Bird
Bluebird Family Outing
These are Eastern Bluebirds perched on a stump in our backyard. We have bluebird nest boxes at several locations around our rural home. Each spring we watch, expectantly, for them to return, build their nests and raise their young.
The three birds with the speckled plumage are the young ones. They were attracted to the stump by a treat of mealworms we offered on a regular basis. We love watching them and their progress from hatchlings to fledglings…until they head south for the winter.
Feeding them mealworms on a regular basis creates a location where I can set up my camera and capture some good images. This photo was taken with my camera on a tripod ten to 15 feet away from the stump. I was actually in my house, watching out the window, snapping the photos with a wireless remote.
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Pheasant Profile
The colors and intricate plumage patterns found on the ring-necked pheasant make it one of the world’s most handsome birds.
I snapped this beautiful specimen last Saturday. I spotted him in the ditch along the road. This time of year, it is common to see pheasants roaming the countryside in our area or Northeast Wisconsin.
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All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Pheasant Friends
I was driving home yesterday afternoon and I noticed a flash of color in the tall grass of the ditch along the road. I pulled my camera out of it’s case and doubled back. When I got there, these two, gorgeous, ring-necked pheasants were moving in the grass.
When I first spotted them while driving by, they may have been sparring, but now that I’m closing in they decided to head for the hills – literally.
They ducked into the very tall grasses (taller than me) that filled the ditch. I followed, crossing the muddy ditch water, hoping to get a clear enough view to snap a good shot. Beyond the tallest grass was a very steep hill. I chased them up the hill expecting them to get spooked enough by the pursuit to just fly away. They didn’t fly and I kept following.
I could usually see one or the other moving through the brush, but never in an area where I could get an unobstructed view. Finally, a little further up the hill, where the cover wasn’t so thick, I was able to snap a couple of frames. They continued to move and soon were back into thick brush, now among trees where I couldn’t follow.
As I always suggest, if you like this image, you’ll love the larger version – available by simply clicking the photo.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame option or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Bluebird Family Brunch
This is a family of eastern bluebirds. The gal standing tall in the back (on the left) is the mother. The rest are her offspring from 2014 hatch. They’ve come together to share a mid-morning brunch of mealworms in our backyard.
This female brought two broods into the world this season.
All of the photos I post are available for purchase. If you’d like to buy one, click on the blue “Buy this Online” bar below for a variety of print and frame options or contact me for digital purchase and licensing options.
Poolside Perch
An American Goldfinch (male) clings to a stalk from a blooming hosta while eyeing the refreshing waters of the garden birdbath. The bright yellow summer plumage makes him a standout.
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Pelicans On Blue
There seem to be more pelicans hanging around the lake shore than I remember in years past. These birds were gracefully gliding by in the early morning light.
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High Five Fly By
This female ruby-throated hummingbird seemed to be offering (and expecting) a high-five as she zipped by.
I finally got around to taking some hummingbird photos yesterday. I’m a bit rusty at the high-speed skills it takes to snap one of these. I’ll have to get out there more.
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Bluebirds – Father & Sons
Let me introduce you to our neighbors – the Eastern Bluebird family. This is a father and two of his offspring. There are four of these youngsters hanging around, having hatched this spring.
It’s hard to get the whole group together for a family portrait – though I’m working on it. The mom is busy sitting on another clutch of eggs. She does emerge to eat, now and then. I just have to convince them all to eat at the same time.
I’ve been supplementing their normal diet with meal worms…placing them on this tree stump in our yard. I’ll be posting more of the family in the near future. Stay tuned.
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Singing for Supper
These young tree swallows are hungry and waiting for mom to serve up lunch. They are only about a week old, but growing fast. There are six in this nest box; one of several around our property.
Normally, when you open the nest box to look in our their progress, these young birds are very calm and sleep-like. I trick them to stretch and open their mouths my faking them out with a little whistle. When the mom returns with food, her motherly chirp will perk them up and they open up for the meal she’s brought. So, all it takes it is a little chirp of a whistle and they all bob up, mouths open, waiting. Don’t worry, they don’t stay hungry and wanting for long. Within in moments after close up the house, the parents are flying back in and out with food for them.
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Overflow Seating
Every spring we look forward to the return of bluebirds and tree swallows. We have next boxes around the edges of our yard to encourage homesteading. It’s always a treat to see them building their nests and then watch as the eggs hatch and the babies develop.
This is a view inside a nest box claimed by Eastern Bluebirds. These baby bluebirds are becoming quite cramped in the small confines of the nest box. Though you can’t see all of them, there are five youngsters piled on top of each other. In a short time (I’m guessing a week or less), they will leave the nest.
When looking in on this crowd, we had to be sure none of them spilled out…which they almost did.
To get a better, larger view of these babes, click on the photo.