F/6.3, 1/160, ISO 200.
Common Snapping Turtle
What do you get when you mix an elephant with a rhino?
Elephino!!!
Joke complementary of: robinwrites
F/5.6, 1/125, ISO 200.
F/5.6, 1/500, ISO 400.
Interesting Fact: Snapping turtles ambush their prey from the bottom of the water. Fish mistake their tongue for warms and viola dinner is served. yum
F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 320.
Red-Eared Slider Turtle
What did the Sewage Worker say to his apprentice?
Urine for a surprise.
Interesting Fact: Red-eared sliders do not hibernate, but actually brumate; while they become less active, they do occasionally rise to the surface for food or air. Brumation can occur to varying degrees. In the wild, red-eared sliders brumate over the winter at the bottoms of ponds or shallow lakes. They generally become inactive in October, when temperatures fall below 10 °C (50 °F).[9] During this time, the turtles enter a state of sopor, during which they do not eat or defecate, they remain nearly motionless, and the frequency of their breathing falls. Individuals usually brumate underwater, but they have also been found under banks and rocks, and in hollow stumps. In warmer winter climates, they can become active and come to the surface for basking. When the temperature begins to drop again, however, they quickly return to a brumation state. Sliders generally come up for food in early March to as late as the end of April. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-eared_slider )
F/9.0, 1/250, ISO 320.
Muskrat
Why did the dog sit in the shade?
Because he didn’t want to be a hot dog!
Interesting Fact: Native Americans have long considered the muskrat to be a very important animal. Some predict winter snowfall levels by observing the size and timing of muskrat lodge construction.[26] In several Native American creation myths, the muskrat dives to the bottom of the primordial sea to bring up the mud from which the earth is created, after other animals have failed in the task. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muskrat#Behavior )
F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 320.
Eastern Bluebird
Imagine you are in a water tank with a roof. There are no objects in the tank to help you escape. How do you get out?
Stop imagining.
Interesting Fact: Males vying over territories chase each other at high speed, sometimes grappling with their feet, pulling at feathers with their beaks, and hitting with their wings. The boxes and tree cavities where bluebirds nest are a hot commodity among birds that require holes for nesting, and male bluebirds will attack other species they deem a threat, including House Sparrows, European Starlings, Tree Swallows, Great Crested Flycatchers, Carolina Chickadees, and Brown-headed Nuthatches, as well as non-cavity nesters such as robins, Blue Jays, mockingbirds, and cowbirds. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Bluebird/lifehistory )
F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 400.
Pileated Woodpecker
Why do mummies make great spies?
They’re good at keeping things under wraps.
Interesting Fact: Pileated Woodpeckers forage in large, dead wood—standing dead trees, stumps, or logs lying on the forest floor. They make impressive rectangular excavations that can be a foot or more long and go deep inside the wood. These holes pursue the tunnels of carpenter ants, the woodpecker’s primary food. The birds also use their long, barbed tongues to extract woodboring beetle larvae (which can be more than an inch long) or termites lying deep in the wood. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pileated_Woodpecker/lifehistory )
F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 320.
Peregrine Falcon
What is the difference between inlaws and outlaws?
Outlaws are wanted! (or You can shoot outlaws!)
Interesting Fact: When hunting, Peregrines start by watching from a high perch or by flapping slowly or soaring at great height. Stoops begin 300–3,000 feet above their prey and end either by grabbing the prey or by striking it with the feet hard enough to stun or kill it. They then catch the bird and bite through the neck to kill it. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Peregrine_Falcon/lifehistory )
F/6.3, 1/400, ISO 1600.
Hooded Merganser ( Male )
Did you hear that all the toilets at the police station were stolen?
Yeah… the cops got nothing to go on.
Interesting Fact: Hooded Merganser ducklings leave their nest cavity within 24 hours of hatching. First, their mother checks the area around the nest and calls to the nestlings from ground level. From inside the nest, the little fluffballs scramble up to the entrance hole and then flutter to the ground, which may be 50 feet or more below them. In some cases they have to walk half a mile or more with their mother to the nearest body of water. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hooded_Merganser )
F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 400.
Ruddy Duck ( Juvenile )
Why are elephants such poor dancers?
Because they have two left feet.
Interesting Fact: Ruddy Ducks get harassed by Horned Grebes, Pied-billed Grebes, and American Coots during the breeding season. The grebes sometimes attack Ruddy Ducks from below the water, a behavior known as “submarining.” ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruddy_Duck )
F/6.3, 1/500, ISO 250.
Hooded Merganser ( Female )
What insect runs away from everything?
A flea!
Interesting Fact: Once a female begins incubating eggs her mate abandons her, and it’s not known if they reunite the following season. Incubating females may use a broken-wing display to protect eggs or nestlings from raccoons, mink, black rat snakes, black bears, pine martens, European Starlings, Northern Flickers, Red-headed Woodpeckers, and Red-bellied Woodpeckers. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Hooded_Merganser/lifehistory )
F/6.3, 1/250, ISO 800.
White-Tailed Deer ( Fawn )
Which branch of the military do babies join?
The infantry!
Interesting Fact: White tailed deer can run as fast as 36 mph, jump as high as 8 1/2 feet, and leap as far as 30 feet. They are also very good swimmers. ( https://www.brighthub.com/environment/science-environmental/articles/48142.aspx )
