators. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gadwall/lifehistory )

It Takes Nothing To Join The Crowd. It Takes Everything To Stand Alone.

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 200.

Killdeer

What’s the difference between a guitar and a fish?

You can tune a guitar, but you can’t tuna fish.

Interesting Fact: Gravel rooftops attract Killdeer for nesting, but can be dangerous places to raise a brood. Chicks may be unable to leave a roof because of high parapets and screened drain openings. Adults eventually lure chicks off the roof, which can be dangerous – although one set of chicks survived a leap from a seven-story building. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Killdeer )

Peek A Boo!

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 250.

Green Heron

Why are ghosts so bad at lying?

Because you can see right through them!

Interesting Fact: Green Herons usually hunt by wading in shallow water, but occasionally they dive for deep-water prey and need to swim back to shore—probably with help from the webs between their middle and outer toes. One juvenile heron was seen swimming gracefully for more than 60 feet, sitting upright “like a little swan,” according to one observer. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Green_Heron/lifehistory )

You Big Silly Goose!

F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 320.

Brant Goose

How do baseball players stay cool?

They sit next to their fans.

Interesting Fact: An abundant small goose of the ocean shores, the Brant breeds in the high Arctic tundra and winters along both coasts. The Brant along the Atlantic have light gray bellies, while those off the Pacific Coast have black bellies and were at one time considered a separate species.  ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brant/lifehistory )

When you are with the right person, every day is Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentines Day

F/5.6, 1/1600, ISO 400.

Mute Swan

What’s the best part about Valentines Day?

The day after when all the chocolate goes on sale.

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 )

The Fog Always Lifts.

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 800.

Canada Goose

What do clouds do when they become rich?

A. They make it rain!

Interesting Fact: Nest Placement on the ground, usually on a muskrat mound or other slightly elevated site, near water. They prefer a spot from which they can have a fairly unobstructed view in many directions. Female selects the site and does much of nest construction. She adds down feathers and some body feathers beginning after the second egg is laid. She does all the incubation while her mate guards her and the nest.  ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Canada_Goose/lifehistory )