Bird Watching

Some of the birds we saw at Natchez Trace...


Bald Eagle and owl hiding behind him


Second owl, who made strange clicking noises at us


Hummingbirds!

The eagle and owls were in cages at the Park Ranger station. I have never seen either up that close before. It was pretty amazing!

Two for Wednesday

African Daisy


One of the few so far that have fully curled its petals. They should be in full bloom everywhere in a week or two.


Bird Bath


I love the drops of water flinging into the air.

Peacock, Brookfield Zoo

Spotted a peacock at Brookfield Zoo on Saturday. He got upset at some visitors watching him, and put on quite a show. I'd never seen a peacock up close before. Gorgeous!

Feathers at rest



Eying the crowd warily



He had quite a screech when he was fully affronted.



The rear view was pretty cool, too.



Feathers, fully extended

Red-winged blackbirds

Without a telephoto lens, this is as close as I can get to these beauties. Funny, because I don't remember seeing them when I was growing up. Maybe they're a Midwestern bird only?

Spring Ahead

Hope everyone remembered to set their clocks ahead today! Here's hoping these robins I saw the other day are a sign that spring is on its way. I'm ready for it!

Cedar Waxwing

According to some bird-watchers I met along the path of the Chicago Botanic Garden, this is a Cedar Waxwing. It's not the best shot I've taken, but wildlife photography is a lot tougher than it looks, especially without a powerful zoom lens. Someday soon I'll have one, but until then I'll just keep practicing!

Geeseprints

I keep trying to find things to photograph that aren't snow or cold, but it's tough sledding right now. We do go downtown next weekend for St. Patrick's Day, and I expect to have many photographs from that trip. Until then, more snow!

You lookin' at me?

A Canada goose, too stupid to fly further south to where it was genuinely warm.

Everybody's Got a Passion

This man's passion is bird-watching; this was taken at the Illinois Ornithological Society's "Gull Frolic" held at Winthrop Harbor Yacht Club on February 12, 2007. He and a dozen other hearty souls braved the cold weather to observe a large group of seagulls in and around the chilly water.

My passion is taking photographs of moments like this, more of which I added to the Gull Frolic set.

What's yours?

Up with the roosters

Wagner Farm is a farm owned and "preserved" by the Glenview Park District. It does have chickens and cows and horses, although I don't think they grow acres of crops anymore, just enough to show the kids and visitors to the farm. I was able to wander around it yesterday and take pictures, and while the roosters started cawing loudly in protest, one of them posed for some great shots.



You can see more photos of the barn and the grounds in the Midwest Rural set at Flickr. The cows will be another day! (Also, the first shot is worth viewing in large size, too, just to get all the details.)