Yup, it's songbirds again

Got another fairly large picture post today, so I'll just get right to it.

A Purple Finch repositioning itself a bit higher on my bird feeder:



Three for the price of one:



Someone's having a bad hair day:



One of those rare times I was already pointing my camera at the feeder when some action took place:









It appears the parking lot is getting full...



Posing nicely for the camera:



This afternoon I went over to Mom and Dad's to celebrate my birthday (which was actually Wednesday) with my family. Joining us for a terrific meal were my brother Greg, my grandmother, my aunt and uncle, and one of my cousins. Naturally, while I was at the house I spent some time sitting outside watching and photographing birds. I even spent a little time standing close to the front door. I was hoping a bird Dad spotted just a few minutes earlier, which he believed to be a Yellow Warbler, would come back to the tree it'd been sitting in. But, alas, it was not meant to be. I did, however, get the chance to photograph a male Cardinal attempting to impersonate a male hummingbird by stealing one of its favorite spots to perch:



A female hummingbird as she sat on the feeder that hangs just off the dining room window:



A couple of interesting bugs (they look like moths to me) as they took a breather on the grass:



I liked how the reflection came out in this shot of a Goldfinch drinking from the fountain on the porch:



Another severe case of chipmunk cheeks:



A Redpoll on one of the feeders:



The same Redpoll being joined by a House Finch:



The finch itself:



A Chickadee snacking on a bit of seed:



And the obligatory Kaylee shot, taken upon her request to serve as proof that she does indeed know how to share the couch with others:

Green day

I was feeling pretty brain dead by the time I got home this evening, ultimately deciding to just wander around outside and see what there was to photograph. As I did, I was once again struck by the patterns and contrasts created by the light coming through the leaves on the maple trees along one side of the property:









I opened up the aperture as far as it would go for most of today's shots, and as is the case when I do the same thing along a river it resulted in very vibrant, vivid colors:







Finally, a Nuthatch that happened to take a snack break in the tree I was standing right across from:

Just ducky

One final duck extravaganza for you today; the trial I was participating as a juror in concluded this evening, so I will not be returning to Bennington tomorrow. I didn't get back home until after 9 p.m., and am writing this at about 11:40 p.m. So this'll definitely be another post heavy on the pictures and light on the text...







I really liked the contrast between the blurriness of the wings and the clarity of the rest of the duck's body in this one:



In case you ever had any doubts as to the accuracy of the phrase "like water off a duck's back"...



I caught this one hopping up on the shore:











The way this one's wing is fanned out gives it, to my eye, a profile similar to that of a peacock. Notice how the left leg is stretched out under the wing as well:



And now the other side:











In this one I really loved how the feathers came out:



I don't know about you, but to me this is the look of a creature that's about two minutes away from causing some serious mischief:



Not the best picture focus-wise, but I still thought it was pretty interesting:

Quacking up

There are no words to describe how wiped out I'm feeling tonight. You know how they say someone can look like they were ridden hard and put away wet? Right now, I feel (and suspect look) like I was ridden hard and then poleaxed upside the head.

So, in brief: I took a bunch more photos around the pond during our lunch break. These are the ones I liked best. Hope you enjoy.

I never would have noticed this turtle hiding out under a sunken pine branch if not for the two little girls who spotted him and pointed him out to me:



And now, the ducks...







I'm mildly tempted to Photoshop a halo onto this image...







I took this one when I noticed how the blue stripe on the wing looks purple in the reflection:













I liked this one for two reasons—you can see the duck's head through the water, and I was intrigued by the band of water across its neck:









I liked the colors in this one:



I almost skipped right on past this one, and then I noticed I'd caught these two ducks in virtually identical positions:



And again, I liked the coloring here: