Tuesday, February 26, 2008

For the birds!

I had gathered critter pictures of all sorts for tonight's post; lo and behold, there were enough bird pictures alone. Let's start out at Lynx Lake again, with my youngsters, both of whom had cameras working. The south end of the lake is where the water birds have learned to expect their rations from us suckers. But with all that ice, how do they handle things? The crowd hangs out at a hole in the ice, way off. As soon as likely marks show up, a parade of birds forms up, heading toward the shore.

As the drakes and their ladies near their benefactors, they leave these curious trails in the ice.

The wrong move and they take to the air. Thanks, sson, for this great shot!

In the meantime, a little Oregon juncos steps out on the ice to get his share of goodies.

The juncos tend to hide in the nearby trees and shrubs.

And here's the prize picture from the outing -- a nuthatch hanging upside down either to get a drink of water or perhaps to catch a juicy critter in the mud. If you ever see a small bird climbing down a tree trunk headfirst, you can be sure it's a nuthatch; it's our only bird that does such a trick. Mud? Water? Yes, there was a small margin that was melted at the lake's edge.

Elsewhere at the lake, this raven played hide and seek with the sson, who finally got a nice shot of Roscoe taking off.

GrannyJ finally got her own bird shot a couple of days ago. A fleet of sparrows was around and about; this pair sat still long enough for me to take their portrait.

Linkage: Earlier today, I received one of those email posts with a bunch of wonderful pictures attached. This particular lot consisted of fabulous paper cut-outs done by one or more artists. Of course, I passed the email on to friends, receiving a grump from my dotter in return. Not directed at me specifically, but at the very bad habit people have of harvesting pictures from web sites, then passing them along without any credit whatsoever, jumping copyright protection in the process. Bless her, she passed along the website for artist Peter Callesen who actually created the cut-outs. Do visit the site; he's done some remarkable work.

11 comments:

pb said...

Having a "sson" along seems to be a lot more fruitful than bringing a dachshund. Been trying forever to get a good shot of waterfowl awing.

It's lovely!

TomboCheck said...

wow, great pics GrannyJ! Those birds will do anything to get their snacks. :)

Warren said...

Very nice pics! I especially like the one of the ducks taking flight and the nuthatch drinking. Reminds me of the verdins that come in to my hummingbird feeder and hang upside down to collect any drips caused by the Gila Woodpeckers swinging on the feeder.

Granny J said...

pb -- not only did I have a sson, but also a dotter. you're right, it helps.

tombo -- the Lynx Lake birds are most demanding, tho I note that most of the geese have disappeared.

warren -- looking very closely at the nuthatch, I think I see a pink tongue reaching down to the water.

Anonymous said...

My goodness--there is nothing like seeing an animal in motion! It is impossible for the worst grump not to feel joy.

But what would be the equivalent for homo sapiens?

Sylvia said...

Many thanks for passing along the info about Peter Callesen. It's amazing to see what different artists do with everyday things.
Speaking of everyday things, your daughter's pictures of water are great. I love the designs made by the foam.

Anonymous said...

GJ, Are you working on Wednesday's post? Or did you take a "vacation" day? ~Anon in AV.

Linda G. said...

Wonderful Pictures GJ! I love the ducks treking across the ice for their handouts!

Granny J said...

boonie -- as for human animals, I've seen some lovely stop motion pix of athletes, kids on trampolines, etc. Still doesn't compare with birds in flight.

sallyann -- I should have the kids here more often and just hand them my cameras & I'd be set for weeks!

anon av -- not a vacation... a glitch in my modem. Fixed today.

brain -- it was especially neat to see the ducks form a line, after the first fellow decided it was Time to Harass the Suckers!

Terrell said...

Just wanted to let you know I linked to this article in the March issue of Learning in the Great Outdoors. Thanks!

http://aloneonalimb.blogspot.com/2008/03/learning-in-great-outdoors-10.html

Granny J said...

Thanks, Terrell, for the link-up. For readers, here's a better link to Terrell's post; unfortunately, the column isn't wide enough to hold the entire URL! Do give him a visit...

 
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