Mutual of J-TWO-O's Wild Kingdom: Birds of Sanibel Edition

Greetings fellow nature lovers!

This Friday I had the good fortune to go on the Stokes Private Birding Tour of the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, sponsored by the "Ding" Darling Wildlife Society, of which I am a member.

Donald and Lillian Stokes are noted bird watchers and the authors of the Stokes Field Guide to the Birds of North America. And I, along with a few dozen other people who like to watch and photograph birds, got a lesson from Lillian Stokes on how to take a good bird photo.

It was a great morning, with the weather warm, the tide low, and birds aplenty. And despite the problems associated with trying to photograph birds -- they move a lot and us loud, pale apes frighten them -- I managed to take over a dozen good photographs. (Unfortunately, my Nikon DSLR is apparently not a morning camera, and refused to take a good photo, but I had my wonderful little Canon SX720, which takes amazingly good photos for a camera its size.)

Here are some of my favorite bird photos from the Stokes Private Birding Tour of Ding Darling. (Sadly, there were no roseate spoonbills, but you can't have everything.) Enjoy!

White pelican and great blue heron

White pelican in flight

White pelicans

Snowy egret

Puffed up snowy egret

Snowy egret in flight

Snowy egret in flight

White pelicans

White pelicans and little blue herons

Mottled duck

Tricolored heron

Male and female mottled duck

Snowy egret in mangrove

Tricolored heron

Anhinga

Tricolored heron in mangrove

Cormorant (this photo cracks me up)

What true freedom looks like

You want to know what true freedom looks like? It looks like this: two American bald eagles, perched atop a cell tower on a beautiful, warm, sunny day in Sanibel, Florida, masters of their domain. Able to come and go as they please. Looking down upon us puny, foolish, earthbound humans.

Majestic, aren't they?

[Click on the photo to get a better look.]

And here's a closeup:

Not sure where their nest is, probably close by. (I'm assuming they are a nesting pair.)

I feel incredibly fortunate to have been able to gaze upon and photograph these two magnificent creatures -- and have named them Liberty and Freedom.

This concludes another episode of Mutual of J-TWO-O's Wild Kingdom.

A valentine to nature

Welcome to another episode of Mutual of J-TWO-O's Wild Kingdom.

As many of you, I love nature -- especially birds and shells (and flowers, but that's another post). So this Valentine's Day, I am sharing my love of nature with some beautiful and awe-inspiring photos of birds and shells I took the last few days*, which will hopefully distract you from all the ugliness in the world, albeit briefly.

To quote Jon Stewart, here is Your Moment of Zen...

*On Sanibel Island, Florida

Nature is amazing! (Lily edition)

I've been meaning to get to the New York Botanical Garden all summer. But I didn't make it there until this morning. Only to discover that not a lot blooms in August. Except for water lilies and daylilies (and lotus flowers).

But as you can see from my photos, below, the daylilies, water lilies (or Nymphaeaceae) and lotus flowers currently on display at the New York Botanical Garden are lovely -- and well worth a visit. In fact, they attracted quite a few visitors, of the human and insect variety. (I was particularly enamored with that little blue dragonfly, below, with the big green eyes, which was quite enamored with a certain lotus flower.)

Note: To see the flowers -- and insects -- more clearly, click on each photo to enlarge it. (Then click on the back button to return to the post.)

And that, son, is how flowers are made.

B is for Butterfly (and Beautiful)

Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.

~Nathaniel Hawthorne 

Last summer, the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, Connecticut, installed a temporary butterfly exhibit called Flutter Zone, where visitors could walk amongst dozens of beautiful butterflies. The exhibit was such a hit that the aquarium mounted it again this summer.

As I finished with work early yesterday, I decided to go visit the Flutter Zone -- along with a dozen or so mothers of small, awestruck children, including the cutie above, whom the butterflies, and my camera, adored.

If you live in Connecticut, Westchester, or New York City, or are visiting the area this summer, I highly recommend you visit the Maritime Aquarium... even if you don't have children. ;-)

In the meantime, here are some of my favorite photos from yesterday's visit. One of these days, I'll learn the names of these butterflies, and the flowers they like to pollinate. (You can see my photos from last year here.)

House finch/cowbird nestlings update

When last I wrote of the house finches (on the blog), back on April 29th, this is what their nest looked like:

[Click on photos to enlarge them.]

Very pretty, very empty.

Then, on May 8th, I took this photo of the nest:

As those of you who follow me on Facebook know, the four blue eggs are house finch eggs. However, the brown-speckled egg belonged to a cowbird, a parasitic bird that lays its eggs in other birds' nests and expects someone else to feed its young (often depriving the host bird's chicks sufficient nourishment).

Then, earlier this week, I glimpsed into the nest and discovered that the evil cowbird chick had hatched:

Anticipating that the four house finch eggs were soon to follow, I went back out to the nest with my smart phone just a few minutes ago to be greeted by this sight:

That image of the cowbird nestling waiting to be fed is going to give me nightmares FOR WEEKS.

Will the four baby house finches survive?

Stay tuned....

Love is in the air: House finch update

Big news, fellow bird watchers! I believe the house finches' nest is ready for some tenants!

Here are pictures of the love birds' completed nest, which I took just a few minutes ago. Here's what the nest looks like standing in front of our front door (on a step stool)...






















And here is the closeup:

















Isn't it beautiful? Those house finches could be professional exterior decorators.

And here's a photo I took of the happy (?) couple, aka Gertie and Atticus Finch, throwing me some shade from the little conifer just outside our front door (while I took the photo from inside the front door).

(I don't get why the house finches, and our other avian visitors, take off as soon as they see me but totally ignore our bird-loving felines.)

Will check the nest for eggs next weekend. Seems the house finches are behind schedule this year.