Titmice and Nuthatches

I briefly contemplated titling today's post "Tits and Nuts" to see if it would improve my blog's hit count, but ultimately decided I really didn't feel like getting a bunch of angry emails accusing me of false advertising...

At any rate, I took all of these shots within a span of about 20 minutes this morning; thankfully, the birds decided to have their breakfast before I'd started mine, so for once I didn't end up slurping down soggy cereal.

Starting things off, a White-breasted Nuthatch scores a pistachio:



You almost expect to see some tumbleweeds roll along between them:



Some nuthatch vs. titmouse action shots:









A nuthatch extracting a seed:



And to close today's post out, a couple of Titmouse close-ups:

Solo act

I had every intention of going out at lunchtime today to take photos, but you know what they say about best laid plans and all that. So just one picture to share this time around, starring a White-breasted Nuthatch that paid a brief visit to my feeder this morning before I left for work:



I hope everyone reading this has a great Thanksgiving!

Rainy Tuesday

For the second straight morning I didn't have a single bird visit my feeder, and then a few hours later it started to rain. So today's post features just a few photos, all taken out behind my office building during my lunch hour as I tried to keep my camera from getting too wet.

Raindrops on pine needles, photographed when I sought cover under said pine tree as the rain started coming down at a fairly good clip:





The rain eased up after a few minutes, so I ventured out from beneath the tree to photograph a few other trees as well. While it was my intention to get a shot of the water collecting on the broken tip of this branch, as I could see the clear reflection of my office building, I did not notice that the image was mirrored within the drop as well:



In this last image, you can easily see one tree branch reflected in the foreground droplet, and upon closer inspection can make out the shapes of other branches as well:



The cool thing, though, is that when you look closely you can also see those two raindrops in the background of my photo clearly reflected, albeit upside down, in the raindrop I was focusing on:

Say cheese

Just a few photos I took of Kaylee this evening when I went over to Mom and Dad's for dinner, holding the camera in one hand as I fed her her nightly treat—a slice of cheese—with the other:







Afterward Kaylee let me know that she'd be happy to let me try taking more photos of her eating cheese whenever I like, as often as I like. Very considerate of her, no?

Sunday action

Apparently the birds decided to make up for their absence yesterday by putting on a show for me today, so I'm going to jump right on in to the good stuff.

A White-breasted Nuthatch getting settled on the feeder:



I got a kick out of this one because I somehow managed to catch the bird just before it finished swallowing a sunflower seed:



A lucky shot of the nuthatch shifting on the perch:



And getting its balance back:



Taking off, food in hand beak:



A couple more wing shots:





And this time around I'll let the nuthatch have the last word:



A Titmouse sharing space with a pair of Chickadees; it's not often I have three birds on the feeder at one time:



A close-up shot of a Chickadee:



I almost didn't post this one, but then realized it provided a somewhat uncommon look at a bird's wing joint:



Look Mom—no wings!



Loved the detail on the wing feathers in this one:



A few shots of some Chickadees chasing each other around and off the feeder:







Finally, a shot of a Chickadee as it moves from one perch to another:

Breakfast with a Titmouse

It was housecleaning day at la casa Sara, after which I did three loads of laundry and medicated a headache that was threatening to be particularly nasty. So just two pics today, both taken this morning just after I'd finished breakfast. I don't always get a lot of avian visitors on Saturday mornings; it's one of three days the thrift store I share a building with is open, resulting in a lot of foot traffic going back and forth past my apartment. Luckily for me, though, this Titmouse decided to grab a snack before it got too busy around here:

Inside and out

Even though I had quite a few visitors at my bird feeder again this morning, with all of the usual suspects putting in an appearance at one point or another, this is, believe it or not, the only bird photo I'm posting today:



You see, when I got to work I remembered that my coworker Sarah was bringing in Junior, her young Golden Retriever, to have a play date with Kim's dog Esa. I thought it would make for a fun change of pace, so I switched over to my wide-angle lens and started clicking away as soon as Junior arrived at the office.

Loved Esa's expression in this one:



Looking a bit uncertain as to exactly how they ended up in this position:



A reversal of fortune:



And a couple of "Aww... aren't they adorable?" pics for good measure:





So at this point I figured I was good to go as far as today's post was concerned. And then, just as the dogs were settling down, Yoshi spotted something moving across the parking lot, making its way from our property to Orvis next door: an otter. Naturally, we all rushed over to look out the back door window, and sure enough, there it was. And there I was, using the lens with a focal length that ends where my telephoto lens begins. So I didn't even bother to try getting a photo of it at that point.

What I did do, though, is go back to my desk, switch lenses, and walk over to Orvis. I honestly wasn't holding out much hope that I'd see the otter again, but I figured if it was lingering anywhere nearby I'd most likely spot it around one of the two adjoining ponds next to the store. So that's where I headed. Once I got there, I stood by a small bridge and started scanning the water's edge. Nothing. I was just about to give up and head back to work when I heard the unmistakable sound of dry leaves being moved around. I looked directly to my left, and there it was, rolling around in the dirt underneath a bush on the other side of the bridge:



Love how pink its footpads are:



Once it had enough of that activity, the otter went down towards the large rocks at the water's edge and quickly dove in, swimming under the end of the bridge and out of my sight. I waited, and before too long it climbed up out to take a look around:



Then it started to do a little exploring: it climbed up the hill, made its way along the opposite side of the bridge, clambered over and around the various rocks and such, came back over towards the bridge, saw me standing about a yard away, backed off, and returned to the other end of the bridge. I stood there clicking away like mad, but my grand total of in-focus pictures was... zero. The otter was just moving too quickly, and because it was fairly overcast I couldn't crank the shutter speed up to compensate.

Happily, the otter's curiosity finally got the better of it, as it started making its way along the edge of the bridge and straight toward where I was standing":



It was only a foot or two away from me when it finally decided to head back across the bridge:



Next up for the otter: breakfast. And since the fish in the Orvis ponds are about the same size as the otter itself, it decided to head over to the reeds at the far end of the pond to see what it could scrounge up:









Nothing like a fresh crayfish to start your day out right:



A closer look at the otter with its meal:



Most of my blurry shots were of the "there's one for the recycling bin" variety, looking like they were taken either during an earthquake or while I was standing on a paint mixer. But I thought this one was worth sharing, as to my eye it really evokes a sense of the fluidity of the otter's movements:



And for the final shot we've actually come full circle, as the otter chose the same bush it was rolling around beneath earlier as the perfect spot for a bit of fine dining. If you look closely, you can even see the tip of its tongue peeking out: