Wild Side Ornithology Club

[Spoonman]

 

[freedombecki]

Spoonman, what a treat. I've been spending too much time in the quilt room & missed this thread for a few weeks. I adore wrens, thanks for their nest photos; and a cute member of the woodpecker/flicker family? Not to mention those lovely brown ones. The pictures of the multiple monarchs on those purple flowers are one of the prettiest combinations.

Kudos!

 

[freedombecki]

I waited for months to take a snap one of these guys...

Hummingbird

OH, my goodness. They're fabulous, Connery. How did I miss these?

Thanks for sharing. They're just out of this world.

 

[freedombecki]

i see you like butterflies too.

Spoonman, I can't make up my mind which of these butterfly pics is the best. #2 shows the monarch in his best light (well, #1 did too), but there's something about #3 that says "ditto". because the monarchs are both sitting at the same angle and look like carbon copies, just in different sizes likely due to distance from lens?

I only saw a couple of them this year. Our drought last year was cruel, and this year, my dear husband took out the milkweed plants I didn't mow for 2 months in the back pasture one day. The pasture looked great, though. *sigh*

 

[Connery]

I was in Greenwich Village a few months ago and took these photos.

 

[Connery]

Nice to sit and enjoy these guys...

 

[freedombecki]

They're cute, Connery. Downy woodpeckers? (I'm not very good at ids in the woodpecker/flicker/sapsucker group). There are so many kinds!

 

[Foxfyre]

This clip was on the news last night. We have always known that small pets were vulnerable to the golden eagles when we lived up on the mountain. Two pairs regularly cruised over our house, much to the concern of the birds and critters who lived around us and visited our feeders.

But this eagle took a toddler. He was unable to gain altititude however and, with the mother in hot pursuit, dropped the kid. According to the news report, the child was unhurt. But how scary would this be?. . . .

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDEQiqcpAB0]Golden eagle snatches small child/ small kid/ toddler in canada - YouTube[/ame]

 

[freedombecki]

This clip was on the news last night. We have always known that small pets were vulnerable to the golden eagles when we lived up on the mountain. Two pairs regularly cruised over our house, much to the concern of the birds and critters who lived around us and visited our feeders.

But this eagle took a toddler. He was unable to gain altititude however and, with the mother in hot pursuit, dropped the kid. According to the news report, the child was unhurt. But how scary would this be?. . . .

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDEQiqcpAB0"] [/ame]http : // www. youtube . com/watch?v = CDEQiqcpAB0

Aye, yi-yi, Foxfyre! That's something. I'm glad the eagle dropped the idea of snatching a baby from its mother and that the child was not harmed.

 

[Spoonman]

i see you like butterflies too.

Spoonman, I can't make up my mind which of these butterfly pics is the best. #2 shows the monarch in his best light (well, #1 did too), but there's something about #3 that says "ditto". because the monarchs are both sitting at the same angle and look like carbon copies, just in different sizes likely due to distance from lens?

I only saw a couple of them this year. Our drought last year was cruel, and this year, my dear husband took out the milkweed plants I didn't mow for 2 months in the back pasture one day. The pasture looked great, though. *sigh*

I took about 15 pictures that day over about a 10 minute period. I have a large mound of butterfly bushes by one of my ponds. its probably about a 10' x 12' plot of it. I would say there had to be at least 100 + butterflies swarming them that day.

 

[Foxfyre]

We were fortunate enough to be in Monterey CA during the monarch butterfly migration a few years ago. There is a particular grove of threes there, designated as a butterfly sanctuary, where the butterflies stop over. Millions or at least tens of thousands of them. It was an amazing sight.

 

[Connery]

They're cute, Connery. Downy woodpeckers? (I'm not very good at ids in the woodpecker/flicker/sapsucker group). There are so many kinds!

Yes these guys are Downy Headed woodpeckers..

 

[Connery]

This Barn Owl is daylight is a rare treat...I think the owl was as curious of me as I was of it....

 

[freedombecki]

i see you like butterflies too.

Spoonman, I can't make up my mind which of these butterfly pics is the best. #2 shows the monarch in his best light (well, #1 did too), but there's something about #3 that says "ditto". because the monarchs are both sitting at the same angle and look like carbon copies, just in different sizes likely due to distance from lens?

I only saw a couple of them this year. Our drought last year was cruel, and this year, my dear husband took out the milkweed plants I didn't mow for 2 months in the back pasture one day. The pasture looked great, though. *sigh*

I took about 15 pictures that day over about a 10 minute period. I have a large mound of butterfly bushes by one of my ponds. its probably about a 10' x 12' plot of it. I would say there had to be at least 100 + butterflies swarming them that day.

Wow. Those butterfly bushes are just beautiful, Spoonman. My green thumb turned brown when I started a quilt store. Thanks for sharing your pictures, though. I love plants, and should try to garden if I ever get well again. Butterfly bushes would be first on my list. My mother planted bottle brush plants that were really pretty, except a different color, a bright sahed of magenta.

 

[freedombecki]

This Barn Owl is daylight is a rare treat...I think the owl was as curious of me as I was of it....

He's a beautiful creature, Connery. Thanks for sharing.

 

[freedombecki]

Was walking around the lake out back today and saw the great white egret flying overhead. He's still in the vicinity, but they are shy birds, and he may have chosen not to land since a human was in the area. They're so beautiful when flying, and he was gliding.

 

[Spoonman]

 

[freedombecki]

Wow. The snow on the roof of the birdhouse brings the idea of having food so close to home as a real advantage in the wintertime! What lucky birds.

 

[Connery]

Just some quick photos just outside my living room window.

 

[Connery]

Here are a few more outside my living room window....