I happened across this image of a Red-breasted Nuthatch that I took over four years ago in Montana on a visit to Moose’s Ranch. It’s not the classic pose of a Nuthatch, which is usually showing the bird as it creeps up, down, and sideways over tree trunks and branches, often upside-down. I don’t think I’ve featured a front view of a Nuthatch on my Blog yet, so, here it is.
When this Kodiak Brown Bear tried to take a nap, he yawned (N.B. I have no idea if this is a male or female), squirmed his body to nestle comfortably into the rocky beach, and sighed. What the hey? A line of photographers dressed in black stared back at him through our long lenses. He finally realized we were not a threat nor were we interfering with his nap time so he yawned again, stretched, rolled over, and went to sleep. Ah, the idyllic life.
It was one last hurrah for the sunflowers which were about a week old and after plucking them from their vase and placing them on a flat surface with black velvet in the background, by the time I finished, this trio had a few less petals than when I started. I always love having a bouquet of flowers in my home and sometimes I’m inspired to take a few photographs of them. I’m still appreciating the quality of my new 26mm Nikon lens and with its 8 inch minimum focusing distance, it’s perfect for taking images like this.
After retrieving a package on my doorstep night before last, I began to hear muffled sounds coming from the kitchen. The sounds were new to me, not the ice maker in the fridge, or the AC or furnace starting. Since Day-light Savings Time had just ended, it was darker earlier than usual and besides the TV, there were only two other lights on. All of a sudden, a small bird flew by my nose as I sat watching the final episode of Season 2 of The Diplomat. I paused the TV and stood up as the bird landed on a curtain rod. It was a tiny, Bewick’s Wren that I’d seen earlier in the day hopping around the planters on my front porch. It obviously was still on the porch when I opened the front door earlier and flew toward the lights, going through the kitchen. It was so tiny and so quick. I went to get a towel but I quickly realized that this tiny bird probably would get injured by the weight of the towel and besides it was too quick anyway. It took almost 20 minutes for me to usher this little guy out of my house. First he went into my bedroom where I’d left a light on after getting the towel. I closed the door but it was so small it walked out under the gap between the door and the floor after first spending time under my bed. A final stop in the guest bath was traumatic for both of us I’m sure. I took the time to get my camera and got off a couple of shots while he was in the bath tub but that was it. I wanted to photograph him perched on the shower head but that was not to be. It finally occurred to me that I wasn’t going to trap him and so I turned off all the lights except the entry light, opened the front door, and turned on the porch light. After another stop behind the ottomans under the table in the entry and with a little help from the fly swatter (no I did not swat him, I just used it to push him along and keep him from going underneath the ottomans) he took his exit the same way he came in. I’m sure he was glad to go. And I was happy to get back to The Diplomat. The ending was a cliff hanger but they announced there will be a Season 3! Phew!
When testing out my new Nikkor Z26mm lens, I had to find a replacement for Bobo who was always my go-to new lens and new camera test subject. The only thing at hand was a bouquet of sunflowers. I think it worked. I like the lens. I’ve been told that the lens is the equivalent of iPhone 14’s primary lens which is the model iPhone I use. Since I can’t manage to get the iPhone to produce the quality of images I want and expect, I now have a go-to substitute if I want to compete with my friends who use their iPhones as their primary cameras. 😉
While we were at Costa Rica’s Rancho Naturalista this past March, we frequently heard the Lesson’s Motmot’s familiar call which supposedly sounds like its name but to me it was more like a “moot moot” not a mot mot. However, despite hearing them tantalizingly close, seeing one of the colorful but elusive birds was not frequent, at least for me. I had only two opportunities to photograph one throughout the six days we were there. But both resulted in images I’m pleased with. In this image, the bird is about to consume a grasshopper or locust or cicada. Whatever it is, the bird perched on a branch at the edge of the upper deck for quite a while, clenching the unfortunate bug in its beak. I’m sure the bug wasn’t in for a “bug fest” but the Motmot obviously was.
Hey, what time is it, anyway? Did you turn your clocks back? I wonder why Daylight Savings Time persists? Despite voting in 2018 to repeal California’s antiquated requirements and authorizing the State Legislature to enact a bill by 2/3 majority of both houses to change to year-round daylight savings time, nothing has changed…except our clocks, twice a year. The Federal government allows States to opt out of it but does not authorize them to change to permanent Daylight Savings Time. Despite the majority of Californians voting to stop the biannual time change nonsense, our Legislature seems unable to agree on what to do and subsequent bills have died without passage. Maybe the next Legislature will figure out a way, perhaps voting to return to year-round standard time, something that the Federal Government authorizes. I wonder why we didn’t do that in the first place?
The tiny Snowcap, a Hummingbird native to Costa Rica, is not always easy to spot. When I was in Costa Rica this past March, we visited a place near our lodge where the elusive Snowcap was known to be. We were lucky and did find a number of females and a couple of immature males. This is a female Snowcap. She appears to be sticking her tongue out. Hummingbird tongues are amazing. The tongue works like a pump by compressing and then rapidly expanding to draw up the nectar. A hummingbird’s tongue can be twice as long as its beak. When the tongue is retracted into the beak, it coils up and wraps around the skull.
One morning in Yellowstone a couple of weeks ago, a Bison walked through a field of sage.