If Opportunity Doesn’t Knock Build A Door

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 400.

Hairy Woodpecker

A drunk appears in front of a judge.

The judge says, “You’ve been brought here for drinking.”

The drunk says, “Okay, let’s get started!”

Interesting Fact: Across North America the Hairy Woodpecker can be found from sea level to high in the mountains. In Central America, it is restricted to higher mountain forests. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hairy_Woodpecker/lifehistory )

I’m Not Perfect But My Eyeliner Is

F/10.0,1/400, ISO 320.

Green-Winged Teal

Why is Basketball such a messy sport?

Because you dribble on the floor!

Interesting Fact: Green-winged Teal sometimes switch wintering sites from year to year. One banding study found that individuals wintering in Texas one year went as far away as California in subsequent years. This lack of philopatry, or “faithfulness” to a particular site, may reflect the tendency of males that did not breed the year before to try to find mates among a different set of wintering females. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Green-winged_Teal/lifehistory )

Giggity, Giggity, Quack!

F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 500.

Ruddy Duck

What did the calculator say to the cashier?

You can count on me.

Interesting Fact:  Most males pair up with one female each for the duration of the breeding season, but some take multiple mates. Their eggs are proportionally the largest of all waterfowl. The ducklings hatch well-developed and active, receiving minimal care from the mother and none from the father. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruddy_Duck/lifehistory )

Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!

ring-billed-gulls

F/5.6, 1/320, ISO 400.

Ring-billed Gull             

What do you call a man with seagull on his head?

Cliff

Interesting Fact: Migrating Ring-billed Gulls apparently use a built-in compass to navigate. When tested at only two days of age, chicks showed a preference for magnetic bearings that would take them in the appropriate direction for their fall migration. The gulls also rely on landmarks and high-altitude winds to provide directional cues.  ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ring-billed_Gull/lifehistory )

Eat My Shorts, Dude!

F/7.1, 1/200, ISO 320.

Common Grackle 

Why do golfers wear two pairs of pants?

In case they get a hole in one!

Interesting Fact: Grackles have a hard keel on the inside of the upper mandible that they use for sawing open acorns. Typically they score the outside of the narrow end, then bite the acorn open. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Grackle/lifehistory )

Bottoms Up!

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 250.

Killdeer

What did the apple tree say to the farmer?

STOP PICKING ON ME!

Interesting Fact:  The male and female of a mated pair pick out a nesting site through a ritual known as a scrape ceremony. The male lowers his breast to the ground and scrapes a shallow depression with his feet. The female then approaches, head lowered, and takes his place. The male then stands with body tilted slightly forward, tail raised and spread, calling rapidly. Mating often follows. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Killdeer )

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 )

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 )