This turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) flew over this morning. It looks like it was looking directly at me, but when I zoomed in for a close look, I think its left eye was shut. You know, many birds can sleep with half their brain, it's called unihemispheric slow-wave sleep. I have no idea if that is happening here, and it weems unlikely, but thought it worth of mentioning.
"If you’ve gone looking for raptors on a clear day, your heart has probably leaped at the sight of a large, soaring bird in the distance– perhaps an eagle or osprey. But if it's soaring with its wings raised in a V and making wobbly circles, it's likely a Turkey Vulture. These birds ride thermals in the sky and use their keen sense of smell to find fresh carcasses." - allaboutbirds.org
This turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) flew over this morning. It looks like it was looking directly at me, but when I zoomed in for a close look, I think its left eye was shut. You know, many birds can sleep with half their brain, it's called unihemispheric slow-wave sleep. I have no idea if that is happening here, and it weems unlikely, but thought it worth of mentioning.
@Swede1952 yes it is Venus you caught on your phone , they looked really fantastic in the sky last night and funnily enough,I took a picture on my phone too !
I like to sit in by backyard with my camera and watch the birds in the yard and the sky. It's not rare that I'll see something interesting. This broad-winged hawk was in the sky yesterday afternoon. I noticed after all the birds in the yard (and there were a lot) suddenly took off, leaving the backyard quiet.
"One of the greatest spectacles of migration is a swirling flock of Broad-winged Hawks on their way to South America. Also known as “kettles,” flocks can contain thousands of circling birds that evoke a vast cauldron being stirred with an invisible spoon. A small, stocky raptor with black-and-white bands on the tail, the Broad-winged Hawk is a bird of the forest interior and can be hard to see during the nesting season. Its call is a piercing, two-parted whistle." - allaboutbirds.org
I like to sit in by backyard with my camera and watch the birds in the yard and the sky. It's not rare that I'll see something interesting. This broad-winged hawk was in the sky yesterday afternoon. I noticed after all the birds in the yard (and there were a lot) suddenly took off, leaving the backyard quiet.
Because it's World Sparrow Day, all of the bird photos that I post today will be sparrows.
Here is a male house sparrow, who right now is a very small minority among sparrow in my backyard. You can tell he's a breeding male by the patch of black feathers on his upper chest.
"The House Sparrow was introduced into Brooklyn, New York, in 1851. By 1900 it had spread to the Rocky Mountains. Two more introductions in the early 1870s, in San Francisco and Salt Lake City, aided the bird’s spread throughout the West. House Sparrows are now common across all of North America except Alaska and far northern Canada." - allaboutbirds.org
Because it's World Sparrow Day, all of the bird photos that I post today will be sparrows.
Here is a male house sparrow, who right now is a very small minority among sparrow in my backyard. You can tell he's a breeding male by the patch of black feathers on his upper chest.
"The House Sparrow was introduced into Brooklyn, New York, in 1851. By 1900 it had spread to the Rocky Mountains. Two more introductions in the early 1870s, in San Francisco and Salt Lake City, aided the bird’s...
@Swede1952 I hope you saw Venus and Jupiter above the moon. Awesome picture. Was the picture taken through a window screen?
I have pictures but iCloud misbehaving and I can’t get it off the phone as I am running a long exposure picture. The exposure time I am anticipating to be about 6 hours if clouds do not interrupt my view of the stars. iPhone did an amazing job capturing all three before the moon set below the horizon.
@Swede1952#alternativeText#imageDescription#blind#accessibility#inclusion
Currently I can't see any alt text on this image.
There are people here who participate in Mastodon with a screen reader. In order to be able to imagine what has been posted, they need an image description as detailed as possible. You enter that when you upload the image. #AltTextMovement
@Swede1952#alternativeText#imageDescription#blind#accessibility#inclusion
Currently I can't see any alt text on this image.
There are people here who participate in Mastodon with a screen reader. In order to be able to imagine what has been posted, they need an image description as detailed as possible. You enter that when you upload the image. #AltTextMovement
Yesterday a small flock of cedar waxwings occupied the very top of a tall tree at the edge of the forest. I took this photo from a corner inside my backyard fence.
"The name "waxwing" comes from the waxy red secretions found on the tips of the secondaries of some birds. The exact function of these tips is not known, but they may help attract mates." - allaboutbirds.org
Yesterday a small flock of cedar waxwings occupied the very top of a tall tree at the edge of the forest. I took this photo from a corner inside my backyard fence.
"The name "waxwing" comes from the waxy red secretions found on the tips of the secondaries of some birds. The exact function of these tips is not known, but they may help attract mates." - allaboutbirds.org
My wife and I drove to Alexandria, Louisiana yesterday. My wife quilts so we had to visit Joann's and Hobby Lobby to look for fabric. While she was in Hobby Lobby, I saw this mockingbird.
"If you’ve been hearing an endless string of 10 or 15 different birds singing outside your house, you might have a Northern Mockingbird in your yard. These slender-bodied gray birds apparently pour all their color into their personalities. They sing almost endlessly, even sometimes at night, and they flagrantly harass birds that intrude on their territories, flying slowly around them or prancing toward them, legs extended, flaunting their bright white wing patches." - allaboutbirds.org
My wife and I drove to Alexandria, Louisiana yesterday. My wife quilts so we had to visit Joann's and Hobby Lobby to look for fabric. While she was in Hobby Lobby, I saw this mockingbird.
"If you’ve been hearing an endless string of 10 or 15 different birds singing outside your house, you might have a Northern Mockingbird in your yard. These slender-bodied gray birds apparently pour all their color into their personalities. They sing almost endlessly, even sometimes at night,...
@Swede1952 Love these little guys. They'll also "attack" people—I've had them fly so close I could feel the brush of their wings. Pretty sure I can hold my own in a fight with a 2-oz bird, though.
These birds filled an oak tree behind my wife's shop yesterday. I don't know what kind of birds they are, they may be goldfinches, robins, or a flock of birds just passing through and stopped to rest. I forget what was going on when I took the photo, but I couldn't get closer.
“Love is just a word until someone comes along and gives it meaning.” - Paulo Coehlo, “Aleph”
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