I give you the American Goldfinch, a beautiful splash of color on an otherwise bleak afternoon.
Thanks for posing sir, I needed that.
24 December 2008
Christmas Eve Birds
Ok, so I lied about not posting much. Sue me. I felt compelled to share these shots of the only songbird currently in my back yard. Christmas Eve is no time to be alone, so where are his cohorts? My guess is that they're just a little more shy than he.
I give you the American Goldfinch, a beautiful splash of color on an otherwise bleak afternoon.
Thanks for posing sir, I needed that.
I give you the American Goldfinch, a beautiful splash of color on an otherwise bleak afternoon.Thanks for posing sir, I needed that.
Procrastination
Talk about waiting until the last minute. Until today, Avery hadn't put pen to paper to create a true list for Santa. Clause, that is.
This morning, when directed to write the big man a note to be left with his plate of cookies, Ave saw fit to include in her greeting a quick synopsis of not only her wishes, but also of her behavior record for the year.
First of all, the kid just got a Wii for Christmas (a little early), you think she could back off the freakin' Nintendo DS. What is she, some sort of gamer? Pretty soon she's gonna have herself holed up in the basement playing World of Warcraft or something like that.
Second, what the hell is a magical elf? Like a real elf with magic powers that bakes cookies in a tree? I guess he could always have the top bunk . .
And my favorite, a video camera. I wonder if she was expecting BOTH this and the DS? Between the two of them she could drop out of school, start making documentaries on the perils of riding your Razor Scooter over loose gravel, and become a Tetris expert. Well, at least we'll save some money on college, right?
The close of the letter is just as priceless.
You will likely not hear from me again for a few days, so please be safe and enjoy your time with family and friends this Christmas.
This morning, when directed to write the big man a note to be left with his plate of cookies, Ave saw fit to include in her greeting a quick synopsis of not only her wishes, but also of her behavior record for the year.
Dear Santa Clause,
We gave you these cookies for you and carrots for your raindeer. I have been a VERY very good girl this year. So has Lily. Here's a list of what I want for Christmas:
DS (Nintendo, that is)
Moter Scooter
some games for my DS (kinda looks like she wrote "ass")
A Magical Elf
Special Barbie Dolls
Some craft books
A video camera
Some stuffed animals
First of all, the kid just got a Wii for Christmas (a little early), you think she could back off the freakin' Nintendo DS. What is she, some sort of gamer? Pretty soon she's gonna have herself holed up in the basement playing World of Warcraft or something like that.
Second, what the hell is a magical elf? Like a real elf with magic powers that bakes cookies in a tree? I guess he could always have the top bunk . .
And my favorite, a video camera. I wonder if she was expecting BOTH this and the DS? Between the two of them she could drop out of school, start making documentaries on the perils of riding your Razor Scooter over loose gravel, and become a Tetris expert. Well, at least we'll save some money on college, right?
The close of the letter is just as priceless.
Its ok if you don't get what I want, you can surprize me! Please wright back (complete with a small box in which he should reply).Talk about your all time backfires, this is what I get for perpetuating the whole Tooth Fairy shenanigans, eh? I look at it this way, at least she was polite, and I get to test out my left-handed writing skillz for the big man's reply.
You will likely not hear from me again for a few days, so please be safe and enjoy your time with family and friends this Christmas.
21 December 2008
A (potentially) Protracted Absence
I can't promise that I'll be around much to post for a while, it's just such a busy time right now. I hope you and everyone you love has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
16 December 2008
07 December 2008
Meadowlarks, Creepers, and Wrens, oh my!
Avery and I spent the first half of the day birding 2 different locations. We first went out to the North end of Coddle Creek Reservoir to follow up a reported Loggerhead Shrike sighting from the day before. There's a big piece of property down one of the side roads that is notoriously good birding territory. In the Spring you can rely on this spot for Baltimore Orioles, and in the Fall and Winter it's typically good for Eastern Meadowlarks and the aforementioned shrikes. The meadowlarks were there as expected, I counted 10 in all. These birds are strikingly marked and their song is borderline ethereal. It's a treat to sit and watch them. I urge you to click on the photo to see him in all of his yellow glory.
Also on the property were these Swan Geese. They're listed in my field guide as a domestic species, but these were out in a pasture along with close to 100 Canada Geese just foraging away. There were probably 12 of them, and I thought they were pretty interesting looking. Certainly prettier than a Canada Goose . .
Alas, I did not positively identify a shrike. From a quarter of a mile away I thought I saw one on a very high power line perched next to a European Starling. In order to confirm it I would have to drive up the road and get out my scope. When I got out of the car the bird was still there, but by the time I got the scope set up it had flown away. A few minutes later I was back down the road watching these Eastern Bluebirds in a mixed flock with goldfinches and Golden-crowned Kinglets. I scanned the top rail of that fence in the distance and thought I saw the shrike perched near the adjacent horse pasture. Again I went for the scope, and again the bird flew away before I was able to get it set up. With another stop on our schedule I decided to give up for the time being and try for the shrike another time.
So, we pulled out and headed across town to Huntersville's Torrence Creek Greenway. It's an out-of-the-way little spot that's not overly popular with the local birding community, but it probably should be. As an added bonus, it happens to be Avery's favorite greenway because of the large climb-able rock formations that are found along the path. It's a great compromise, really. She climbs the rocks and explores while I wander off into the (nearby) woods to watch and photograph the abundant bird life. This was, surprisingly, the only Cardinal I saw today. Normally overwhelming in numbers here, they were conspicuously absent.
At some point within the last few months Avery started posing and smiling for the camera. Forgive me if I take full advantage of the opportunity.
The squirrels were loud and active today. This guy was shredding the bark on this fallen tree and didn't flinch when I got within 10 feet for this picture. I wish I knew what he was doing with the bark . . perhaps he was lining a nest. Whatever his purpose, he was entertaining to watch.
Very few of the trees still have their leaves. The ones that do certainly draw your eye to them.
This next photo is of one of the coolest little birds you'll ever see. It's a Brown Creeper, and if you couldn't see the bright white of his belly you likely couldn't see him at all. His head and back are so well camouflaged that he blends into the bark on the trees and almost disappears. Creepers are a completely unique species, although they're most closely related to nuthatches. This particular bird allowed me within 6 feet for photos, most of which were woefully out of focus due to the camera's inability to locate the bird as an object separate from the tree. Only a few shots were worth keeping.
And then there were wrens. Carolina Wrens, to be precise. And lots of them. This little guy wanted to play hide-and-seek with me, or at least that's how I interpreted it. He hid along the bank of the creek, under leaves and branches and inside this little burrow. I did my best to call him out, but apparently my best attempt at "tea-kettle-tea-kettle-tea-kettle" was woefully inadequate. Go figure.
I know this looks like just a picture of a bunch of twigs, but can you spot the bird? I'll give you a hint, its eye is giving off an eerie purple reflection. Go ahead, zoom in . . it's actually kinda creepy.
This location has always been a reliable spot for Hairy Woodpeckers. For whatever reason, Hairy Woodpeckers are much less congenial than the Downy Woodpeckers with which they share so many features. I think this may actually be the first photo I've ever been able to capture of a Hairy, although I can't be sure of that.
Also being coy today were about a half dozen or so Hermit Thrushes. They popped around in the underbrush most of the time, making only brief and partially-obscured appearances where the camera had any shot at capturing them. They're cute little birds, if not a bit nondescript.
Overall our morning was a lot of fun. Avery came across a "tepee" left behind on one of the rock formations by some other junior explorers, and it became her mission to attempt to construct one of her own. Theirs was pretty big, and with a few improvements could actually have provided a small amount of shelter to someone in need.
The same can not be said of the one we constructed, but that surely was not the point of the exercise.
Also on the property were these Swan Geese. They're listed in my field guide as a domestic species, but these were out in a pasture along with close to 100 Canada Geese just foraging away. There were probably 12 of them, and I thought they were pretty interesting looking. Certainly prettier than a Canada Goose . .
Alas, I did not positively identify a shrike. From a quarter of a mile away I thought I saw one on a very high power line perched next to a European Starling. In order to confirm it I would have to drive up the road and get out my scope. When I got out of the car the bird was still there, but by the time I got the scope set up it had flown away. A few minutes later I was back down the road watching these Eastern Bluebirds in a mixed flock with goldfinches and Golden-crowned Kinglets. I scanned the top rail of that fence in the distance and thought I saw the shrike perched near the adjacent horse pasture. Again I went for the scope, and again the bird flew away before I was able to get it set up. With another stop on our schedule I decided to give up for the time being and try for the shrike another time.
So, we pulled out and headed across town to Huntersville's Torrence Creek Greenway. It's an out-of-the-way little spot that's not overly popular with the local birding community, but it probably should be. As an added bonus, it happens to be Avery's favorite greenway because of the large climb-able rock formations that are found along the path. It's a great compromise, really. She climbs the rocks and explores while I wander off into the (nearby) woods to watch and photograph the abundant bird life. This was, surprisingly, the only Cardinal I saw today. Normally overwhelming in numbers here, they were conspicuously absent.
At some point within the last few months Avery started posing and smiling for the camera. Forgive me if I take full advantage of the opportunity.
The squirrels were loud and active today. This guy was shredding the bark on this fallen tree and didn't flinch when I got within 10 feet for this picture. I wish I knew what he was doing with the bark . . perhaps he was lining a nest. Whatever his purpose, he was entertaining to watch.
Very few of the trees still have their leaves. The ones that do certainly draw your eye to them.
This next photo is of one of the coolest little birds you'll ever see. It's a Brown Creeper, and if you couldn't see the bright white of his belly you likely couldn't see him at all. His head and back are so well camouflaged that he blends into the bark on the trees and almost disappears. Creepers are a completely unique species, although they're most closely related to nuthatches. This particular bird allowed me within 6 feet for photos, most of which were woefully out of focus due to the camera's inability to locate the bird as an object separate from the tree. Only a few shots were worth keeping.
And then there were wrens. Carolina Wrens, to be precise. And lots of them. This little guy wanted to play hide-and-seek with me, or at least that's how I interpreted it. He hid along the bank of the creek, under leaves and branches and inside this little burrow. I did my best to call him out, but apparently my best attempt at "tea-kettle-tea-kettle-tea-kettle" was woefully inadequate. Go figure.
I know this looks like just a picture of a bunch of twigs, but can you spot the bird? I'll give you a hint, its eye is giving off an eerie purple reflection. Go ahead, zoom in . . it's actually kinda creepy.
This location has always been a reliable spot for Hairy Woodpeckers. For whatever reason, Hairy Woodpeckers are much less congenial than the Downy Woodpeckers with which they share so many features. I think this may actually be the first photo I've ever been able to capture of a Hairy, although I can't be sure of that.
Also being coy today were about a half dozen or so Hermit Thrushes. They popped around in the underbrush most of the time, making only brief and partially-obscured appearances where the camera had any shot at capturing them. They're cute little birds, if not a bit nondescript.
Overall our morning was a lot of fun. Avery came across a "tepee" left behind on one of the rock formations by some other junior explorers, and it became her mission to attempt to construct one of her own. Theirs was pretty big, and with a few improvements could actually have provided a small amount of shelter to someone in need.
The same can not be said of the one we constructed, but that surely was not the point of the exercise.
A (mostly) wordless post
Because really, when you have pictures like this, why ruin them with words?
06 December 2008
Write this down.
Pen?
Check.
Paper?
Check.
Seated?
Check.
Prepared for groundbreaking insight?
Check.
Which graduate program wants to step up and just give the girl her Ph.D? I mean really, will she ever be able to more accurately boil life down than she did just five short minutes ago? I think not. Case closed.
Check.
Paper?
Check.
Seated?
Check.
Prepared for groundbreaking insight?
Check.
Lily: Daddy, I was right and you was wrong.
Me: Is that so?
Lily: Yeah. Girls are right, and boys are wrong.
Which graduate program wants to step up and just give the girl her Ph.D? I mean really, will she ever be able to more accurately boil life down than she did just five short minutes ago? I think not. Case closed.
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