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Photo of the Day - š September 2022 š
- Thread starter TheYayAreaLiving šļø
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I can't believe the month of September is almost over. Until next time..š„²
š½ Statue of Liberty, New York, NY.
š½ Statue of Liberty, New York, NY.
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Itās been the saddest butterfly season I can recall since moving here. We have experienced a localized drought, so bad that Iāve only had to mow the lawn 3 times since June. Even the crabgrass isnāt even trying. This was from several weeks ago.
.. a pretty start to my morning walk earlier this week (in a local neighbourhood Municipal park).
I dove in Hawaii for a 'feeding encounter' and they and Mantas are so graceful, literally flying through the water. They also can get a little 'pushy' and a few people got bumped. But having one soaring over your head as you look up was a great thrill. There was a good 2 dozen or more flying around.
That sounds really cool. Thought also a bit scary.
The scrum for food did result in one person getting hit rather hard in the back of the head. No blood, but knocked their mask loose. Some were hit with the tips of their wings (grabbing tails was strictly forbidden). But the dive master said that we are guests at their dinner table, and they will tolerate us up to a point. No one had ever been bitten, not that they would bite and remove fingers and such, but getting bumped is part of the experience. The one that was head butted laughed it all off, said it was pretty cool to be there and be so involved in the feeding process. For the record, they do occasionally bite humans, but have no real teeth in the shark like style. They usually just leave a mild skin abrasion, similar to a carpet burn, or sandpaper, but they can bump pretty hard...
Part of a bridge abutment supporting a steel bridge on the CPR line near Frank, AB.
Lumix ZS200 camera.
Lumix ZS200 camera.
Couple of grackles showing each other how cool they are and who is top bird LOL the whole interaction was pretty funny
Canon EOS 7D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400 mm f4.5-5.6 IS II USM
ISO 640 f11 1/320 sec
Canon EOS 7D Mark II
Canon EF 100-400 mm f4.5-5.6 IS II USM
ISO 640 f11 1/320 sec
Blue jays are considered bullies. They can chase away all your other birds. But thatās only if theyāre swarming your feeders in groups. I have avoided putting out the kinds of foods they swarm for, and we can go months without seeing one. But the last couple of weeks a couple of them have been regular visitors. This is the first time Iāve captured multiple in the lens.
I didnāt do myself any favors on this. I should have increased the ISO, and I was shooting through both the glass door and screen door from a distance so as not to spook them. Cāest la vie.
I didnāt do myself any favors on this. I should have increased the ISO, and I was shooting through both the glass door and screen door from a distance so as not to spook them. Cāest la vie.
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LOL RJ, first cowbirds now grackles. Show me a bird I don't want to shoo away! I swear, if your next one is of starlings, I'm blocking you!
You missed the starlings already shared I guess you will have to block me LOL. Love the heart shaped patterns on them ;-)LOL RJ, first cowbirds now grackles. Show me a bird I don't want to shoo away! I swear, if your next one is of starlings, I'm blocking you!
I've never liked them: same evil oily sheen as the grackle devil-birds. But seriously, a couple of summers ago, I got just swarmed with them. I would fill the feeders and they would just come and wipe them out in half a day. Squirrels are one thing: I've got ways to deal with them. Starlings made me take down some of the food that I really liked having out there. Fortunately, I'm far enough north that in fall and winter they opt to fly just a little south...I've got peanuts and suet back up. Bane of my existence!
Oeh, getting your mask knocked off must also be 'a thing', but I have no experience with diving. Only snorkelling.
Not bitten, no, but their tail is killing as I understand:
'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin died at age 44. "He came on top of the stingray and the stingray's barb went up and into his chest and put a hole into his heart," said Stainton, who was on board Irwin's boat at the time.
https://www.foxnews.com/story/crocodile-hunter-steve-irwin-killed-by-stingray-on-great-barrier-reef
^^ Foxnews? "Sorry 'bout that"
Never had that problem. The Stellar Jays tend to intimidate the blues, the Nut Crackers (Grey Jays) intimidate the Stellars, the Ravens intimidate them all, at least until a hawk or cat comes along. That said they all manage to find a peanut or 3 on the stump.
We have short periods of that but I switch to safflower and they hate it. Most of birds I like will eat the safflower so I can get by til a nesting pair remains that comes back to a knot hole in my tree over the patio pooping on everything below LOL. Yeah in winter they are not here either so I can put back sunflower and the like for my winter birds (mostly downy and red bellied (so called I call them mohawk ) wood peckers, nut hatches, many cardinals, tons of mourning doves that can get worse than starlings at some point but other birds can deal with them, lots of gold finches also.
Wow, you've got a whole circle of life thing going on. Or line segment of life, at any rate.
I have golden safflower out all year round: squirrels are not partial to it (neither are grackles) and the starlings are meh on it. I've got another feeder with a mix; during starling season I switch mixes to one that is more striped sunflower seeds instead of black oil sunflower seeds (the starlings can't deal with the harder shell), and that discourages them. The peanuts just have to go away. They'll also just tear through my suet, so during that time of the year I take down the vertical suet log and replace it with two that have the cavities underneath, facing downwards. That discourages them for the most part; they will perch beneath and try to "hummingbird it", but they can't just sit and gorge. If they're going to go to that length, well then more power to them. Unfortunately it also makes it tougher for the woodpeckers but oh well.
Did your local stores run out of golden safflower for months? There is evidently one guy that owns the patent on golden saff for birdseed, in Montana. His crop went kaput this year, and for months no one here could get any. It's back now, thank goodness.
I don't have the same mourning dove problem; I can get them but they don't tend to camp out very long at mine. I do get the occasional pileated woodpecker. And then in May-June I get orioles, my favorites!
Kyoto, onboard a 1948 Kawasaki 4-6-4 Steam locomotive.
