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Today I Will Be Happier Than A Seagull With A Stolen Chip!

August 7, 2015 — 11 Comments

© Through Open lens Photography

F/6.3, 1/1250, ISO 400.

Bonaparte’s Gull

Day 219 / 365

A man and his pet seagull walk into a bar. It’s about 5pm, but they’re ready for a good night of drinking.
They start off slowly, watching TV, drinking beer, eating peanuts. As the night goes on they move to mixed drinks, and then shooters, one after the other.
Finally, the bartender says: “Last call.”
So, the man says, “One more for me… and one more for my seagull.”
The bartender sets them up and they shoot them back. Suddenly, the seagull falls over dead.
The man throws some money on the bar, puts on his coat and starts to leave.
The bartender, yells: “Hey buddy, you can’t just leave that lyin’ there.”
To which the man replies: “That’s not a lion, that’s a seagull.”

Interesting Fact: The smallest gull seen over most of North America, it is also the only gull that regularly nests in trees. ( http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/459/_/Bonapartes_Gull.aspx )

Keep Calm And Swim On!

July 27, 2015 — 10 Comments

Common Loon Juvenile

F/6.3, 1/1000, ISO 560.

Common Loon ( Juvenile )

Day 208 /365

How do people swimming in the ocean say HI to each other?

They Wave!

Interesting Fact: Loons are well equipped for their submarine maneuvers to catch fish. Unlike most birds, loons have solid bones that make them less buoyant and better at diving. They can quickly blow air out of their lungs and flatten their feathers to expel air within their plumage, so they can dive quickly and swim fast underwater. Once below the surface, the loon’s heart slows down to conserve oxygen. ( http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/common_loon/lifehistory )

RUUUNNNNN!!!

July 12, 2015 — 10 Comments

wood duck Female

F/6.3, 1/800, ISO 800.

Wood Duck ( Female )

Day 193 /365

Why don`t ducks tell jokes when they fly?
Because they would quack up!

Interesting Fact: The Wood Duck nests in trees near water, sometimes directly over water, but other times over a mile away. After hatching, the ducklings jump down from the nest tree and make their way to water. The mother calls them to her, but does not help them in any way. The ducklings may jump from heights of over 50 feet without injury. ( http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/lifehistory )

Be Like Water Making Its Way Through Cracks

July 8, 2015 — 25 Comments

water drop

F/10.0, 1/60, ISO 100.

Day 189 /365

A man goes to his doctor because he’s been feeling very ill for days. The doctor gives him several sets of pills.

The doctor instructs; “Take the green pill with two big glasses of water when you get up. An hour later, take the white pill with another glass of water. Take the blue pill with a big glass of water after lunch. Mid afternoon, take the orange pill with plenty of water, and repeat that at dinner. Then, just before going to bed, take the red pill with several big glasses of water.”

The man is alarmed at huge volume of medicine he has been given to take, and nervously asks, “What’s the diagnosis? What’s wrong with me?”

The doctor says, “You’re dehydrated.”

Interesting Fact:  Ocean tides are caused by the rotation of the Earth and the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun acting on ocean water. ( http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/water.html )

Everyday They’re Out There Making DuckTales! Woo-oo!

July 6, 2015 — 8 Comments

 

Ruddy Duck

F/6.3, 1/1000, ISO 800.

Juvenile Ruddy Ducks

Day 187 / 365

Three ducks are in a pond.
One went “Quack quack!”
And the other duck said “Thats funny I was just about to say that!”

Interesting Fact: Ruddy Ducks lay big, white, pebbly-textured eggs—the largest of all duck eggs relative to body size. Energetically expensive to produce, the eggs hatch into well-developed ducklings that require only a short period of care. ( http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruddy_Duck/lifehistory )

I Look Down On People

June 20, 2015 — 18 Comments

European Starling 1

F/ 6.3, 1/125, ISO 200.

European Starling

Day 171 / 365

“That car looks clean, it is time to piss off the owner.”

 

A pirate strolls into his favorite bar and the bartender says, “Whoa, dude, what happened to you?”
The pirate says, “What do you mean?”
The bartender says, “Well, for starters, you never used to have a peg leg.”
“Oh, that,” replies the pirate. ” Well, you see, we had a sea battle and a cannon ball blew off my leg. But the ship’s surgeon fixed me up with this peg leg and I’m as good as new.”
“Well, what about the hook?” asks the barkeep.
“We had another sea battle and some guy lopped off my hand,” the pirate explains, “but the ship’s surgeon fixed me up with this hook and now I’m as good as new!”
“What about the eye patch?” asks the bartender.
“One day I was on the top mast keeping watch,” says the pirate, “when an bird flew over and pooped in my eye.”
The bartender is incredulous. “You mean to tell me that bird poop will put out your eye?”
“Well,” the pirate explained, “this happened shortly after I got the hook.”

( http://www.verifine.org/Humor/pirate.html )

Interesting Fact: Starlings are great vocal mimics: individuals can learn the calls of up to 20 different species. Birds whose songs starlings often copy include the Eastern Wood-Pewee, Killdeer, meadowlarks, Northern Bobwhite, Wood Thrush, Red-tailed Hawk, American Robin, Northern Flicker, and many others. ( http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/European_Starling/lifehistory )

Rise Above!

June 17, 2015 — 14 Comments

Water Lily

F/5.6, 1/40, ISO 320, Photoshop CS6.

Water Lilies

Day 168 / 365

What do you call a girl with a frog on her head?
Lily!

Interesting Fact:  The water lily is a big balanced plant that floats above the water. Usually the lily has white female flowers and also pink male flowers. The flowers are the size of soccer balls.  The plants come from seeds that come from water that rises 10 cm. a day. Soon it will produce 5-10 leaves a month. The large  lilies provide food for fish and wildlife.  ( http://interestingfacts.blog.com/2010/07/14/beautiful-water-lily/ )

Eat, Sleep, Fish, Repeat!

June 13, 2015 — 11 Comments

Snowy Egret 1

F/6.3, 1/1250, ISO 400.

Snowy Egret

Day 164 / 365

Why does the Egret stand on one leg?

Because if it lifts the other leg, it falls.

Interesting Fact: At the end of the nineteenth century, the beautiful plumes of the Snowy Egret were in great demand by market hunters as decorations for women’s hats. In 1886, plumes were valued at $32 per ounce, which was twice the price of gold at the time. They were hunted nearly to extinction before laws were passed to protect them. ( http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/48/_/Snowy_Egret.aspx )

 

Hungry Much!

June 12, 2015 — 10 Comments

First course meal.  Crab.

Double-crested Cormorant

F/ 6.3, 1/1000, ISO 500.

Double-crested Cormorant

Day 163 / 365

Second course meal.  Eel.

Double-crested Cormorant 1

F/6.3,  1/1000, ISO 720.

Don’t forget, you are what you eat.

Interesting Fact: A cormorant’s diet is almost all fish, with just a few insects, crustaceans, or amphibians. They eat a wide variety of fish (more than 250 species have been reported), and they have impressive fishing technique: diving and chasing fish underwater with powerful propulsion from webbed feet. The tip of a cormorant’s upper bill is shaped like a hook, which is helpful for catching prey. When cormorants happen to catch a crustacean like a crayfish, they exhibit a little flair in eating it—hammering the prey on the water to shake its legs off, then flipping it in the air and catching it headfirst for easy swallowing. ( http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Double-crested_Cormorant/lifehistory#at_food )

Save The Clocktower! ( Back To The Future ) 

June 11, 2015 — 12 Comments

Lightning Strike Over Hoboken

F/4.5, 13.0, ISO 100.

Day 162 / 365

What did the lightning bolt say to the other lightning bolt?

You’re shocking!

Interesting Fact: The average temperature of lightning is around 20000 °C (36000 °F). When lightning strikes the ground it seeks out the shortest route to something with a positive charge, this might be a tree, a tall building or if they’re very unlucky, a person. ( http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/weather/lightning.html )