That vulture-style head is just not attractive, as I think I’ve noted, but in the right light they aren’t such terrible looking birds, are they? And they get full marks for impressive.
To have these magnificent birds so close was quite an opportunity: One I’d like to have again, maybe on a sunny day.
Pick, pick, pick . . .
OK, that’s it. This has gotta stop. There’s a limit to how much Canadians can be expected to accept; how much we’re willing to be imposed upon.
A few decades ago I started repatriating sparkly and smooth Canadian rocks from various sites in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. These rocks had been expatriated by glacier action without our permission, express or otherwise. That wanton theft didn’t align with my general impression of the USofA, but even great countries have their moments, especially during the lawless Pleistocene.
Now I find that Australia is an even earlier offender, dating to the era of the super continent, Pangaea, maybe 1.6 billion years ago. Continue reading
Big pink birds. I say again: Big! Pink!! Birds!!!
If they didn’t exist, no one could have imagined them.
But they do exist, and the world is a better place for it, even on a gray day.
I like the photos that are recognizably birds.
I like the dramatic shots of birds doing birdy things.
I like the shots of birds in flight, even when they’re a bit fuzzy.
And I like the shots of birds and other critters where someone looks back at me. I got four of those on this trip.
As part of the metropolis sprawling 70 miles north from Miami along Florida’s east coast, West Palm Beach is not my kind of town, but its nature centers are impressive. Lacking any significant birds to photograph (too early in the season, I hear), I caught some unwary leaves in my lens instead.
It was a quiet day at the Okeeheelee Nature Center and quieter out on the nature trails. I saw three people and fewer birds. As usual, though, there was still something to photograph.
Ah, the noble squirrel. The squirrel I love to watch, in so many different habitats.
And here it is again, this time with a squirrel-proof bird feeder. Persistence wins again.
I don’t like spiders and snakes.
But when I saw a marshy/swampy “field” full of webs, backlit by the morning sun at Green Cay Wetlands, I couldn’t resist. Continue reading
Posted: 2025 Jun 13
Thanks to John Whitman for this slightly dismayed face from downtown Ottawa.
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