Tag: juvenile

Knot

David M7 Comments

On reading the prompt for One Word Sunday: Knot it was ìnevitable that I would go with a photo or two of Red Knot I photographed on the Lake Huron shoreline in Southampton early one autumn morning.

 

One Word Sunday: Knot

One of the juvenile Red Knot in golden light on the Lake Huron shoreline in Southampton, Ontario. I had gone down to the shoreline for the sunrise but spent the time photographing the Red Knot instead.

 

Cee's Fun Foto Challenge: Letter K

After feeding, bathing and preening while I took photos this one settled down for a nap. At which point I headed home to get some breakfast.

 

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Yard

David M7 Comments

One thing came to mind as soon as I read the Tuesday Photo Challenge – Yard prompt.

That was spending hours in our yard in 2018 when I was doing a 52 week photo project.

So I thought I would go with a small selection of photos taken in the yard during 2018.

 

Raccoon with spiky wet fur.

A wet, bedraggled Raccoon that wandered into the yard and started eyeing up the bird feeders one Saturday afternoon.

 

Raindrops on a Cedar tree.

Raindrops on a Cedar branch on the edge of the yard.

 

shadows on snow

Tree trunks casting long shadows across the snow in the yard.

 

Clover flower in grass

A Clover flower growing in the grass in the yard. Taken while lying in the grass waiting for the Squirrels and Chipmunks to put in an appearance.

 

Ruby-throated Hummingbird juvenile.

A young Ruby-throated Hummingbird checking out the hummingbird feeder hanging in the yard.

 

CFFC: Red Knot

David M9 Comments

This is my contribution to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Needs to have the Letter “K” anywhere in the word.

I started thinking about some of the birds and mammals that have the letter K in their common English names. One of the first species that came to mind was Red Knot, possibly because in Britain the common English name is simply Knot.

Having spent some time with two juvenile Red Knot on the Lake Huron shoreline in Southampton, Ontario when they had stopped off on autumn migration I decided to go with a selection of photos showing various activities.

These young birds had hatched from eggs a few months previously and had already traveled a considerable distance from the Canadian arctic. Some Red Knot fly to coastal South America for the winter.

 

Cee's Fun Foto Challenge: Letter K

Feeding.

 

Cee's Fun Foto Challenge: Letter K

Bathing.

 

Cee's Fun Foto Challenge: Letter K

Scratching.

 

Cee's Fun Foto Challenge: Letter K

Resting.

 

Weekly Prompts: Bird Feeders

David M8 Comments

This is my contribution to the Weekly Prompts: Bird Feeders challenge.

First, I should admit that I have a love/hate feelings towards bird feeders. If I am living somewhere suitable for bird feeders there’s always some out. But for at least a decade, possibly two decades, I avoided photographing birds on feeders. That was due to getting frustrated with editors always picking the photo of a bird on a feeder over the same species in a natural setting.

An early photo of a leucistic juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker on a feeder. Published in a bird watching magazine to illustrate an article on feeding the birds with no mention of the leucistic plumage.

Leucistic Woodpecker on a suet feeder.

 

Another early photo, a male Eurasian Siskin on a feeder. A published photo where the editor ignored shots of the same bird in the tree with a natural background.

Eurasian Siskin on peanuts.

 

Fast forward 20+ years and there’s a male Black-throated Blue Warbler coming to eat the grape jelly in an Oriole feeder. Forget the rule about no photos of birds on feeders, I want a record of the behaviour.

Male Black-throated Blue Warbler.

 

Finally, a White-breasted Nuthatch hanging upside down on a suet feeder a couple of years ago.

White-breasted Nuthatch on feeder.

 

Weekly Prompts: Unusual

David M7 Comments

One photo immediately came to mind when I read the Weekly Prompts: Unusual prompt.

It was this photo of a leucistic juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker. Leucism is a lack of dark pigmentation making the affected species look a little like an albino. The pale brown areas on the birds head would normally be black.

Throwback Thursday: Great Spotted Woodpecker.

 

Then I thought about this photo. It shows a male Black-throated Blue Warbler pretending it’s an Oriole by eating the grape jelly in an Oriole feeder. As a member of the Wood Warbler family, or New World Warbler family depending on which reference you use, it normally feeds on insects.

Male Black-throated Blue Warbler.

Weekly Prompts Photo Challenge: The Tree

David M17 Comments

This is my contribution to the Weekly Prompts Photo Challenge: The Tree.

Having decided to ignore the obvious theme, the Christmas tree, I had a couple of ideas for the challenge before remembering the remains of a tree in a reservoir in south Cheshire.

It only became visible when the water level dropped but when it appeared it was popular with the birds.

A pair of Mallard hanging out on the remains.

Weekly Prompts Photo Challenge: The Tree

 

A Common Coot standing on it.

Weekly Prompts Photo Challenge: The Tree

 

A Canada Goose doing Tai Chi on it.

A Canada Goose having a stretch.

 

A juvenile Grey Heron on it. The bird is watching something closely.

Is that food?

 

Some winter plumage Black-headed Gulls on and around it.

Winter plumage Black-headed Gulls.

On Autumn Migration

David MLeave a comment

Throwback Thursday travels back 14 years. I had gone down to the Lake Huron shoreline in Southampton, Ontario for the sunrise. I don’t remember what the sunrise was like but I did find a small group of juvenile Red Knot on the shoreline. Having hatched a few months previously they were heading south for the first time.

I spent some time with them, after a while they were comfortable enough to feed, bathe, preen and sleep in front of me.

This individual is feeding amongst the rocks on the shoreline.

On Autumn Migration