Here is a goldfinch flying toward one of my feeders. I took this photo about three weeks ago. I cropped this a lot; the original photo had a tree on the left and a bird feeder on the right. with a whole lot of space below. The bird probably took up 1/100th of the original photograph. My camera resolution is 32.5 Mpi; I wish it was higher there'd be more detail. Regardless, I still like the photo.
I'm a little bit excited to share this photo. It's one of the better photos of a black vulture in flight that I've taken.
Two of these birds rose out of the forest near my house while we were out walking and caught me completely off guard. I think they may have a roost close by.
I believe there is a turkey vulture roost close by as well. Years ago I used to run right by them every morning. But that road has since been paved and they probably moved deeper into the forest away from the road.
"One-on-one at a carcass, Black Vultures lose out to the slightly larger Turkey Vulture. But flocks of Black Vultures can quickly take over a carcass and drive the more solitary Turkey Vultures away." - allaboutbirds.org
This is a good photo of a tufted titmouse flying. I have a whole sequence of the bird approaching the feeder, taking off again, and landing in a tree. There are a lot of goo photos in the sequence, but this is the best.
"The Tufted Titmouse's name derives from the Old English words "tit" and "mase," basically meaning "small bird." The word "mase" eventually became obsolete and this part of the name morphed into the familiar word "mouse," a convenient switch because the quick-moving little gray bird probably reminded people of the small rodent." - abcbirds.org
This photo is slightly out of focus. The bird flew off as I was trying to photograph it and I just managed to capture its image in the bottom left corner of the frame.
Even out of focus, it's a pretty photo of a blue jay in flight.
{"In comparison to other birds, Blue Jays fly quite slowly at 20 to 25 miles per hour. Ducks can fly at about 60 miles per hour, so in comparison, Blue Jays’ flight is leisurely." - birdfeederhub.com
This is Ben during our walk about a week ago. He had been to Miss Millie's (groomer). He always gets a neckerchief when he goes there. Ben will be 14 in March.
This little chickadee was dashing in and out of the feeder yesterday. I caught up with it in an oak tree using the limb to break a seed that it made off with.
"The Black-capped Chickadee hides seeds and other food items to eat later. Each item is placed in a different spot and the chickadee can remember thousands of hiding places." - allaboutbirds.org
"The Turkey Vulture uses its sense of smell to locate carrion. The part of its brain responsible for processing smells is particularly large, compared to other birds. Its heightened ability to detect odors—it can detect just a few parts per trillion—allows it to find dead animals below a forest canopy. The Turkey Vulture maintains stability and lift at low altitudes by holding its wings up in a slight dihedral (V-shape) and teetering from side to side while flying. It flies low to the ground to pick up the scent of dead animals." - allaboutbirds.org
I wasn't going to post this photo because I don't particularly like how the photo came out or the composition. But today I change my mind ... about posting it anyway. It is a bit interesting.
"The Turkey Vulture’s stomach acid is extremely acidic, so Turkey Vultures can digest just about anything. This also allows them to eat carcasses tainted with anthrax, tuberculosis, and rabies without getting sick. By taking care of the carrion, vultures provide an essential service for the health of our ecosystems. Without them, carcasses would accumulate, and diseases would spread from rotting flesh." allaboutbirds.org
This isn't my backyard, though I wish it was ... except for hurricane season. This was at Holly Beach, Louisiana, on the Guld of Mexico. It's near the Sabine pass which seems to be a favorite route for hurricanes when they come this way.
"Flashing slender, silvery wings and an elegantly forked tail, Forster's Terns cruise above the shallow waters of marshes and coastlines looking for fish. These medium-sized white terns are often confused with the similar Common Tern, but Forster’s Terns have a longer tail and, in nonbreeding plumage, a distinctive black eye patch. Where Common breeds on outer beaches and barrier islands, Forster’s nests farther inland, on edges of freshwater marshes and saltmarshes. It is the only medium-sized tern species found in the United States mainland in winter." - allaboutbirds.org
The photo quality of this picture isn't great, but it is interesting. There are two goldfinches just arriving at the feeder. The goldfinch, still in flight, seems to communicate something to the other goldfinch.
"Paired-up goldfinches make virtually identical flight calls; goldfinches may be able to distinguish members of various pairs by these calls." - allaboutbirds.org
These guys found my feeder, now I think they spend more time at my house than they do at Walmart. They're not dumb birds, I think that they have a look out somewhere so that they know when I fill up the feeder.
"Pigeons come in many different shades and plumage patterns. People have named some of the common forms, so keep an eye out for these varieties: The typical “blue-bar” form (a bluish-gray bird with two black bands on the wing and a black tip to the tail); a “red bar” version (similarly marked, but with rusty red replacing bluish gray); “checker” (birds that have spots on the wings); “spread” (all black or all gray); “pied” (birds of any color that are splotched with white); and mostly red or mostly white forms." - allaboutbirds.org
I have a growing library of red-bellied woodpecker photos. From time-to-time, I see them at the edge of the forest behind my home. They sometimes also visit my bird feeder and make a mess looking for a raisin or a peanut. I've set out a couple feeders specifically for woodpeckers, but so far haven't seen any at those feeders.
"Red-bellied Woodpeckers are pale, medium-sized woodpeckers common in forests of the East. Their strikingly barred backs and gleaming red caps make them an unforgettable sight – just resist the temptation to call them Red-headed Woodpeckers, a somewhat rarer species that's mostly black on the back with big white wing patches. Learn the Red-bellied's rolling call and you’ll notice these birds everywhere." - allaboutbirds.org
I took this photograph at the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge.
"The great egret (Ardea alba, family Ardeidae) is known by other names such as great white or common egret. One of the most widely-distributed birds in the temperate and warm tropical belts of the world, it thrives in the South American rainforests and the southern states of the U.S. It is most commonly confused with the great white heron." - birdeden.com
This ship was a lot further off than is appears in this photograph taken across the wetlands. I was at the Sabine National Wildlife refuge, and think I was facing east or maybe Southeast. So, where was this ship at? Probably in Calcasieu Lake, a very large brackish lake to the east that is connected to the Gulf of Mexico by the Calcasieu Ship Channel. The locals call it Big Lake.
This little bird is clearly demonstrating its acrobatic abilities.
"Tufted Titmice often line the inner cup of their nest with hair, sometimes plucked directly from living animals. The list of hair types identified from old nests includes raccoons, opossums, mice, woodchucks, squirrels, rabbits, livestock, pets, and even humans." - allaboutbirds.org
This woodpecker was around the backside of my property yesterday afternoon.
"Red-bellied Woodpeckers bring bright colors and entertaining action to bird feeders. If you live near any wooded patches, you may be able to attract them using feeders filled with suet (in winter), peanuts, and sometimes sunflower seeds" - allaboutbirds.org.
This is the only view I have with both the male and female fully in the same frame. Unfortunately, they didn't do me a solid by getting closer together 😅. In this photo, the female is at the top and the male below. If you look very closely at the bird on the bottom, you'll see a reddish tint to that thick stipe extending back from his beak.
I had several conversations with Mastodon friends yesterday about woodpeckers. Some people shared interesting photos and videos of different species of woodpecker. A mastodon friend helped me distinguish between the male and female pleated. On the male thick part of the strip extending back from the beak is red or reddish. So here is another photo. This photo is a female.
This is my absolute favorite vulture photo. I found these vultures in a tree on a creek near the Kisatchie National Forest. I had to stop my car, flashers on, in the middle of a bridge to take photos. Fortunately, there wasn't much traffic. I'll almost certainly post these birds again on Halloween.
Black Vultures lack a voice box and so their vocal abilities are limited to making raspy hisses and grunts. - allaboutbirds.org
I was outside yesterday photographing some chipping sparrows, when I noticed other small birds among them. It just so happens, a Mastodon friend told me a few days ago that he saw some of these. So, I was kind of watching for them.
"Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you." - Nathaniel Hawthorne
📷 Just for fun, here is a random photo from my collection of beautiful places lost in time. Would you like to hear its story? Ask me a question in the comments!
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“All shadows of clouds the sun cannot hide
like the moon cannot stop oceanic tide;
but a hidden star can still be smiling
at night's black spell on darkness, beguiling” - Munia Khan
I really love this photo. Ben is the smaller "yorkish" dog, he's also the oldest and therefore holds the revered title of "Top Dog." Charlie is the border collie; he is forever by my side. I posted a photo I took with my phone yesterday. This photo is much better. We go for a walk in the woods almost every day, usually in the morning.
This photo was pretty good except the bird wasn't entirely in the frame. So, with a bit of cropping I was able to use the photo and capture that piercing green eye.
"The oldest recorded Neotropic Cormorant was at least 11 years, 9 months old when it was found in Louisiana." - allaboutbirds.org