Daily pics, vol. 347

I have so enjoyed everyone's photos.

I managed a couple of very quick shots of a Pacific Black Duck that flew over my head at the nest yesterday.

Very nice Margaret.
There's plenty of Blue Jays around.

A Chipping Sparrow.

Hairy Woodpecker,

Nanny, at least you're still seeing the osprey. Your little goldfinch is beautiful.

Margaret, that Pacific Black Duck sure is a beauty.

Burn your jay, sparrow and wp are so sweet.

My Lesser Goldfinches are enjoying all the seeds in my garden.

Here's another goldfinch.

I have no idea what this Scrub Jay had in its mouth.

Last is an Oak Titmouse in the morning sun.

Margaret...gorgeous duck!!

Cute Titmouse duc!

Gee burn, the Chipping have left here.....not fair!!

OOOOHHHHH.....I saw my first White-throated Sparrow for this fall today!!

This message was edited Oct 2, 2010 5:57 PM

Osprey as it flew over me...

The crows were giving the Osprey a hard time down at the lake......kind of a cool shot.

Beautiful shots, Burn and duc.

I'm glad you're seeing Ospreys, Nanny. Wonderful birds. That last shot looks like a hover before a dive.

I spent a couple of mornings at a very large swamp a few days ago. This young Black Swan was really close and arched its neck and hissed at me until I spoke to it. It then settled down and dozed off, but would occasionally open its eye just to check that I wasn't planning on sneaking up on it.

I took dozens of shots of a Musk Duck. These would have to be one of the strangest of all ducks. They look like a cross between a penguin and a platypus. The males have a large, fleshy lobe under their short, stout bills. The male puts on a remarkable mating display, rising high in the water and slamming itself back down, wings out, making quite a splash. I didn't see any display behaviour, unfortunately.

Its tail as it dived.

To tell the truth, I do enjoy this thread. So many terrific pix.

I only have two to add to the mix.


At first I thought this female Downy was a Hairy Wp, until I saw the black dots of the tail feathers.

Hack

They swim very low in the water and are reportedly rarely seen flying (I've never seen one fly). They are brilliant underwater swimmers, frequently diving and popping up 100' away.

The male didn't stay as long as this female Goldfinch did.

Hack

Great photography and very odd looking ducks, Margaret. Beautiful Black Swan and interesting behavior. Terrific pics. everyone. I've been MIA for awhile. But I have enjoyed everyone's sharing. Thank you. A different angle at a Mockingbird (?) pic. was taken this evening.

Hello Hack and Margaret, our last posts were posted at the same moment. Happy Autumn, (Spring time for Margaret).

Hello Lily_love. Nice photo and thanks for the spring greeting. Happy autumn to you and everyone.

Cute li'l Woodpecker, Hack.

Last shot for now of the Musk Duck being chased by a cantankerous Coot. (Can't see the Coot)

That last pic, Margaret, is a really nice Action shot.

Nice puimpkin, Lily.

Hack

Thanks, Hack. I love the expression on his face.

Wow great pics from everyone!!

Margaret, I love the strange looking Musk Duck!

Well, I made myself get on up this morning and am I glad I did. I looked out the window and, lo and behold, there was a bird I've only seen three times before, ever! - a female Grosbeak. Last year on Oct 23rd I got a total of 3 pix of one. And never saw one again, until now.

Hack

That's great Hack!

Thanks pelle,

And then she flew to another feeder. Both feeders had Black Oil Sunflower seed in them. She never visited a feeder with the wild bird seed.

Hack

And then I saw a flash of red - a male, JOY!. Such a pretty touch of red on him. Kinda felt life a Lifer to me.

Hack

Here, I just had to take another pic, after all, it may be another year before I see another.

Hack

I had my usual high number of female Cardinals

Hack

Oh, and the guys were here, too. Come to think of it, I never fail to see a Cardinal, even in the coldest of the Ga winter - which for you guys above the Mason-Dixon line ain't very cold.

Hack.

And here, Mrs. Cardinal is waiting along with a Mr. House Finch to fly down and get some grub.

Hack

Wow, those Grosbeaks are gorgeous Hack.

Thanks Margaret,

Ouch, I didn't realize the my first pic of the male grosbeak was so grainy.

I decided to run it through my (free-ware) noise reduction software, it is better now.

Hack

That Musk Duck is very cool!

Congrats on the Grosbeaks Hack!! I do know how you feel....I got a female this week too and was so excited! She was near the area I found the young male a few days ago.

Considering how shady it was, I am happy with the shots I got of her!

This message was edited Oct 2, 2010 3:19 PM

Great shots everyone!! Glad to see everyone getting shots of the migrants coming through there areas.
Been working a lot of overtime...so my birdwatching time has dropped some...along with the daily grind getting in the way..here's a couple of shots from yesterday. The Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers are getting closer everyday..hoping to get good shots of those soon.
Papa Downy

and a female Downy

lastly a Black-capped Chickadee...they have been quite chatty. lol

Nanny, congrats on your first White-throated Sparrow. Glad you're continuing to see the Osprey. I'm not surprised that the crows are after the osprey-they do that here too.

Margaret, love your Black Swan-I didn't know they hissed. Love the Musk Duck, that tail is so funny! Does that "lobe" help the duck make any louder sounds or have any known function-sorry if this is a stupid question. Love that last shot coming at you. Hard to believe a Coot could scare this duck off.

Hack, cute wp!!

Lily, glad to see you're back with us. Your mocker is cute.

Hack, congrats on your grosbeak pair!! I love his colors. I really liked that photo of the cardinal and the House Finch-I'd forgotten the cardinals were so much larger.

Nanny, glad you're seeing the grosbeaks too-great photos! By the way, my crows and jays are enjoying the cat food-thanks for the idea.

Burd, love your wp and chickadee photos-so cute.

My Brewers Blackbirds seem to really shine in the morning sun.

This female Brewer's Blackbird was posing for me.