Winged Jewels

Juvenile Broad-Billed Hummingbird! by Ruby 2417 Via Flickr: A young male, with just a smidge of youthful down on his little chest. Madera Canyon, Arizona. Sept. 2024.

Local Hummingbird by punahou77 Via Flickr: This is the partner of the hummingbird that I posted yesterday. I had fun sitting on the patio waiting for these guys to make their rounds and feed in my yard. Instead of coming to my lantana, they were feeding on the flowers in my neighbor's tree. I was really impressed with the way my new lens was able to reach out and capture these little guys. Looking forward to using it more in the future.

Siblings - Great Horned Owl babies by Georgie Alexon Via Flickr: These great horned owlets seemed almost ready to start branching. Yet, their parents nested on a palm tree in the middle of a field. Besides being open to the weather and having no shade, the same breeding pair seem to nest there successfully over the past couple of years. Taken at the boat launch at Fort De Soto, Florida. - Bubo virginianus

Springtime colors - Yellow-Rumped Warbler by Georgie Alexon Via Flickr: This photograph of a Yellow-rumped Warbler was taken on a warm sunny spring day in Calgary, Alberta Canada An interesting fact about these birds is that The Yellow-rumped Warbler is the only warbler able to digest the waxes found in bayberries and wax myrtles. Its ability to use these fruits allows it to winter farther north than other warblers, sometimes as far north as Newfoundland.

Blue - Tree Swallow by Georgie Alexon Via Flickr: Having tried and failed to get these birds in flight, I was happy this Tree Swallow was perched on a wire. He posed nicely for his photograph on a countryside road in rural Alberta, Canada. ree Swallows winter farther north than any other American swallows and return to their nesting grounds long before other swallows come back. They can eat plant foods as well as their normal insect prey, which helps them survive the cold snaps and wintry weather of early spring. - Tachycineta bicolor

Lets Dance - White Storks by Georgie Alexon Via Flickr: These White Storks were trying to assert their dominance in the colony as they returned to their nesting grounds in Silves Portugal. White storks are gregarious and non-territorial birds. They typically gather into loosely structured groups. During the breeding season, they nest in small colonies, constructing the nests far from each other. Non-breeding birds form groups of 40-50 individuals. - Ciconia ciconia

Catching up with a friend - Barn Swallow by Georgie Alexon Via Flickr: As I was taking a break from the storks in Silves, Portugal, I tried to get some photos of the Barn Swallow while they were perched on a wire. I had given up by now of trying to capture them in flight as they are too fast for me. These birds are commonly seen swooping low over fields or water, eating their food on the go. But they’re also known to look for prey up to 100 feet in the air. -Hirundo rustica rustica

Brunch Buffet - Cedar Waxwing by Georgie Alexon Via Flickr: This Cedar Waxwing was lucky enough to find a spider web full of bugs after the wind picked up. As the web came apart the Waxwing was eating the lines of bugs as fast as he could. He probably at his days supply of bugs just on this perch without having to hunt for them one by one like he normally would. Waxwings also like to the fruits off fruit bearing trees and bushes. -Bombycilla cedrorum

DSC_8941 (2) by adamsdale616

Sunset Dance by ramonaj2001 on Flickr.

RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD by sea25bill on Flickr.

GREEN HERON by sea25bill on Flickr.