This Post Is For The Birds!
Some older pictures of my avian friends.
Clicking on any picture will enlarge it, and links are provided for more information on the birds.
I was digging through my two decades of old digital photos, looking for a couple of specific ones for an upcoming PCLG post. I came across quite a few favorites from 2013 which I copied into a folder to share with you. One of the overarching themes is birds. I take a lot of bird pictures and some of them are worth seeing again.
First up, the one I call Launch!
This is a male Eastern Bluebird that was sitting in a tree, waiting patiently for a spot to open up at one of my feeders. While it waited patiently, so did I. My patience was rewarded with this shot of it stepping off the branch before nosing over and winging down for a spot of breakfast.
This one is Office Robin.
This American Robin was perched atop a pine tree outside an office complex. It wasn’t singing, just sitting, watching the world go by.
This is Mrs. Cardinal’s Snowy Dinner.
I got this shot of a female Northern Cardinal at one of my feeders, getting some late day food during a light snow.
A couple of days ago I posted in Notes a picture of a bluebird on a Revolutionary War cannon at the Yorktown Battlefield. I called it the Bluebird of Artilleryness. This one is the Bluebird of Hypothermia.
During a light snow this male Eastern Bluebird was sitting on the railing of our back deck.
This is Duck, Duck, Coot!
While working as a faceless bureaucrat at the Ohio Department of Public Safety in Columbus, I would frequent a large park not far from my office during my lunch breaks. I saw this pair of Mallard ducks and an American Coot swimming together, hence the title which is a play on the children’s game, Duck, Duck, Goose! What’s not pictured here (because I didn’t even try to get a picture of it) is that, just seconds before this picture was taken, the Mallards were getting, um, amorous. This is them in the post-coital afterglow.
The day after the picture above, I went back to the park to see if I could get another picture of a Coot. I did and titled it Run, Mud Hen! Run!
American Coots, also known as mud hens, only migrate through Columbus so they aren’t commonly seen. They also hold a special place in my heart because the AAA baseball team from my hometown are the Toledo Mud Hens.
Mud hens, like all waterfowl, have a take off run - literally - before they become airborne. Coot’s are longer than most, with six splashes being visible in this frame, but there were a couple both before and after I pressed the shutter.
Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to Mrs. Redbelly!
This female Red-Bellied Woodpecker was looking for some grub (or, more accurately, grubs) in the bark of one of our hickory trees.
A Shout Out To My Peeps!
There was a Carolina Wren that called dibs on our backyard as its territory. Here it is atop our contorted filbert tree, vocally staking its claim.
Be Sure To Get My Good Side.
Mourning Doves were fond of sunning themselves on our deck railing, and would pose nicely for me.
I’ve been wracking my brain for a while and for the life of me cannot come up with a title for this one, so here’s a Northern Flicker.
Flickers are woodpeckers but they spend most of their foraging time on the ground, looking for ants and beetles.
I’m going to end this post on a contentious note. This picture is titled This Feeder Ain’t Big Enough For The Two Of Us.
On the right, we have a Common Grackle, while on the left is a Blue Jay. Neither is pleased to see the other, even though I ensure there’s enough food for everyone.
So that’s it for now. Thanks for looking/reading, and if you liked this, please hit the heart-shaped Like button!
2W:LYK