6/11/09

Nothing really to say....here's a photo of the day

What Luck!

When I have the urge take some pictures and have limited time or no particular destination in mind, I head to the park near our house. There are so many ducks, geese, swans, and cormorants living down there that I can usually find something worth pointing the camera at. It's where I go to practice capturing birds in flight. I went down the other day thinking my primary subject would be the baby ducks, geese and swans that are now arriving. There were none just out in plain view in the pond, so I took a walk around to the far side to check a backwater area where I've found some in the past.

I found one family of ducks and some turtles but nothing else. I was disappointed because they were all in shadow and I wasn't able to get anything worth keeping. As I started back, I noticed something larger and brighter at the far side of this little backwater pond. I had my hunch as to what it was and if I was right, I was going to have to be very sneaky to get a shot at it.

From most points on the trail, I didn't have a clear view because of dense vegetation. But, I finally found a break in the trees and shrubs and I was RIGHT! It was a black crowned night heron.

I've only seen these at a fairly significant distance and they spook easily. But this was my lucky day. Not only was he relatively close, but he was also fishing intently for quite a long time. I'm embarrassed to reveal how many shots I took of this bird but the resulting images were worth it.

This is a series I was fortunate enough to catch. I know there's a little motion blur, it was not a bright area and I was pushing my camera to the low light limit for hand holding. But in this case, I think it works.

Blogger Community Photo Challenge

This is the last challenge until fall so I didn't want to miss is. I decided to share a new addition to my garden, something I've never seen before. I was completely smitten with it at first sight. I love all the texture in the blooms and I really love the color gradient from pink through cream to green. I believe it's supposed to bloom through most of the summer....I sure hope so



Masterwart

Please be sure to visit all the challenge participants listed in the comment section here.

I hope to see everyone back with the challenge in the fall. Please....bring a friend!

Feline, Furball, and Feathers Friday

It's a dog's life and....




Please check here to find the other Feline, Furball and Feathers participants participants.

Feline and Furball Friday

I was just looking over entries that show on this first page and I realized they're ALL birds. Yes, I love photographing birds but enough is enough. So, this being Friday, I thought I'd do a furball. See the other feline and furball postings listed here.

A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of babysitting a 5 month old Cavalier King Charles named Bailey. He belongs to Arielle's boyfriend's family and they needed to go out of town for the weekend for a college trip. I figured, what's one more dog?

I've never had a little dogs but Bailey quickly won me over. Not only is he cute as he can be but he has tons of personality. He certainly can hold his own with the big guys. When he first arrived, my dogs were very curious and Bailey was a little timid. But they warmed to each other quickly and he actually scared Indie when he started to bark! It was pretty hysterical. It wasn't long before Bailey figured out that he was small enough to get into places that my dogs were WAY too big for. So, he became quite the tease for Berkeley and Indie.

Berkeley was interested in the puppy but did not like that another dog in the house meant the attention was spread that much thinner. He was more needy than usual. Indie had the time of his life. I think he thought we'd gotten him a puppy of his very own. And Bailey was just watching the big dogs and following their lead. He and Indie were very rambuncious with each other but they'd get tired and crash hard. This was when Bailey would hop up on the couch and snuggle in with one of us for a snooze. What a little love.

Blogger Community Photo Challenge

FISHING

The current Blogger Community Photo Challenge involves posting a series of photos that tell a story. I had a different series planned, and then today I was at the beach and had the pleasure of watching a flock of terns. I wish the images were a little closer (and more sharp), but we work with what we get....and I loved what I was seeing. I know I have more than 5 images for the series, but I thought it made a more complete story.
























Now imagine....each bird doing this again and again. It was like a well choreographed dance.

Please be sure to visit the other challenge participants. The link list is in the comment section here.

Ready For More Birds?

I hope so!

These are all egrets, taken at the rookery at St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park while I was in Florida for the Birding and Foto Festival.