I cropped this in quite a bit to show off the tail feathers of this ruby throated hummingbird. I don't think I have another photograph of one of these birds with tail feathers spread out like this. But, I'll look around. I think this is a female, but it could be a juvenile, there are lots of them around right now.
I learned, sometime and somewhere, that there is no pigment for blue. So the blue you see on this blue jay is merely a trick of light. Same goes for my blue eyes. Don't ask me how that works because I don't know.
"The pigment in Blue Jay feathers is melanin, which is brown. The blue color is caused by scattering light through modified cells on the surface of the feather barbs." - allaboutbirds.org
This cooper's hawk was around a while back and I had the opportunity to get several photographs. This one was just inside the wooded area behind my property.
"Life is tricky for male Cooper’s Hawks. As in most hawks, males are significantly smaller than their mates. The danger is that female Cooper’s Hawks specialize in eating medium-sized birds. Males tend to be submissive to females and to listen out for reassuring call notes the females make when they’re willing to be approached. Males build the nest, then provide nearly all the food to females and young over the next 90 days before the young fledge." - allaboutbirds.org
Foliage is not a photographer's friend, unless, of course, you're photographing foliage, which I sometimes do. The small birds disappear into trees anytime they feel threatened. During the winter, I could still see them and got some pretty good pictures but now when they disappear, they disappear.
We had a false spring this year and leaves started growing early on some trees. Then there was a couple days of freezing weather and those leaves withered. The leaves are just starting to grow again on those trees most of which are still completely bare.
“When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest. The only thing that could spoil a day was people and if you could keep from making engagements, each day had no limits. People were always the limiters of happiness except for the very few that were as good as spring itself.” - Ernest Hemingway
I love this photograph, I may have posted a version of it before, I'm not sure. This is at the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge in Cameraon Parish, Louisiana. It's not far from the Gulf of Mexico. This was a good day for bird photography, there were birds of different species everywhere.
Bob Gruen was sitting up front, taking photos. At the end of the show, a strobe light flashed and Tina Turner danced off of multiple images in the strobe light. Gruen had a few frames left in his camera, and he thought, I wonder what will happen if I take a one-second picture and get a few of these flashes in the same frame?
Gruen took four or five pictures. This one might be one of the best he's ever taken. It captures the excitement and the energy that is Tina.
I felt like a trip to the beach. At least in my photo library. So, here's a ruddy turnstone.
"Walking on wet and slippery rocks can be treacherous for just about anyone without good gripping shoes. Ruddy Turnstones have special feet that are somewhat spiny, with short, sharply curved toenails that help them hold on. They also have a low center of gravity thanks to their short legs that helps keep them anchored." - allaboutbirds.org
The clouds in the sky this morning look pretty ominous. It's supposed to rain today, we'll see.
I went to sleep late last night, at least late for me. I try to be asleep by 10 PM. In the olden days, long ago, I could push that to 4 AM. But those days are long gone. Bottom line, I's still a little sleepy because my buddies were right on time this morning. Ben is snoring.
Speaking of sleep, I have a sleepy internet connection. It's faster than dialup but not by much. It also drops off once a day and that is what just happened, saved my work and rebooted. Perhaps my router is starting to have problems.
"Sleep is a key part of the requirements for resilience and good decision-making. " - James G. Stavridis
I think this is a house finch, in fact I'm pretty sure. But the head looks slightly different, so slight it fuels uncertainty. Also, Merlin Bird ID fails to identify the bird. I could just be that the photo quality isn't good enough.
I don't know what this female ruby-throated hummingbird was doing. But she visited the regular bird feeder. Curiosity maybe? This the first time I've seen that happen.