The Scarlet Ibis

The Scarlet Ibis

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The Scarlet Ibis

The scarlet ibis, sometimes called red ibis (Eudocimus ruber), is a species of ibis in the bird family Threskiornithidae. It inhabits tropical South America and part of the Caribbean. In form, it resembles most of the other twenty-seven extant species of ibis, but its remarkably brilliant scarlet coloration makes it unmistakable.

The Scarlet Ibis
The Scarlet Ibis

This picture below is a photo that I took in Louisiana, the white Ibis. My first time seeing an Ibis bird.

Have a great weekend.

The Scarlet Ibis

Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

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Pied Imperial Pigeon

Pied Imperial Pigeon

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Pied Imperial Pigeon

The pied imperial pigeon (Ducula bicolor) is a relatively large, pied species of pigeon. It is found in forest, woodland, mangrove, plantations and scrub in Southeast Asia, ranging from Myanmar and Thailand, throughout Indonesia and east to the Philippines 

Pied Imperial Pigeon

Pied Imperial Pigeon

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Nicobar Pigeon

Nicobar Pigeon

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Nicobar Pigeon – the most brilliant colors I think I have ever seen on a bird.

One of the most beautiful breeds of Columbidae, the Nicobar pigeon is the only remaining living member of the genus Caleonas.

This might not mean anything to a casual bird lover, but it means that the Nicobar pigeon is believed to be the closest living relative of the dodo, the extinct bird that has come to be a symbol of extinct animals all over the world.

Nicobar Pigeon

The Nicobar pigeon, as the name suggests, originated in the Islands of Nicobar.

These islands are a union territory of India along with the Andaman Islands (home of the rare Andaman wood pigeon) and lie in the eastern Indian Ocean.

Nicobar Pigeon

The Nicobar pigeon is known not only in Nicobar but also Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands

Nicobar Pigeon

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Guira Cuckoo Birds

Guira Cuckoo Birds

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Guira Cuckoo Birds – South America Birds

Guira Cuckoos are omnivores and groups will forage together for insects, frogs, eggs, large arthropods such as spiders, crabs, etc., and small mammals such as mice, as well as the nestlings of small birds. Their beak is thick and has a downward curve, which is designed for eating meat. They belong to the same family as the Roadrunner.

Guira Cuckoo Birds

They are very noisy birds and make a wide variety of noises, including yodels, guttural calls, gargled trills, and whistles. And, like other cuckoos, they give off a very strong odor.

Guira Cuckoo Birds

Guira Cuckoo Birds

Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures

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Unique Cool Birds

Unique Cool Birds

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Unique Cool Birds – My first bird I am going to show you is from Australia, it is called a Masked Lapwing.

The Masked Lapwing gets its name from the bright yellow wattles (the fleshy bit of skin that roosters and turkeys also have) on its face and the ‘lapping’ sound its slow wing beats make.

The Masked Lapwing, also known as a plover, has an eerie call most often heard at night – ‘kekekekekekekek’.

I picked this bird first because I follow a blogger named, aussiebirder

Blogging site link here; Aussiebirder

I love reading is blogs. He is a birder with his wife and he shows the most colorful birds I have ever seen. We have a lot here in the states. But, I think they might have quite a few more over there. Check out his site to see his photos, creative writings and videos of birds from Australia.

These birds coming up next week are from the Mississippi Aquarium, they have an Aviary there, which means all the birds can fly around and swim in the pond, and forage in the grasses. They are not free of course, but they are well fed and taken care of so that they stay healthy and live long lives.

Unique Cool Birds

Birds in the wild have more risk of fatality these days with being hit by cars, windmills and bad weather. Migration routes are in danger because of all the light noise at night. The majority of birds fly at night when they migrate and all the lights on the earth make it harder for them to get where they are going.

Last year I noticed a huge decrease in song birds in the area where I live. Which is one of the farthest regions for a lot of birds to migrate. I hope this summer more song birds will come back to my area.

Have a great weekend. 🙂

Unique Cool Birds

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Well Cared For

Well Cared For

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Well Cared For and well fed these dolphins at the Mississippi Aquarium. They get lots of attention from the trainers and lots of activities to keep them in great shape.

Well Cared For

People are always excited to see dolphins. I am thinking because they look like they are smiling all the time and having fun in the water.

Well Cared For

Here the only photo I took from inside the aquarium. Sometimes one has to put the camera down and just enjoy what it is front of us. Plus shooting through thick glass doesn’t make the best photos. 🙂

Well Cared For

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Dolphins in the Wild

Dolphins in the Wild

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Dolphins in the Wild – I see dolphins a lot when I am on the gulf coast. But, never jumping out of the water when I am just walking on the beach. I mostly see their fin and part of the body is all.

Dolphins in the Wild
Dolphins Rounding Up Fish at a Beach - Blue Heron Standing by Incase they Send Some Fish His Way

Below is a quick video I took of a couple of dolphins rounding up fish next to the beach as a Blue Heron paced back and forth watching them, as if it was trying to tell the dolphins to move the fish just a little closer so he could have one also.

Link to Dolphins on the Gulf Coast

Dolphins in the Wild

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Mississippi Aquarium

Mississippi Aquarium

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Mississippi Aquarium – Last week I ended with a post telling you about some very colorful birds coming up next. First I must show you where I saw these birds, because most of them are from other country’s.

I am talking about a fairly new Aquarium in Gulfport Mississippi, right next to the coast. A fellow camper told us about this place so we headed on over. It is a wonderful drive along the coast line to get to this aquarium.

Mississippi Aquarium

Mississippi Aquarium is a nonprofit public aquarium located in Gulfport, Mississippi; it opened August 29, 2020. The 5.8-acre, complex incorporates both indoor and outdoor habitats with more than 200 species of animals and 50 species of native plants.

First the star of the aquarium is the dolphins for sure. They have lots of fish inside and these two beautiful guys outside.

I will get to the birds in a couple more days.

Mississippi Aquarium

Mississippi Aquarium

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Panorama Photos

Panorama Photos

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Panorama Photos – sometimes I forget I have the panorama setting on my phone and cameras. They make for very interesting photos. The first photo was taken with that setting at sunset on the Gulf Coast.

I always want to try new things with photography. So much out there to see in so many different ways when it comes to the artist perspective.

Panorama Photos

Panorama Photos

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A Story Line

A Story Line

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A Story Line from these photos. Photos can speak so many different languages to the viewer.

This is what I see here; One pelican says to the other.

“George, what do you want to do today?”

George says; ” Not sure, lets see how the morning plays out.”

A Story Line

“What in the world is that George?”

“I don’t know, but it appears to be glowing.”

A Story Line

“Bah ha ha, it is going to be an interesting day”

A Story Line

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One More New Bird

One More New Bird

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One More New Bird – I wasn’t sure what this bird was. A duck or something else. It took awhile to find it in my bird book.

But it is a Clapper Rail, it looks half duck and half something else. Even when I looked up information on this bird, this is what it says.

This bird is a member of the rail family, Rallidae. The taxonomy for this species is confusing and still being determined. It is a large brown rail that is resident in wetlands along the Atlantic coasts of the eastern United States, eastern Mexico and some Caribbean islands.

One More New Bird

One More New Bird

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Group Art Project

Group Art Project

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Group Art Project – at a campground we stayed at this winter, one of the local artist ask me if I would help her with a project she wanted to do. Which would involve having a dozen people help with the project. I said sure, sounds like fun.

So, step one. She drew on a piece of paper her idea of a painting she wanted to do. The photo below shows her rough draft of a bridge in the background, some of the local birds, water, sand, sea grass. She asked me if I could put all these items onto a photos that can be printed.

Group Art Project

I made the print below. It is just what she was thinking about. I used photos that I had taken and made a composite of all the images into one.

I then applied grid lines to the image and printed a 20×30 copy. She cut the image into the 6×6 squares I made and had the volunteers pick a square, they in turn painted that square onto a 6×6 piece of canvas.

They wanted me to paint one, and I am not a painter at all. So I chose the top left square that only had some clouds in it.

Group Art Project

The top left square in this picture below is my attempt to paint the piece I chose. This was actually a very fun project. The idea is that the final art piece will look more like a mosaic piece of art. The teacher of the project said she did not want the painted pieces to be perfect. It was just for fun.

Below is the final piece of art. 24 different people painted the squares. This project is now hanging in the club house at the campground. I am glad I was able to make the template for the project to bring this idea to life.

Group Art Project

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Heat Distortion

Heat Distortion

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Heat Distortion – this light house is about 5 miles out into the gulf, I took this photo from the beach, it almost looks like the light house is floating out there. That is what heat distortion does to a photo.

The further away from the subject of your photograph, the more heat distortion will be present. The further distance means the light travels through more air before reaching you. Therefore, it gets refracted more in areas where heat distortion is present.

A long zoom lens usually means photographing subjects at a greater distance. That greater distance increases the chance that heat distortion can ruin your images. Heat distortion is most prevalent at ground level.

We have a friend that has a smaller boat and has offered to give us a ride out to the light house. But, not for me. He would have to have a much bigger boat. The waves and the tide can change dramatically 5 miles out into the gulf of Mexico. I really don’t need a good picture of this light house that badly.

Besides, there are plenty of photos of this light house on the world wide web, here are a few below so you can see what it looks like.

Heat Distortion

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Ships Passing in the Night

Ships Passing in the Night

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Ships Passing in the Night on the Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin — only a narrow connection to the Atlantic exists as the gulf is surrounded by North America and Cuba.

 It is the ninth largest body of water in the world, covering about 600,000 square miles, and is bordered by five US states in the north, five Mexican states in the west, and Cuba in the southeast.

Almost half of the gulf basin is shallow waters over continental shelves, though it contains a trough that measures as deep as 14,383 feet.

Ship Traffic Density Map of GULF OF MEXICO

They estimate that over 4,000 shipwrecks rest on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico from its nearshore shallows to its deepest abyss.

Ships Passing in the Night

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Springtime With Birds

Springtime With Birds

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Springtime With Birds – springtime means mating season and fighting for territory. It may look like they are just doing a dance according to these photos.

But, they are scraping and chasing each other trying to keep their spot on the river.

Springtime With Birds
Springtime With Birds
dancing egrets
Springtime With Birds

Spring has sprung in some areas, have a wonderful day.

Springtime With Birds

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Easter

Easter

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Easter – they bowed their heads, and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

Easter Monday

Nehemiah 8:6

Have a wonderful weekend.

Easter

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Little Blue Heron

Little Blue Heron

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Little Blue Heron – A new bird for the year. Someone had told me they saw this blue heron and today I went for a walk, and their it was high up in the tree. I wasn’t sure what it was until I got home and looked at the photos.

Adult Little Blue Herons are very dark all over. At close range or in good light, they have a rich purple-maroon head and neck and dark slaty-blue body.

Little Blue Heron

Little Blue Heron

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Sheepshead Fish

Sheepshead Fish

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Sheepshead Fish – One glance at the picture of a sheepshead fish might make you assume this fish has stolen a sailor’s lost pair of dentures from the seafloor! Yes, there is a fish whose teeth are eerily similar to humans.

The teeth are composed of highly mineralized enamel and dentin, two components that also make up human teeth.

Sheep Head Fish

There are two rows of molars on the lower jaw and three rows on the upper jaw. This heavy dentition allows sheepshead fish to crush and grind the shelled creatures that these fish prefer to feed on.

Sheep Head Fish

The Sheepshead fish are finally coming inland, so the fishermen are out. There is a limit of 10 of these fish per person.

Sheepshead Fish

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Sand Dunes or Snow Piles

Sand Dunes or Snow Piles

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Sand Dunes or Snow Piles, well the trees in the background might give it away. But, these are sand dunes, but when I am missing snow, just a little bit. I sure can picture that these are snow piles by a lake.

Today it is 45 degrees down here on the gulf coast. So I can easily picture snow.

Have a great weekend.

Sand Dunes
Sand Dunes

Sand Dunes

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Who Has the Longest Wingspan

Who Has the Longest Wingspan

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Who Has the Longest Wingspan – well the longest wingspan of all birds goes to the Albatross, a wing span of 12 feet. But they fly over the southern oceans and breed on islands just to the north of the Antarctic Circle. So it is a bird I will probably never see.

So lets look at the birds that I have photographed here in the states. My favorite large bird of all is the White Pelican. It’s wingspan comes in at – drum roll please –

7.5 feet to 11.8 feet

Who Has the Longest Wingspan

American Eagle 5.5 feet to 8 feet wing span

The Brown Pelican is – 6 to 7 foot span

Who Has the Longest Wingspan

Great Blue Heron 5.5 to 6.5 feet

Canada Goose 4 to 5 foot span

Wild Turkey has 5 foot span

Who Has the Longest Wingspan

Great Egret – 4.5 foot wing span

wings of an egret

Who Has the Longest Wingspan

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Sea Glass

Sea Glass

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Sea Glass – I have only found a couple pieces of sea glass. I have added them to my collection and am always looking for more.

Sea glass are naturally weathered pieces of glass, which often have the appearance of tumbled stones. Sea glass is physically and chemically weathered glass found on beaches along bodies of salt water. These weathering processes produce natural frosted glass.

Sea Glass
Sea Glass

Sea Glass

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Sandra J

Sandra J

I am a traveling photographer, I like to travel rural America, the roads less traveled when I can. I love the great outdoors, my Photo Galleries contain Landscapes, wild life and a few just for fun photos. Thank you and have a great day.

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