Friday, August 24, 2012

Flora & Fauna

Anyone with a large-ish window with proximity to birds has heard the occasional "thump" as a feathered body collides with glass. It's a reasonably common occurrence at Chez Baron as my yard is very bird-friendly. (Bird-friendly = lots of trees, bushes, flowers, weeds and, oh yeah, feeders.)

Thankfully, most such collisions are benign, causing no hurt to birds or glass.

A few months ago, I heard several muffled little thumps in the span of a few seconds. This is what I saw:


Apparently, this chickadee was having serious issues with his reflection. The little rascal would buffet his "rival" once, twice, five times and then perch on a nearby limb and rest up until the next bout. The amusing sparring match carried on for several days. I'm thinking it stopped because emerging foliage altered the lighting. In the chickadee's mind, he probably figured he won.

The next shot also features a winner. Like the first, it's not going to win any photographic awards. The lighting was poor and the photographer not as ept as he could be. The robin doesn't care about any of that, though. He caught dinner.


Some of you will recall that herons, especially the Great Blue Heron, are very special to me. Every encounter with them over the years warms my heart. Getting a chance to take some pics during some of those meetings is a blessing. Actually getting a decent shot or two is thrilling.

It is a regal-looking bird don't you think? With the keen eye of the born hunter.


I love watching them take slow, careful steps as they prowl shorelines, often pausing for long seconds as they survey each square inch of surrounding water for an unwary victim. When they spot one, quick as a snake - they strike.



Mmmmm...sushi....


From one of the largest birds in this area to one of the smallest. The wee fellow below is a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet. (Thanks for that research, Hil.) Which is a lot of name for a bird smaller than a Chickadee. Cute little guy, though.


Twigs, branches and their shadows are often a photographer's bane. They distort and obscure and can generally mess up a shot. (Especially for those of us without the software, or skills related to such software, for removing unwanted stuff from photos.)

In the next shot however, I was actually pleased with how the shadows of the twigs helped highlight aspects of the chickadee.


Time for some flora, I reckon. Lest my subject line prove to be a fib.

Bleeding Hearts is a sad name for a pretty flower.


I like the way the emerging leaves in the next pic blend with the background.


And we'll wrap up this offering with a shot of crab apple (I think) blossoms.


Thank you kindly for your time and attention. See you next time.