All grown up (or nearly so)

OK Duc, this one's for you.

Another. The house finch wannabees are with them constantly.

Last one off the 40D/200mm. I need to look at the card I pulled from the Mark III

Oh, here's one more I overlooked.

I got a couple of shots of the female juvenile perched on the handrail, drying after her bath.

Love the feathers she displays in this one.

And here she is all dry. Not sure if this is before or after the bath.

This one of the younger boys talking back after Papa had chased him out of the feeder cage.

Not sure if this is Papa or one of the juveniles. I think it's Papa.

And lastly, for now, two finches of a different kind. Occasionally they too follow the bluebirds around.

This message was edited Sep 23, 2009 4:12 PM

Spectacular photos Dave. Love them all!! I think it's so cute that the House Finches stay with the Bluebirds like that.

Great shots Dave!

"Here's looking at you, kid".

After the bath.

Same comment.

Interesting to watch the parents boss the kids around. Here is one of the older juveniles, taking a bath. You can see Mama enter the frame from above.

She perches on the shadow casting apparatus of the sundial and tells him to move out.

Then she flies down into him. Here it looks like he is fighting back, but really he is just getting out of her way.

And in she goes.

I am going through some old camera cards and have found a few pics of my bluebird babies I hadn't reviewed before. They may be a bit out of order.

These guys were 41 days old when these were taken.

This one is coming in for a landing on the fence.

This is one of the juveniles from the June 23 fledging, taken two days ago, all finished with his molt.

Another shot from the same day.

This juvenile was 66 days old when this was taken.

This is his sister, taken the same day.

Another of the males, same day.

This guy's not sure if he wants to fly, or walk.

Another bird, as he is taking off.

Here is more proof that molting itches. I like this shot because it shows the bottom of his foot in good detail--something else you don't see every day.

A young female as she takes off.

And here are a few from today.

Same bird.

I think this is one of the juveniles. But of course, it could be Mama. Hard to tell now that they have finished molting.

This most likely is one of the juveniles, all dressed up.

I know this is totally off topic, but some months ago I got the idea that I would like to visit each of the 95 counties in Virginia and take a picture of its court house. Maybe I thought it was something very few people had done. Maybe it was because the few pictures of courthouses that I had seen were not the best. Maybe it was because, as my wife contended, I had gone over the edge. One of the nicer things she said was, "Why couldn't we live in Delaware." (Delaware has only three counties).

Most of the court houses are old structures, built in the Greek Revival style, which I happen to find very interesting.

My approach has been to get up early each Sunday and drive to a different part of the state, then follow a circuitous route, from county seat to county seat, usually getting five or six before heading home. I kept this up all Summer, until I had 83. I needed the two at the end of the DelMarVa peninsula and 10 others, located more than 200 miles away, at the southwest corner of the state.

Saturday I left at 2:30 a.m. and headed southwest. I finally got back home at 10:45 p.m., I had driven more than 950 miles, but I got all 10.

In my travels I drove very close to Mabry Mill, which is located on the Blue Ridge Parkway, not far from the Virginia-North Carolina line. It is often photographed and I had seen many pictures of it but I have always wanted to see it in person and it truly is lovely. The kind of peaceful scene that makes you want to linger a while longer.

You probably have seen it, on a calendar or in a book, but here is one of the pictures I snapped before I reluctantly had to move on..

Dave

This message was edited Oct 5, 2009 2:53 AM

Speaking of bluebirds, here is one more from this afternoon, as I sign off for the night.

Dave, that Mill picture is so gorgeous! But I love your commentary about "going over the edge"! You really need to see about publishing your pics, they are fantastic. PS- Please post this also over in the Photos thread so more people can see it.

This message was edited Oct 5, 2009 5:03 AM

That is so lovely and peaceful looking!

Dave...beautiful shots of the Blues and so glad you went over the edge and got that gorgeous shot of the Mill! I feel the same as Gardenpom and hope you post it and the others on the Photos Forum. I would love to see all of the court house photos!