F/6.3, 1/6, ISO 100.
Great Blue Heron
Why couldn’t the pirate play cards?
Because he was sitting on the deck!
Interesting Fact: Great Blue Herons generally move away from the northern edge of their breeding range in winter, with some flying as far south as the Caribbean. Populations in the Pacific Northwest and south Florida are present year-round. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Blue_Heron/maps-range )
F/8.0, 1/250, ISO 320.
Brown Creeper
Past, present and future walk into a bar.
It was tense!
Interesting Fact: The Brown Creeper spends most of its time spiraling up tree trunks in search of insects. It holds its short legs on either side of its body, with the long, curved claws hooking into the bark, and braces itself with its long, stiff tail. Both feet hop at the same time, making the bird’s head duck after each hop. Because of its specialized anatomy, the Brown Creeper rarely climbs downward: once high in a tree, it flies down to begin a new ascent at the base of a nearby tree. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Creeper/lifehistory )
F/6.3, 1/125, ISO 1000.
Northern Cardinal ( Male )
Did you hear the joke about the roof?
Never mind, it’s over your head!
Interesting Fact: Males sometimes bring nest material to the female, who does most of the building. She crushes twigs with her beak until they’re pliable, then turns in the nest to bend the twigs around her body and push them into a cup shape with her feet. The cup has four layers: coarse twigs (and sometimes bits of trash) covered in a leafy mat, then lined with grapevine bark and finally grasses, stems, rootlets, and pine needles. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/lifehistory )
F/6.3, 1/160, ISO 160.
Wood Duck
What do you call an old snowman?
Water!
Interesting Fact: Breeding pairs search for nest cavities during early morning. The male stands outside as the female enters and examines the site. They typically choose a tree more than 1 foot and often 2 feet in diameter, with a cavity anywhere from 2–60 feet high (higher sites seem to be preferred). ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Duck/lifehistory )
F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 250.
Tufted Titmouse
A husband and a wife purchased an old home in Northern New York State from two elderly sisters. Winter was fast approaching and the years first snow came early and they were concerned about the house’s lack of insulation.
“If they could live here all those years, so can we!” a husband confidently declared.
One November night the temperature plunged to below zero, and they woke up to find interior walls covered with frost.
A husband called the sisters to ask how they had kept the house warm.
After a rather brief conversation, he hung up.
“For the past 30 years,” he muttered,
“they’ve gone to Florida for the winter.”
Interesting Fact: Titmice build cup-shaped nests inside the nest cavity using damp leaves, moss and grasses, and bark strips. They line this cup with soft materials such as hair, fur, wool, and cotton, sometimes plucking hairs directly from living mammals. Naturalists examining old nests have identified raccoon, opossum, dog, fox squirrel, red squirrel, rabbit, horse, cow, cat, mouse, woodchuck, and even human hair in titmouse nests. Nest construction takes 6 to 11 days. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Tufted_Titmouse/lifehistory )
F/6.3, 1/60, 500.
Downy Woodpecker
What do snowmen eat for breakfast?
Frosted Flakes.
Interesting Fact: An active woodpecker that moves quickly over tree trunks, branches, and stems of grasses and wildflowers, characteristically leaning against its stiffened tail feathers for support. Downy Woodpeckers move horizontally and downwards on trees much more readily than most other woodpeckers. You may also see them perched atop tall weeds such as goldenrod in late summer, hammering away at a plant gall to get at the larva inside. Occasionally hops on the ground for food. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Downy_Woodpecker/lifehistory )
F/11.0, 1/125, ISO 125.
Cooper’s Hawk
Why was the snowman sad?
Cause he had a meltdown.
Interesting Fact: Cooper’s Hawks build nests in pines, oaks, Douglas-firs, beeches, spruces, and other tree species, often on flat ground rather than hillsides, and in dense woods. Nests are typically 25-50 feet high, often about two-thirds of the way up the tree in a crotch or on a horizontal branch. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Coopers_Hawk/lifehistory )
F/9.0, 1/320, ISO 250.
Common Eider ( Males )
What did Detective Duck say to his partner?
“Let’s quack this case!”
Interesting Fact: A famous colony lives on the Farne Islands in Northumberland, Britain. These birds were the subject of one of the first ever bird protection laws, established by Saint Cuthbert in the year 676. About 1,000 pairs still nest there every year. ( https://identify.whatbird.com/obj/1095/overview/Common_Eider.aspx )
Happy Valentines Day!
F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 200.
Snowy Egret
How did the telephone propose to its girlfriend?
He gave her a ring.
Interesting Fact: Male Snowy Egrets fight for breeding territories, choose nest sites, and perform noisy courtship displays to attract mates. A ring of other egrets often gathers around a displaying male as he pumps his body up and down, points his bill skyward, and calls. He also performs aerial displays, including one that ends with him dropping toward the ground while tumbling around and around. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snowy_Egret/lifehistory )
F/10.0, 1/400, ISO 200.
Brown Pelican
How do you make holy water?
Boil the hell out of it!
Interesting Fact: Though they have an awkward gait on land, Brown Pelicans are strong swimmers and masterful fliers. They fly to and from their fishing grounds in V-formations or lines just above the water’s surface. They and the closely related Peruvian Pelican are the only pelican species to perform spectacular head-first dives (typically ending in a huge splash visible from far away) to trap fish. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown_Pelican/lifehistory )
Through Open Lens 