I'm just catching up on the last couple of days. Glen, the Brolga does look like a Sandhill Crane! Here's a picture I took over the weekend of a Sandhill Crane couple and their baby. It's not great, but I was far away, looking through a fence and only had my cellphone. Usually, when I see the juveniles, they're older and much bigger. I was so excited to get a pic of such a young one, that I'm afraid quality was sacrificed.



Mika, that's a pretty good shot of the bat - they're hard to photograph and you caught him in flight!

Ann, I think Northern Cardinals are my favorite bird. I never get tired of seeing them

June, I'll bet your finches and blackbirds are very grateful for you. How much longer will the snow last?

Ibis, that is so cute - love the baby with the adults

Glen, very cool cranes ... oops, I mean hot cranes! I'd never heard of a Brolga but they remind me of the Sandhill Cranes we see here in Florida!

Mika, I see bat in the second photo and can definitely tell it's a bat! They are so fast, it must be almost impossible to get a picture of one in flight!

Anne, what a great shot of that handsome Cardinal!

June, Oh my goodness ... love the snowy photos with all the birds! Wow, 6 inches of snow and here we are with temperatures in the mid and upper 80'sF already! I love all those tables and feeding stations you have for the birds.

Ibis, I love that shot of the Sandhill family!

A few photos from my backyard today ...

Blue Jay



Grackle ................................................ Muscovy Duck, female

Brolgas certainly do look like Sandhill Cranes! Love the juvenile, Ibis.

These are old photos so some of you have more than likely seen them before but I thought I'd share them again. We always see Sandhill Cranes when we visit friends who have a vacation condominium in Brevard County. I took some of these pictures while walking around the lake and following behind the pair .... they'd stop and preen for a few minutes and then continue on their walk.

Sandhill Cranes 2009




Family 2010

Ibis, that's the youngest I've ever seen a Sandhill as well. VERY COOL to be able to catch it!!!!

Lin your photos are always stunning. I think Blue Jays might be one of the handsomest birds on earth.

Mika, I've seen bats & bats & bats and more bats & never saw one that wasn't in flight (except at an educational thing at a sanctuary where the lady was holding the bat). I wouldn't even attempt to try to catch one on film; they're so FAST!

Great pictures from everyone,..Glen,..Mika,..Ann,..June,..Ibis,..Lin and not forgetting Mika's Bats,..the Gotham City one and the quicker one :thumbsup:

Went down river today,..temperature was 70F but cloudy,..lots of Swans to be seen and one i followed with the camera from the Canal then into the river where it met up with two other Swans then a Swan Dance began,..managed to get that Heart Shape they make while dancing.

Beautiful Swans Philip!

What a wonderful journey Philip! Thank YOU!

Thank you Margaret

Thank you Ann,..also for the Acorn

I wasn't on my own today,..Molly was there of course and went in for a paddle


Waterhen.


Heron.

Philip, what wonderful shots of those beautiful Swans ... love the heart shape they make. That Waterhen is such a different looking bird but she has such a pretty face. Your Molly is beautiful ... looks like she enjoyed her paddle.

You're welcome Philip.
Neat immature grey heron Philip. Of course Molly dog went along! She is after all, man's best friend.
Looking at the water hen I always wonder when birds have that "stuff" between their eyes if it makes them go cross eyed.

Gorgeous photos, Philip, wonderful swans especially. I'm a bit puzzled by what looks like a road sign and fences sticking up out of the water - is this still flooded land? Almost like living in Venice! Are you able to get around easily?

Philip, your swan Heart pic reminded me of damselflies who do a 'heart' thing while mating -

Ebony Jewelwings

Wow J, what a cool pic!

Thanks Ann; took that pic back in July 2012 on a rock collecting expedition in western Illinois.

J, you do get the coolest pictures!

I took a few bird pictures when I was out in the yard working again today. I heard these birds chattering and chattering, really agitated and really making a ruckus. The sounds were coming fromw a willow tree across the water from my backyard and I looked over but my eyesight isn't really great for distance anymore and all I could see were what looked like tiny birds dive bombing something in the tree. I thought it was probably a snake and I pointed the camera in that direction and took a few pictures. When I downloaded them a few minutes ago, I see it was Downy Woodpeckers and what they were dive-bombing was a Red-bellied Woodpecker that was right by an excavated hole in the tree. I don't know if it happens or not but I'm thinking the Downy's excavated this nesting site and the Red-bellied was trying to take it over. The dive-bombing and incessant chattering went on for quite a long while and finally the Red-bellied flew off ... I'll have to remember to keep an eye on that tree to see if I see Downy Woodpeckers going in and out of the hole.

Downy Woodpecker, male

Red-bellied Woodpecker, male


A little Female Cardinal was alert on a branch in the same tree:


I spotted a Bald Eagle flying overhead a little while ago but all I got was this blurry photo:


Mourning Dove's ................................................................................................ Grackle


And a Squirrel that was heading to a suet feeder

Thanks Lin; and you get the best bird pics!

Y'all are too kind and I thank you! I still have to say it's the camera and not me because all I do is zoom in as far as possible and click ... with my bad eyesight I can't tell half the time what I've got until I download them and look at them full screen on my computer.