My Second Favorite Bird – The Great Blue Heron photographed in South Carolina at a National Wildlife Refuge
My Second Favorite Bird Have a great week ahead
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
Little Known Fact about the Blue Jays, or maybe others do know this about this colorful bird.
They work together when danger is close by. I have heard others say that blue jays are a pest. Mainly because they kind of hog the bird feeders. Well, they do that, yes. I have seen them, but other birds can be pushy as well, like the grackles and morning doves.
I saw for the first time a Coopers Hawk hanging around my bird feeders this year. It just doesn’t seem right that a bird will eat another bird. Coopers hawks do just that.
We knew when the hawk was in the area because all the blue jays give out warning calls. All of a sudden the hawk is flying after one, as the blue jay gets away. All the blue jays start chasing the hawk.
I will have photos of that tomorrow. I was pretty impressed how these blue jays stuck together to try and chase it off. More tomorrow.
Little Known Fact
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
Discovering the New Bird Sanctuary near Paducah KN. I just looked at the map and saw a green area not far from us. So we took a drive to see what it was.
This area had a nice size man made lake with a road that you can drive all around it. Plenty of habitat for a lot of birds and people out fishing on the lake as well.
We discovered this new bird walking along the shore line.
Dozens of Egrets in the trees and on land. I will definitely be visiting this park again to see more birds.
Discovering the New Bird Sanctuary
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
Shake Shake Shake. After eating its fish dinner, time to shake off the water.
Have a great weekend. 😉
Shake Shake Shake
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
Love of Bird Photography – Some of my favorite shots this summer so far.
Eastern Bluebird on the Fly, update on these birds nesting in my purple martin house. They had 4 babies and I saw one fly out of the bird house with its parent. The other 3 would take turns coming out of the nesting box and sit on the little porch. That is a small space for 4 baby birds so they are all probably about ready to test their wings and fly to a tree.
Female Ruby Throated Hummingbird stopping by the feeder.
Shore bird after a dip in the water
Oh and my favorite, the White Pelican in flight. Nothing I love more than photographing these beautiful birds as they fly right over top of me. It is very hard to hold the camera in a complete vertical position but so worth the efforts. 🙂
Love of Bird Photography
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
Eastern Towhee Bird – this bird was fun to see here in the mid west. I have only seen one of these before and it was out west in Texas. So to see one in Missouri was so fun.
I only saw the one and it was staying put on this log as I looked out the door of the RV, so I quick went and got my camera and opened the door slowly and took the photo.
This one below is the one I photographed in Texas.
Eastern Towhee Bird
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
Good Ole Song Birds, lets start the week with some good ole song birds from the mid west here. One can never go wrong with the cardinals. Spring time means bright red colors for these male cardinals. I have taken many, many photos of these birds, so what keeps me taking more of him?
Well, trying to find a different background to add to the photo. The bird looks about the same in every shot, but it is the background that can be a challenge to change up the photo.
There are lots of different trees these birds land in, so I look for a shot where the trees or branches will make for a new and interesting print.
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
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.
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
By Sandra J
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.
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.
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
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
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.
Spring has sprung in some areas, have a wonderful day.
Springtime With Birds
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
Snow White Feathers – These birds are not hard to find with their snow white feathers, especially in a grassy marsh. I am sharing some of my favorite Egret photos this week.
Snow White Feathers
Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
By Sandra J
Gulls in Flight – Gulls are a very unique bird, some may say they are pest and some may say they are extremely smart.
They are definitely good at finding food or stealing food. But, if you are new at photography and want to learn how to photography birds in flight. Gulls are the perfect subject.
I learned so many better techniques by photographing gulls, because they glide and hover which makes it easier to track them with your camera.
It is fun to get a photo with their maximum wingspan and tail feathers spread out.
Plus they sit still for long periods of time so you can practice your still shots as well.
You may not know this, but they do dive head first into the water to catch a fish now and then.
Gulls in Flight
What’s Up – How you doin?
These two birds were following each other the entire time we were on the beach. One would pick up piece of food or shell and then the other would run right over to check out what he had.
Friendships on the beach
What’s Up
The Black Swan – Normally it was only found in Australia, but with the transporting of rare birds, these swans can be found in the states as well.
This swan I photographed at a campground in New Mexico called Rusty’s RV Ranch where Rusty, who is a woman, had quite a few exotic birds that she took care of. Two black swans included with their own pond, which was nice.
Like most swans, this species has a characteristic “S” shaped neck and a large body. Black swans have one of the longest necks of all swan species relative to their size. They are large birds, with a wingspan of 6 feet or more, and a maximum weight of 20 pounds.
The Black Swan
23 Woodpecker Species native to the United States and I have photographed 9 of them so far.
Starting with the Pileated Woodpecker
Yellow Bellied Sapsucker photographed in Washington
Northern Flicker photographed in Michigan
Red Headed Woodpecker photographed in Illinois
Gila Woodpecker photographed in Arizona
Golden Fronted Woodpecker photographed in Texas
Red Bellied Woodpecker photographed in Iowa
Hairy Woodpecker photographed in Iowa
Downy Woodpecker photographed in the woods somewhere. I can’t remember where I found this one. 🙂
Have a great weekend, September is almost over. Autumn is here, I hope you all get to go outdoors and enjoy the fall weather.
23 Woodpecker Species
Pileated Woodpecker Speed – Pileated Woodpeckers are known for their speed, agility, and power. They are able to fly up to 30 miles per hour and sustain speeds of over 60 miles per hour when diving.
Additionally, Pileated Woodpeckers have been known to use their strong bills to chip away at tree trunks at a rate of up to 20 times per second. This combination of speed and strength makes Pileated Woodpeckers one of the most impressive birds in the Pileated woodpecker family.
I took a lot of photos to get these 4 good ones of this bird in flight. I am using a 600 mm lens and the weight of this camera is about 6 lbs. and moving it back and forth tilted up at the bird is a challenge by itself.
But I always like a good challenge. 🙂
Pileated Woodpecker Speed
The Pileated Woodpecker is one of the biggest, most striking forest birds on the continent. It’s nearly the size of a crow, black with bold white stripes down the neck and a flaming-red crest.
Look (and listen) for Pileated Woodpeckers whacking at dead trees and fallen logs in search of their main prey, carpenter ants, leaving unique rectangular holes in the wood. The nest holes these birds make offer crucial shelter to many species including swifts, owls, ducks, bats, and pine martens.
I normally see 4 of these gorgeous birds around my place all summer long. They are easy to find because of their size and they are actually very fast birds in flight. I actually got a couple photos of them flying I will share on tomorrows post.
I photographed this one below in Montana.
The Pileated Woodpecker
Such a Cool Looking Bird – Many people consider the loon a symbol of wilderness; its rich yodeling and moaning calls, heard by day or night, are characteristic sounds of early summer in the north woods. In winter, silent and more subtly marked.
Common Loons inhabit coastal waters and large southern lakes. In such places they are solitary while feeding, but may gather in loose flocks at night.
Loons are water birds, only going ashore to mate and incubate eggs. Their legs are placed far back on their bodies, allowing efficient swimming but only awkward movement on land.
Loons are like airplanes in that they need a runway for takeoff. In the case of loons, they need from 30 yards up to a quarter-mile (depending on the wind) for flapping their wings and running across the top of the water in order to gain enough speed for lift-off.
Like many young birds, juvenile loons are really on their own after mom and dad leave at about 12 weeks. The parents head off on migration in the fall, leaving juveniles to gather into flocks on northern lakes and make their own journey south a few weeks later. Once the juveniles reach coastal waters on the ocean, they stay there for the next two years. In the third year, young loons return north.
Such a Cool Looking Bird
Teal Colored Eye Shadow – this is an unusual color for the eye shadow of this morning dove. I have never seen this shade before.
I have seen the blue shadow around the red eyes, this is the white winged dove below.
The ringed neck dove below has yellow eye shadow and red eyes.
Have a great weekend.
Teal Colored Eye Shadow
The Hummingbird – they travel over 2,000 miles twice a year. They winter in Central America or Mexico and migrate north to their breeding grounds in the U.S. during late winter and early spring.
When you see what amazing things this tiny little bird can do. It makes me realize there isn’t anything that I can not accomplish. Natures Little Wonders
Have a great weekend.
Have a Great Weekend
The Hummingbird
My Favorite Hummingbird Photos – normally I always have 4 hummingbirds visiting my place. This year I have only see 2. I did not get a chance to photograph them this year and they are gone already. So, here are a few of last years photos.
My Favorite Hummingbird Photos
One in Front of the Other – it is easy to photograph pelicans flying in tandem like this. They are the masters of gliding.
I like these photos because of the clouds in the background, makes it look like they are flying above them from this angle.
Video below or click here; Pelicans Riding the Invisible Updrafts
One in Front of the Other
Goslings Out for a Stroll, a clear bright morning down by the river as the goslings are out for a walk.
Short video below of Geese or Click here; Goslings
Parents are not to far away. These to were getting dive bombed by a small bird in the tree. The one kept turning its head sideways like a dog does with a loud noise.
Goslings Out for a Stroll
Two New Birds – First the Great Crested Flycatcher. I love all the yellow on its belly, it blends so well with the brown wings. Such a pretty bird.
Great Crested Flycatchers are large flycatchers with fairly long and lean proportions. Like many flycatchers they have a powerful build with broad shoulders and a large head. Despite its name, this bird’s crest is not especially prominent. The bill is fairly wide at the base and straight; the tail is fairly long.
I have finally seen the Red Headed Woodpecker. I had seen one in a movie I think and figured they must be rare and that I probably would never see one.
Guess what, this one I spotted in Illinois. I was so surprised. It was very far away and did not let me get to close to take a good photo. Such striking bold colors, add this to the life list.
Two New Birds
No Jumping From Pier – Pelicans Talking
“George, are you going to jump? It says no jumping”
“But look at all those fish down there, I’m jumping”
Woo Hoo
“Look at George go, I’m going next”
Lunch is served
Short video below of Pelicans on the pier. There isn’t a link for this one, so you have to click visit to go to the web page to see it. Have a great weekend.
Have a great weekend.
No Jumping From Pier
It is So Hot – I am a tree
What are you looking at over there?
So many different captions for these photos.
Boo
It is So Hot
Splish Splash I was taking a bath.
Ah hem, a little privacy please. 🙂
Splish Splash
Swallow Tailed Kites, I finally got to see some of these flying high. Some folks told me about this bird when I was down south. They said they only pass through the area and stay for just a few days. They actually look like kites gliding up above.
Swallow-tailed Kites spend most of their time in the air, capturing and swallowing their food in flight. Rarely flapping their wings, they soar and make tight turns, rotating their tail to steer.
Swallow Tailed Kites
Natures Firework Colors – During the 4th of July fireworks displays, they end with what the call the grand finale.
This is natures grand finale for today’s 4th of July. Bright beautiful colors on display right outside all day every day. 🙂
Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts
Natures Firework Colors
