Tag: wildlife

Nicobar Pigeon

Nicobar Pigeon

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

Sandra J’s Into the Light Adventures

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

By Sandra J

Guira Cuckoo Birds

Guira Cuckoo Birds

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

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

By Sandra J

One More New Bird

One More New Bird

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

Artistry in Nature

Artistry in Nature

Artistry in Nature, The Wing, it never ceases to amaze me, the intricate detail and design of the wing on all of the birds. I count at least 10 different lengths of feathers on this white pelicans wing. But they look so perfectly in line and a master of art itself from our creator.

Each feather with a purpose that only the designer knows exactly why and how it works. If someone asked me to design a wing. I would just make all the feathers the same because I don’t actually know the true purpose of all the different lengths.

But they are beautiful to look at.

Artistry in Nature

Perfect Bird for January

Perfect Bird for January

Perfect Bird for January – The Snowy Egret, a beautiful display of flowing snow white feathers on this bird. Being there is a lot of cold and blizzard type weather moving across the states. Even down south here along the coast, the temps are cold and high winds.

Bundle up Buttercup, more cold weather coming.

Perfect Bird for January
Perfect Bird for January

Perfect Bird for January

Pet Portraits

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Sandra J

Gulls in Flight

Gulls in Flight

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.

Gulls in Flight

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.

diving gull

Gulls in Flight

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Finally Photographed a Bird

Finally Photographed a Bird

Finally Photographed a Bird – This is the first bird photo I have taken in quite awhile. I have not seen many on our travels this fall.

This is a mockingbird that sat very patiently in this holly tree. I love that shot with the red berries and blue sky with the bird.

Hopefully I will be seeing more birds again soon

Finally Photographed a Bird

Finally Photographed a Bird

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Eagles in the Corn Fields

Eagles in the Corn Fields

Eagles in the Corn Fields , this is a new sight for me to see eagles in a corn field after harvest. I have only seen eagles by water or where we live, if there is a carcass in the ditch, you will sometimes see an eagle there as well.

This field had about 12 eagles on it, but this one below was the closest one. Amazing birds.

Iowa Eagles

Eagles in the Corn Fields
Eagles in the Corn Fields

Eagles in the Corn Fields

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

The Pileated Woodpecker

The Pileated Woodpecker

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.

The Pileated Woodpecker

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.

The Pileated Woodpecker

I photographed this one below in Montana.

pileated woodpecker

The Pileated Woodpecker

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Nature is a Perfect Example

Nature is a Perfect Example

Nature is a Perfect Example teaching us about life and survival. I have always been fascinated by observing nature, learning from it, watching how animals survive. Photography has really enhanced this study as I have to be in nature and wait patiently as I watch everything from birds, animals and even flowers and trees, go about their daily task called life.

How does something as tiny as a hummingbird survive looking for food, raising babies? Let alone wondering how they migrate thousands of miles every year. Instinct, DNA, survival mechanism that were given to them.

Ruby Throated Hummingbird

I was walking past my garden and a shinny reflection caught my eye, tiny ruby colors glistening in the sunshine on a leaf. I moved to look closer and it was gone. I went around to the other side of the leaf and their it was, the most beautiful color, shinning bright as the sunlight caressed these 3 little feathers stuck on a leaf.

They are 3 of the smallest feathers I have ever picked up. They are from the throat area of the Ruby Throated Hummingbird. They are so small I could barely keep them in my hand as I took them inside to get a photo of these marvelous little shinny feathers.

I put them next to a penny so you can see the size comparison. The hummingbirds sit on my fence around my garden and groom themselves. So this tiny feather probably fell out, right below the fence on a leaf.

Watching and learning from birds makes me think about how they survive on a daily bases. They search for food, they feed their family’s and themselves. Plus they appear to be happy, they enjoy sitting on a fence in the sunshine watching what is going on around them. I do that as well, sitting on my porch, not a fence. 🙂

But, “𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕎𝕆ℝ𝕃𝔻 𝕚𝕤 increasingly 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 to 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐮𝐬. Happiness isn’t very good for the economy. If we were happy with what we had, why would we need more? How do you sell an anti-ageing moisturizer? You make someone worry about ageing. How do you get people to vote for a political party? You make them worry about immigration. How do you get them to buy insurance? By making them worry about everything. How do you get them to have plastic surgery? By highlighting their physical flaws.

To be calm becomes a kind of revolutionary act.

To be happy with your own non-upgraded existence. To be comfortable with our messy, human selves, would not be good for business.”

– Matt Haig,

Be the change! Learn how to be happy with what you have. Reprogram your mindset for positive outlook gratitude, calmness and most importantly 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕.

Reprogram and remove programming/conditioning that no longer serves you, the self limiting beliefs that keep you from growing to your full potential. ❤️

Have a wonderful weekend. 🙂

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Percentage of Bad Photos

Percentage of Bad Photos

Percentage of Bad Photos – What is the percentage on average of photos that don’t make the cut and end up on the editing floor so to speak.

Well on average 2 out of 20 photos will be good when you are photographing a series or trying to follow a subject like wildlife.

Here are some perfect examples. I am trying to photograph this red squirrel, who by the way can move very fast.

Leaf in the way, no good

Percentage of Bad Photos

Not a fast enough shutter speed at all

Not fast enough yet

Percentage of Bad Photos

Below is a short video showing this squirrel moving so quickly, you can see why they are hard to photograph. I put the music from mission impossible movie with this clip. It fits pretty well 🙂 or click here; Mission Impossible Red Squirrel

Red Squirrel on a mission impossible to sneak some food. #shorts

Oh the expression, he seems a bit perturbed with me and would rather eat in peace. Bird seed doesn’t come free for these guys, the deal is they have to get their photos taken. I am pretty sure they signed a contract somewhere along the line. Maybe just in my mind. 🙂

Come back here

Who knows what happened here

The odds are right on, I had two good photos out of 18. I did not put all the bad ones on here. Just keep that in mind when you are out taking photos. They will never all be perfect, but photography is like playing golf to me. When you get that one awesome shot, it just makes me want to keep going and do more. Have a great weekend.

Have a great weekend. 🙂

Percentage of Bad Photos

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Wings Touching Water

Wings Touching Water

Wings Touching Water – Awhile back I had mentioned how I wanted to take more photo of birds in flight with their wings just grazing the water. Well, pelicans are a good one for doing this because they ride the updrafts along the water, so they can glide for long periods of time and then flap their wings and stay close to the water.

So when we went back north this past spring, we had to stop at the Mississippi river, where you will always find some white pelicans and I was able to add a couple more photos to the list.

Wings Touching Water
Wings Touching Water

Wings Touching Water

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Mother and Fawn

Mother and Fawn

Mother and Fawn – Well mom is finally bringing her baby out into the open with her. This female deer below is the oldest of the adults, she has seniority over all the others ones and lets them know it if they get to close to the feeders when she is around. I know her now because of her size and a dark spot on the side of her neck.

Mother and Fawn

This fawn is a little older now and still has a few of its white spots across its body.

I snapped this photo just right, looks like she got a taste of some sour corn off of the ground.

Mother and Fawn
Mother and Fawn

Mother and Fawn

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

The Colors of Summer

The Colors of Summer

The Colors of Summer, I believe I mentioned awhile ago that the hummingbirds seems to have already left my area. Well, they are back, or they were just waiting for all my flowers to bloom so they could enjoy them.

I planted lots of zinnia’s and cosmos and a few other things to bring bright colors to my yard for the hummingbirds and butterfly’s.

They are buzzing all around the gardens, enjoying the warm weather and bountiful nectar found all around my yard. This has been the best year for flowers for me. I planted them all over 2 months ago and thought they were never going to make it for the birds, bees and butterflies, but they did.

So much fun out in the gardens this month.

The Colors of Summer
The Colors of Summer

Oh, and the little goldfinches are enjoying my bird bath as well.

The Colors of Summer

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Photographing Star Trail Circles

Photographing Star Trail Circles

Photographing Star Trail Circles – another goal of mine is to photograph a circle of star trails, a full circle with no obstructions in the foreground. Finding the spot and the right conditions is the challenge more so then actually taking the photo.

I live in dark sky country, so that makes it much easier to accomplish this task. Well, a couple of days ago I went to a lake that I knew had a clear view to the north and I though that would have plenty of space to photograph the circle of stars.

But what I did not think of, is that even after the sun went down behind the horizon, the glow of the sun would still linger way past sunset with no obstructions to hide the last bit of light. Which made it more difficult to find the north star.

I used a compass to find due north, but as you can see in this first photo I was off center and the north star is to the left. Plus the mist coming off the lake kept blurring the lens. But it sure was fun trying to get the shot.

Photographing Star Trail Circles

Not this photo is from my yard, I know where the north star is and as you can see I have a lot of trees blocking the full circle effect. But I will find a location yet to accomplish this task.

Photographing Star Trail Circles

On our way home at midnight, we stopped at a lake that I knew at a clear view to the south and photographed the milky way over the water.

I did a little photo light painting as I shined my flashlight on the water to light it up for this first photo. The second photo is without the extra light.

Photographing Star Trail Circles

Adventures await everyday, sometimes right outside out own backdoors.

Have a great weekend.

Photographing Star Trail Circles

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Snow in August

Snow in August

Snow in August – no, 🙂 these photos are from 2 years ago. I have not seen snow in 2 years and that is ok with me. But I do enjoy looking at the photos I have taken of snow and deer in the snow.

We are preparing to head south already, time to go visit family and put the lawn mowers away. I love the autumn season and traveling when it isn’t so hot out as well.

Snow in August
Snow in August

Snow in August

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

White Tailed Deer

White Tailed Deer

White Tailed Deer – Wildlife has been very scarce this year. Normally there are over a dozen deer around here and this year I have seen 2 adult female deer. This one has a fawn running around, I have seen it a couple of times, still has its spots on it.

But it is just starting to come out of the woods with mom, so hopefully I will get a few photos of the fawn soon to share here.

White Tailed Deer

Below is a short video of mama deer looking for some food out of my feeder, or click here; White Tailed Deer Standing

Just looking for some food, Mama white tailed deer. #shorts

White Tailed Deer

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts

Black Bear Trail Cam Video

Black Bear Trail Cam Video

Black Bear Trail Cam Video – here are a few more photos of last years younger black bear that came to visit with his mom and this years young bear.

American Black Bear

I added a short clip from my trail camera of the bear that visited this year below. This clip is not on You Tube so there isn’t a link to it. You would probably have to click visit page in reader to see this clip. It shows the young bear and how it stands up to check out the empty feeder.

American Black Bear

Below is what happened when the bear finally saw me. I did not know they could run that fast.

American Black Bear

Sandra J

Sandra J’s Photography & Fine Arts