wildbird

Wet And Wild!

May 13, 2017 — Leave a comment

F/5.6, 1/500, ISO 100.

Mallard Ducks

What season is it when you are on a trampoline?

Spring time.

Interesting Fact: Mallards are generalist foragers and will eat a wide variety of food. They don’t dive, but dabble to feed, tipping forward in the water to eat seeds and aquatic vegetation. They also roam around on the shore and pick at vegetation and prey on the ground. During the breeding season, they eat mainly animal matter including aquatic insect larvae, earthworms, snails and freshwater shrimp. During migration, many Mallards consume largely agricultural seed and grain. In city parks, they readily accept handouts from parkgoers.  ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mallard/lifehistory )

Laugh And The World Laughs With You, Cackle Maniacally And People Back Away From You Slowly

February 18, 2017 — 6 Comments

cackling-goose

F/5.0, 1/400, ISO 400.

Cackling Goose

What did the 30 degree angle say to the 90 degree angle?

“You think you’re always right!”

Interesting Fact: The Cackling Goose was long considered just a small race of the Canada Goose. The smallest four of the eleven recognized races were recently determined to be distinct enough to be their own species. Cackling Goose includes the races known as Taverner’s, Richardson’s, Aleutian, and Cackling geese. Confusingly, the “Lesser Canada Goose” is still a race of the Canada Goose. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cackling_Goose/lifehistory )

When You Are With The Right Person, Every Day Is Valentine’s Day!

February 14, 2017 — 24 Comments

Happy Valentine’s Day!

mallard-love

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 100.

Mallard

Girl: “I can’t be your valentine for medical reasons.”

Boy: “Really?”

Girl: “Yeah, you make me sick!”

Interesting Fact: Numerous early Christian martyrs were named Valentine.[11] The Valentines honored on February 14 are Valentine of Rome (Valentinus presb. m. Romae) and Valentine of Terni (Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae).[12] Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who was martyred in 269 and was added to the calendar of saints by Pope Galesius in 496 and was buried on the Via Flaminia. The relics of Saint Valentine were kept in the Church and Catacombs of San Valentino in Rome, which “remained an important pilgrim site throughout the Middle Ages until the relics of St. Valentine were transferred to the church of Santa Prassede during the pontificate of Nicholas IV“.[13][14] The flower-crowned skull of Saint Valentine is exhibited in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome. Other relics are found at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day#History )

Well I Hope The Neighbors Like This Song

February 13, 2017 — 14 Comments

black-capped-chickadee-branch

F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 320, Photoshop CS6.

Black-capped Chickadee

What kind of music are balloons afraid of?

Pop Music.

Interesting Fact: Winter flocks with chickadees serving as the nucleus contain mated chickadee pairs and nonbreeders, but generally not the offspring of the adult pairs within that flock. Other species that associate with chickadee flocks include nuthatches, woodpeckers, kinglets, creepers, warblers and vireos. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-capped_Chickadee/lifehistory )

 

I Get Knocked Down But I Get Up Again You Are Never Gonna Keep Me Down

September 27, 2016 — 8 Comments

mallard-duck

F/7.1, 1/200, ISO 250.

Mallard Duck

What did the duck say when he bought lipstick?

“Put it on my bill.”

Interesting Fact: Ducks are strong fliers; migrating flocks of Mallards have been estimated traveling at 55 miles per hour. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mallard/lifehistory )

Don’t You Forget About Me

September 6, 2016 — 13 Comments

cedar-waxwing-1

F/ 11.0, 1/500, ISO 250.

Cedar Waxwing

What did the pencil sharpener say to the pencil?

Stop going in circles and get to the point! 

Interesting Fact: Cedar Waxwings with orange instead of yellow tail tips began appearing in the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada in the 1960s. The orange color is the result of a red pigment picked up from the berries of an introduced species of honeysuckle. If a waxwing eats enough of the berries while it is growing a tail feather, the tip of the feather will be orange. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cedar_Waxwing/lifehistory )

I Believe I Can Fly!

August 22, 2016 — 5 Comments

Franklin's Gull 1

F/14.0, 1/640, ISO 320.

Franklin’s Gull

What did the pig say at the beach on a hot summer’s day?

I’m bacon!

Interesting Fact: In breeding plumage, and sometimes in nonbreeding plumage as well, the Franklin’s Gull often shows a rosy pink cast (rarely salmon) on its chest and abdomen. This color is most apparent on the shafts and bases of its feathers. The color fades as the breeding season progresses as the pigment is broken down by sunlight.  ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Franklins_Gull/lifehistory )

 

 

I’m Walking Here!

August 21, 2016 — 8 Comments

Common Grackle 2

F/6.3, 1/1600, ISO 250.

Common Grackle 

How do men exercise at the beach?

By sucking in their stomach every time they see a girl in a bikini.

Interesting Fact: Common Grackles are resourceful foragers. They sometimes follow plows to catch invertebrates and mice, wade into water to catch small fish, pick leeches off the legs of turtles, steal worms from American Robins, raid nests, and kill and eat adult birds. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Grackle/lifehistory )

Ready, Set, Go!

July 26, 2016 — 6 Comments

Vesper Sparrow

F/7.1, 1/200, ISO 320.

Vesper Sparrow

Couples first day at a resort decided to hit the beach.
When the guy went back to there room to get something to drink, one of the hotel maids was making the bed.
He grabbed his cooler and was on my way out when he paused and asked, “Can we drink beer on the beach?”
“Sure,” she said, “but I have to finish the rest of the rooms beforehand.”

Interesting Fact: The Vesper Sparrow responds quickly to changes in habitat; it is often the first species to occupy reclaimed mine sites and abandon old farm fields as they return to forest.  ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Vesper_Sparrow/lifehistory )

Reflection On This

July 25, 2016 — 26 Comments

Great Blue Heron 4

F/6.3, 1/100, ISO 320.

Great Blue Heron

How do you prevent a Summer cold?

Catch it in the Winter!

Interesting Fact: The white form of the Great Blue Heron, known as the “great white heron,” is found nearly exclusively in shallow marine waters along the coast of very southern Florida, the Yucatan Peninsula, and in the Caribbean. Where the dark and white forms overlap in Florida, intermediate birds known as “Wurdemann’s herons” can be found. They have the body of a Great Blue Heron, but the white head and neck of the great white heron. (  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron/lifehistory )