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  • he Brown-headed Cowbird is well known--and widely disliked--for its practice of laying eggs in the nests of other species. Males are black birds with dull brown heads. Adult males are shiny black, while first-year males are duller black. Females are much smaller and solid brown with a whitish throat and light streaking on their undersides. Juveniles look similar to females, but are more heavily streaked with lighter bellies and light edging on their wing feathers. Cowbirds have more finch-like conical beaks than other blackbirds.
    Male BHCB Profile.jpg
  • I took this shot of the Male Indigo Bunting in my front yard. The Indigo Bunting is a small bird. It displays sexual dimorphism in its coloration; the male is a vibrant blue in the summer and a brown color during the winter months, while the female is brown year-round.
    male_indigo_bunting.jpg
  • A Brown Grizzly Bear at the Saint Louis Zoo with a bit of textured details
    Grizzly Textures.jpg
  • The adult female Brown-headed Cowbird is slightly smaller than the male and is dull grey with a pale throat and very fine streaking on the underparts.
    Flowing Female Cowbird.jpg
  • An Evil Grackle Eyes a Nearby Feeder waiting for an innocent bird to approach so he can torment them.
    Ominous Molting Grackle.jpg
  • The Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) is a member of the Columbidae family. The bird is also called the Turtle Dove or the American Mourning Dove or Rain Dove, and formerly was known as the Carolina Pigeon or Carolina Turtledove. It is one of the most abundant and widespread of all North American birds.
    Mourning Dove 1.jpg
  • Common Grackles are large, lanky blackbirds with long legs and long tails. The head is flat and the bill is longer than in most blackbirds, with the hint of a downward curve. In flight, the wings appear short in comparison to the tail. Males are slightly larger than females.
    Grackle On Golden Grass.jpg
  • Getting My Gracle On.jpg
  • A Moody Mourning Dove searched for seeds near pink coneflowers in the garden
    Mourning Dove Loves Cone Flowers.jpg
  • This beautiful common grackle was hanging out at the Saint Louis Zoo with the Prairie Dogs and Peacocks.
    grackle.jpg
  • Perched Molting Grackle.jpg
  • Grackle Grabs a Seed.jpg
  • Grackle With An Additude.jpg
  • Lonely Lemur sitting and looking around hoping another animal will come along and play.
    IMG_0722.jpg
  • Several KillDeer have made the trees on the Gold?s Gym parking lot home for the next 26 to 28 days of their incubation period. ..The killdeer frequently uses a "broken wing act" to distract predators from the nest.
    killdeer16.jpg
  • You can see by the expression on this doe that she is just enjoying herself while feeding on the vegetation in my Uncle’s backyard.
    white_tailed_doe2.jpg
  • The white-tailed doe realized that by tilting the bird seed holder the food would fall out a little.
    white_tailed_doe14.jpg
  • The Carolina Wren is a common species of wren, resident in the eastern half of the USA, the extreme south of Ontario, Canada, and the extreme northeast of Mexico
    Carolina Wren 2.jpg
  • A Twelve-spotted Skimmer Dragonfly in Pastel Colors. The Twelve-spotted Skimmer is a common North American skimmer dragonfly, found in southern Canada and in all 48 of the contiguous U.S. states. It is a large species, at 50 mm long
    Dragonfly on Pastels - Twelve-spotte...jpg
  • Several KillDeer have made the trees on the Gold?s Gym parking lot home for the next 26 to 28 days of their incubation period. ..The killdeer frequently uses a "broken wing act" to distract predators from the nest. These are photos of the "broken wing act". This is a beautiful and fascinating bird.
    killdeer9.jpg
  • Several KillDeer have made the trees on the Gold?s Gym parking lot home for the next 26 to 28 days of their incubation period. ..The killdeer frequently uses a "broken wing act" to distract predators from the nest. These are photos of the "broken wing act". This is a beautiful and fascinating bird.
    killdeer5.jpg
  • Several KillDeer have made the trees on the Gold?s Gym parking lot home for the next 26 to 28 days of their incubation period. ..The killdeer frequently uses a "broken wing act" to distract predators from the nest. The name of killdeer is imitative of its cry...I personally Find their cry beautiful what?s funny is how fast the little birds run.
    killdeer2.jpg
  • Either this white-tailed doe is really hungry or my aunt and uncle have the best tasting vegetation in their back yard.
    white_tailed_doe9.jpg
  • A beautiful white-tailed doe taking a moment to pose for a photo while we continue to enjoy her company while having dinner on the deck.
    white_tailed_doe4.jpg
  • This beautiful white tailed doe walked into my uncle's backyard and just started eating the vegetation around the trees. She didn't care that we were only about 40 to 50 feet away on his back deck having dinner and enjoying great conversation. <br />
<br />
She just kept walking closer and closer to us the entire time. I just happen to have my 600mm lens with me. Talk about luck. More photos to come.
    white_tailed_doe.jpg
  • The white-tailed doe telling us exactly how she feels about us watching her eat.
    white_tailed_doe12.jpg
  • I swear, I'm Like A Teddy Bear, Come Closer...
    IMG_3138.jpg
  • Yes even a robin can have some majesty and prowess.<br />
<br />
The quintessential early bird, American Robins are common sights on lawns across North America, where you often see them tugging earthworms out of the ground. Robins are popular birds for their warm orange breast, cheery song, and early appearance at the end of winter. Though they're familiar town and city birds, American Robins are at home in wilder areas, too, including mountain forests and Alaskan wilderness. <br />
<br />
The American Robin or North American Robin is a migratory songbird of the thrush family. It is named after the European Robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not closely<br />
<br />
A distinctive, potbellied bird. Forages on lawns and other areas of short vegetation for earthworms and other invertebrates in a run-and-stop pattern typical of terrestrial thrushes. Adult: depending on sex and subspecies, head, with white eye arcs, varies from jet black to gray, with white supercilia and throat, blackish lores and lateral throat stripe. Underparts vary, often in tandem with head color, from deep, rich reddish maroon to gray-scalloped, peachy orange. Males tend to be darker, females grayer, but overlap makes determining sex of many problematic.
    Majestic Robin Blues.jpg
  • This shot of this beautiful bunny rabbit was taken on a gorgeous summer day at the Saint Louis Zoo.
    rabbit.jpg
  • This prairie dog was just trying to eat and this little bird just kept trying to take the food right out of the prairie dogs mouth.  It was really funny to watch and the prairie dog did not seem to care.
    gimme_my_carrot.jpg
  • I photographed this grasshopper at Busch Wildlife in Missouri on a beautiful, sunny and windy day.
    grasshopper.jpg
  • Several KillDeer have made the trees on the Gold?s Gym parking lot home for the next 26 to 28 days of their incubation period. ..The killdeer frequently uses a "broken wing act" to distract predators from the nest. These are photos of the "broken wing act". This is a beautiful and fascinating bird.
    killdeer12.jpg
  • Several KillDeer have made the trees on the Gold?s Gym parking lot home for the next 26 to 28 days of their incubation period. ..The killdeer frequently uses a "broken wing act" to distract predators from the nest. These are photos of the "broken wing act". This is a beautiful and fascinating bird.
    killdeer8.jpg
  • Several KillDeer have made the trees on the Gold?s Gym parking lot home for the next 26 to 28 days of their incubation period. ..The killdeer frequently uses a "broken wing act" to distract predators from the nest. The name of killdeer is imitative of its cry...This picture was the first of the "broken wing act". This is a beautiful and fascinating bird.
    killdeer4.jpg
  • A long exposure macro shot of the sunlight hitting a Canna bud. Went with more of a dreamy focus for something with a bit more character to the composition that might allow it to be framed
    Phosphorescence.jpg
  • Even white-tailed does know eating greens is good for you.
    white_tailed_doe8.jpg
  • Another beautiful photo of the doe finishing eating a piece of vegetation.
    white_tailed_doe7.jpg
  • The white-tailed doe still browsing and sampling the vegetation trying to decide what to eat.
    white_tailed_doe5.jpg
  • I am almost certain this doe is listening to our dinner conversations.
    white_tailed_doe6.jpg
  • I think the white-tailed deer finally had enough vegetation and bird seed. Now time to head to another location.
    white_tailed_doe15.jpg
  • The white-tailed doe trying to decide the best way to eat the bird seed.
    white_tailed_doe13.jpg
  • A Male House Finch Posing On A Branch Letting Me Snap A Profile Shot
    A House Finch Looks On.jpg
  • Grizzly bear exhausted and just chillin in the shade at the Saint Louis Zoo.
    Grizzly Chillin.jpg
  • Donald is a Golden Eagle Ambassador at the National Eagle Center in Minnesota.  Donald had his right wing broke in two places when he was hit by a car in California. Donald can no longer sustain flight due to his injury...Golden eagles can be found around the world in the northern hemisphere.  Due to Donald's accident he is now able to help visitors at the National Eagle Center understand and learn about the life and habitat of golden eagles.
    golden_eagle_ambassador_donald.jpg
  • A Starling and A Prairie Dog Fight Over Peanuts at the Saint Louis Zoo
    cmon share your food.jpg
  • Several KillDeer have made the trees on the Gold?s Gym parking lot home for the next 26 to 28 days of their incubation period. ..The killdeer frequently uses a "broken wing act" to distract predators from the nest. These are photos of the "broken wing act". This is a beautiful and fascinating bird.
    killdeer15.jpg
  • Several KillDeer have made the trees on the Gold?s Gym parking lot home for the next 26 to 28 days of their incubation period. ..The killdeer frequently uses a "broken wing act" to distract predators from the nest. These are photos of the "broken wing act". This is a beautiful and fascinating bird.
    killdeer11.jpg
  • Several KillDeer have made the trees on the Gold?s Gym parking lot home for the next 26 to 28 days of their incubation period. ..The killdeer frequently uses a "broken wing act" to distract predators from the nest. These are photos of the "broken wing act". This is a beautiful and fascinating bird.
    killdeer7.jpg
  • Several KillDeer have made the trees on the Gold?s Gym parking lot home for the next 26 to 28 days of their incubation period. ..The killdeer frequently uses a "broken wing act" to distract predators from the nest. The name of killdeer is imitative of its cry...I personally Find their cry beautiful what?s funny is how fast the little birds run.
    killdeer.jpg
  • I think we need to teach this white-tailed doe that you should chew with your mouth closed. Lol
    white_tailed_doe10.jpg
  • This beautiful white-tailed doe is just browsing the vegetation trying to decide what would be great for lunch or dinner.
    white_tailed_doe3.jpg
  • I guess the white-tailed doe has decided bird seed will be dessert.
    white_tailed_doe11.jpg
  • A Flock Of Snow Geese Fly Through Wentzville Skies on a cold March Morning
    Crowded New Melle Skies.jpg
  • March 1st on a snowy afternoon the husband and I decided to head out and see what kind of photos we could capture while it was still snowing.  ..We came across 2 fields along Hwy D in New Melle, Missouri were hundreds of what I believe to be Snow Geese were making themselves at home.  I took this shot as I thought it was unique and interesting. They are beautiful.
    new_melle_snow_geese.jpg
  • Snow Geese Waddle Through The Snow in New Melle
    New Melle Snow Geese.jpg
  • These domestic horses were running around some farm land along HWY D in New Melle, Missouri. They are such beautiful animals.
    domestic_horses.jpg
  • These Phasmatodeas were on the outside of my kitchen window for an entire day...The females are usually significantly larger than the males, may have evolved due to the fitness advantage accrued to males that can remain attached to the female, thereby blocking competitors, without severely impeding her movement.
    phasmatodeas.jpg
  • Prairie dog hanging out and eating carrots on a beautiful day at the Saint Louis Zoo.
    prairie_dog.jpg
  • This gorgeous animal is a Takin. They are also called  also called cattle chamois or gnu goat. You can find these goat-antelopes at the Saint Louis Zoo.
    takin.jpg
  • A Dabbling Duck swimming in the shallow waters of one of the blue lakes in New Town - Saint Charles, Missouri
    Dabbling in Blue Waters.jpg
  • Several KillDeer have made the trees on the Gold?s Gym parking lot home for the next 26 to 28 days of their incubation period. ..The killdeer frequently uses a "broken wing act" to distract predators from the nest. These are photos of the "broken wing act". This is a beautiful and fascinating bird.
    killdeer14.jpg
  • Several KillDeer have made the trees on the Gold?s Gym parking lot home for the next 26 to 28 days of their incubation period. ..The killdeer frequently uses a "broken wing act" to distract predators from the nest. These are photos of the "broken wing act". This is a beautiful and fascinating bird.
    killdeer13.jpg
  • Several KillDeer have made the trees on the Gold?s Gym parking lot home for the next 26 to 28 days of their incubation period. ..The killdeer frequently uses a "broken wing act" to distract predators from the nest. These are photos of the "broken wing act". This is a beautiful and fascinating bird.
    killdeer10.jpg
  • Several KillDeer have made the trees on the Gold?s Gym parking lot home for the next 26 to 28 days of their incubation period. ..The killdeer frequently uses a "broken wing act" to distract predators from the nest. These are photos of the "broken wing act". This is a beautiful and fascinating bird.
    killdeer6.jpg
  • This is the nest of Killdeer. ..Several KillDeer have made the trees on the Gold?s Gym parking lot home for the next 26 to 28 days of their incubation period. .
    killdeer3.jpg
  • Divided into a 12 year cycle, each Chinese lunar year is represented by an animal. Similar to western astrology, the characteristics of the animal that rules a particular year will define a person from that birth-year. Celebrate the Year of the dragon with our dragon statues.
    Year-Of-The-Dragon.jpg
  • A Male House Finch Stopped By To Sing A Song From A Close Perch.
    Up Close and Personal Mr Finch.jpg
  • Pachyderm making its way through the elephant area looking determined enough to remove anything that gets in its way.
    Incoming Pachyderm.jpg
  • In summer it can seem that every patch of woods in the eastern United States rings with the rolling song of the Carolina Wren. This shy bird can be hard to see, but it delivers an amazing number of decibels for its size. Follow its teakettle-teakettle! and other piercing exclamations through backyard or forest, and you may be rewarded with glimpses of this bird's rich cinnamon plumage, white eyebrow stripe, and long, upward-cocked tail. This hardy bird has been wintering farther and farther north in recent decades.
    Carolina Wren.jpg
  • These beautiful Bactrian Camels can be found just hanging out on at the Saint Louis Zoo.
    bactrian_camels.jpg
  • This little lady was playing in a fountain just enjoying the beautiful weather at the Saint Louis Zoo.
    quackers.jpg
  • The nyala is a Southern African antelope. It is a spiral-horned dense-forest antelope that is uncomfortable in open spaces and is most often seen at water holes.
    Nyala.jpg
  • Adults have a long, square-tipped brown tail and are a brown or dull-brown color across the back with some shading into deep gray on the wing feathers. Breast and belly feathers may be streaked; the flanks usually are. In most cases, adult males' heads, necks and shoulders are reddish. This color sometimes extends to the belly and down the back, between the wings. Male coloration varies in intensity with the seasons and is derived from the berries and fruits in its diet. As a result, the colors range from pale straw-yellow through bright orange (both rare) to deep, intense red. Adult females have brown upper-parts and streaked underparts.
    Red Male House Finch-D.jpg
  • Females and juveniles are mottled brown with orange-and-brown bills. Both sexes have a white-bordered, blue 'speculum' patch in the wing. Large dabbling duck Streaked brown and tan overall Dark blue patch on wing Dull orange and black bill
    Female Mallard Duck.jpg
  • I took this shot of the male and female House Finch just hanging out in my front yard. <br />
<br />
The House Finch is a bird in the finch family Fringillidae, which is found in North America. Adults have a long, square-tipped brown tail and are a brown or dull-brown color across the back with some shading into deep gray on the wing feathers. Breast and belly feathers may be streaked; the flanks usually are.
    male_female_house_finch.jpg
  • The Halloween Pennant has been described as looking very similar to a butterfly. Its wings are orange-yellow in color, though its markings are dark brown, not black as is commonly believed; the entirely orange-yellow wings with dark brown bands are what has given it its Halloween common name and its typical position of being perched at the tip of a weed stalk, waving in the breeze like a pennant contributes to the remainder of its common name. The young has yellow markings, including a stripe on its back, and adult males develop pale red markings, particularly on the face, though females will occasionally get these red markings too. Halloween Pennants are normally between 38 and 42 mm (approx. 1.5 inches) in size. They feed on other insects, and they are able to fly in rain and strong wind. On hot days, it will often shade its thorax using its wings.
    Female Calico Pennant 6.jpg
  • Male Mallard Duck was running for his life from all the little kids on a hot humid day at the zoo.  ..The male birds (drakes) have a bright green head and are grey on wings and belly, while the females are brown all over.
    mallard_duck.jpg
  • A Vanessa Atalanta (Red Admiral) Butterfly perched atop a vibrant pink flowering thistle. This large butterfly is identified by its striking dark brown, red, and black wing pattern. More specifically, the dark wings possess orange bands that cross the fore wings and on the outer edge of the hind wings; white spots on the dorsal fore wings near the front margin; reddish bars on dorsal surface of all four wings.
    Vanessa Atalanta on Flowering Thistl...jpg
  • The double-crested cormorant is a little more than two feet long with a wingspan of about four feet. It has dark brown to black feathers, a long hooked bill with an orange throat pouch, a long tail, and webbed black feet. Adults have tufts of feathers over their eyes. Males and females look alike.<br />
<br />
The double-crested cormorant nests in colonies. Both the male and female will build a nest of sticks, twigs and seaweed. Nests are built in trees and shrubs and on the ground of rocky cliffs and islands. The female lays three to five eggs. Both parents incubate the eggs for about a month. Both parents also feed and take care of the chicks. The chicks fledge in 35-40 days.<br />
<br />
The double-crested cormorant breeds from the coast of Alaska and Nova Scotia south to Mexico and the Bahamas. It winters on both coasts north to southern Alaska and southern New England.<br />
<br />
The bird family Phalacrocoracidae or the cormorants is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of genera is disputed.
    Cormorant Peek.jpg
  • The Douglas Aster is an Rhizomatous perennial wildflower with much-branched stems and light purple aster-like flower heads. It has Ray flowers are blue to purple and disk flowers are yellow. The flowers are 1-2 cm long. A distinguishing characterisitic of Douglas aster is its thick overlapping bracts beneath each flower head. Also, outer margins of thegracts have a thin, transparent (waxy/papery) look.<br />
<br />
The Painted lady butterfly, red admiral, spring azure, orange sulphur, and woodland skipper butterflies are attracted to the flowers.<br />
<br />
The Douglas Aster (Subspicatum) is generally described as a perennial forb/herb. This is native to the U.S. (United States) has its most active growth period in the spring and summer . The Douglas Aster (Subspicatum) has green foliage and inconspicuous purple flowers, with an abuncance of conspicuous brown fruits or seeds. The greatest bloom is usually observed in the late summer, with fruit and seed production starting in the summer and continuing until fall. Leaves are not retained year to year. The Douglas Aster (Subspicatum) has a short life span relative to most other plant species and a rapid growth rate.
    Douglas Aster on Amber.jpg
  • This beautiful black bodied swallowtail is black with shiny blue or green wings. It has blue between two rows of orange spots on the underside of the hind wings and the colors on the upper side of the hind wings have one row of white spots. The caterpillars look like small snakes, having large eyespots; they hide in folded leaves during the day and come out to feed in the evenings. The chrysalis is either brown or green resembling the stem in which it is attached. These butterflies are a pleasure to watch and a welcome visitor to any garden.
    Spicebush Swallowtail Butterfly.jpg
  • Taken on the Minnesota side of Lake Superior about 10 miles from the Canada border. The heavenly skies frame this vibrant wooded waterscape vista looking across the great lake.<br />
<br />
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is generally considered the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area. It is the world's third-largest freshwater lake by volume.<br />
<br />
The lake is fed by over 200 rivers. The largest include the Nipigon River, the St. Louis River, the Pigeon River, the Pic River, the White River, the Michipicoten River, the Bois Brule River and the Kaministiquia River. Lake Superior drains into Lake Huron by the St. Marys River.<br />
<br />
Over 80 species of fish have been found in Lake Superior. Species native to the lake include: bloater, brook trout, burbot, cisco, lake sturgeon, lake trout, lake whitefish, longnose sucker, muskellunge, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, round whitefish, smallmouth bass, walleye, white sucker and yellow perch. In addition, many fish species have been either intentionally or accidentally introduced to Lake Superior: atlantic salmon, brown trout, carp, chinook salmon, coho salmon, freshwater drum, pink salmon, rainbow smelt, rainbow trout, round goby, ruffe, sea lamprey and white perch.
    Heavens Over Lake Superior.jpg
  • For their first 3 to 5 years, Juvenile Bald Eagles are a subdued mixture of chocolate brown with varying amounts of white over the body, tail and underwings. Adult plumage develops with sexual maturity. Both Adults and Juveniles can weigh 7 to 14 pounds with a 7 foot wing span. Their physical features are identical.
    Immature Baldy.jpg
  • A fairy (also faery, faerie, fay, fae; euphemistically wee folk, good folk, people of peace, fair folk, etc.) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.<br />
<br />
Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term fairy offers many definitions. Sometimes the term describes any magical creature, including goblins or gnomes: at other times, the term only describes a specific type of more ethereal creature.<br />
<br />
This is a photograph of a Christmas Ornament my wife adores, with some Photoshop Liberties Added FOr A Mystacal Feel.<br />
<br />
Although in modern culture they are often depicted as young, sometimes winged, humanoids of small stature, they originally were depicted quite differently: tall, radiant, angelic beings or short, wizened trolls being two of the commonly mentioned forms. Diminutive fairies of one kind or another have been recorded for centuries, but occur alongside the human-sized beings; these have been depicted as ranging in size from very tiny up to the size of a human child. Even with these small fairies, however, their small size may be magically assumed rather than constant.<br />
<br />
Images of fairies have appeared as illustrations, often in books of fairy tales, as well as in photographic-based media and sculpture. Some artists known for their depictions of fairies include Cicely Mary Barker, Arthur Rackham, Brian Froud, Alan Lee, Amy Brown, David Delamare, Meredith Dillman, Jasmine Becket-Griffith, Warwick Goble, Kylie InGold, Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, Myrea Pettit, Florence Harrison, Suza Scalora
    Festive Amber Fairy.jpg
  • The Canvasback (Aythya valisineria) is the largest of the North American diving ducks. The adult male (drake) has a black bill, a chestnut red head and neck, a black breast, a grayish back, black rump, and a blackish brown tail. The drake's sides, back, and belly are white with fine vermiculation resembling the weave of a canvas, which gave rise to the bird's common name
    Canvasback Drake.jpg
  • A Male Northern Cardinals perched on a white feeder in the midst of a cold winter snow storm. The vibrant Cardinal red contrast against the chilly blues and white snow. The Northern Cardinal is a North American bird in the genus Cardinalis, it is also known colloquially as the redbird or common cardinal.<br />
<br />
The Northern Cardinal or "Redbird" is probably one of most popular visitors to backyard bird feeders. Its range extends over most of the eastern USA, parts of extreme southeastern Canada, and south through Mexico to Belize. It has also been introduced to Hawaii. Its variable call, a loud "cheer cheer cheer" or "purty purty purty," is sung by both sexes and can be heard year round. Cardinals are nonmigratory, but some movement does occur in the later summer and fall.<br />
<br />
The male Northern Cardinal is perhaps responsible for getting more people to open up a field guide than any other bird. They're a perfect combination of familiarity, conspicuousness, and style: a shade of red you can't take your eyes off. Even the brown females sport a sharp crest and warm red accents. Cardinals don't migrate and they don't molt into a dull plumage, so they're still breathtaking in winter's snowy backyards. In summer, their sweet whistles are one of the first sounds of the morning.
    Chilly Cardinal Blues.jpg
  • A Double-Crested Cormorant casts a shadow against textured peeling paint at the Saint Louis Zoo. The Double-crested Cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of seabirds. It occurs along inland waterways as well as in coastal areas, and is widely distributed across North America. he Double-crested Cormorant is a large waterbird with a stocky body, long neck, medium-sized tail, webbed feet and a medium sized hooked bill.<br />
<br />
Recently the population of Double-crested Cormorants has increased. Some studies have concluded that the recovery was allowed by the decrease of contaminants, particularly the discontinued use of DDT. The population may have also increased because of aquaculture ponds in its southern wintering grounds. The ponds favor good over-winter survival and growth.<br />
<br />
Adult Double-crested Cormorants are black or dark brown and have an orange-yellow patch of skin at the base of their bills. In breeding plumage, adults have two whitish tufts behind their eyes, hence the description 'double-crested.' First-year birds are pale on the upper breast and darker on the belly. Double-crested Cormorants have slender, hook-tipped bills that are often tipped up at an angle as they swim. They can be distinguished from the other two Washington cormorant species by their thicker bills and by the pronounced kink in their long necks in flight.
    Cormorant By Cracked Paint.jpg
  • A sunflower plant of the genus Helianthus having large flower heads with dark disk florets and showy yellow rays. A very tall plant that has large yellow flowers with a round brown center. Sunflowers produce seeds that are used for making cooking oil.
    Twilight Sunflower.jpg
  • Adult male Hooded Mergansers are black above, with a white breast and rich chestnut flanks. The black head has a large white patch that varies in size when the crest is raised or lowered, but is always prominent. Females and immatures are gray and brown, with warm tawny-cinnamon tones on the head.
    Male Hooded Merganser.jpg
  • Well fall is officially here and winter is knocking at the door - nothing but blue skies and once vibrant fields turned brown
    Dead Fields Blue Skies.jpg
  • Pours golden brown with 1 finger of white head. More malty sweetness in the nose and flavor than I'm used to in a lager. Rye, caramel, and subtle lager bitterness. This is a really impressive lighter beer. I don't normally seek out lagers, but this will be the exception.
    Hoss - Great Divide Brewing.jpg
  • Mature males are distinctive with reddish brown wing markings and a row of red triangles on the abdomen. Females and tenerals have the red largely replaced by yellow and could be mistaken for several other pennants.  See Banded Pennant, Halloween Pennant and Martha's Pennant.  Carolina Saddlebags has a similar basal spot but is much larger and the rest of the wing is clear.
    Female Calico Pennant 5.jpg
  • The Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus Leucocephalus) is found only on the North American continent. Adult male eagles generally weigh about 9 pounds. Adult females weigh in at between 12 and 13 pounds. Adult eagles have a wing span of up to 7 feet. Immature eagles are mottled brown and white. The distinct white head and tail of the mature bird is developed between 4-5 years of age. In the wild, bald eagles live to between 30 and 35 years. In captivity, they have been known to live up to 50 years.<br />
<br />
Eagles do not live in isolation! Because they are near the top of the food chain, they become an irreplaceable indicator for measuring the health of the entire ecological system in which they live. After being listed as an endangered species in 1978 following a dramatic drop in population that began at the turn of the century, the Bald Eagle's status was upgraded to Threatened on August 11, 1995. Although efforts to replenish populations of the Bald Eagle have been successful, it continues to be protected under the Endangered Species Act, the Bald Eagle Protection Act, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
    Spread Eagle.jpg
  • The female Mallard is predominantly mottled with each individual feather showing sharp contrast from buff to very dark brown, a coloration shared by most female dabbling ducks, and has buff cheeks, eyebrow, throat and neck with a darker crown and eye-stripe
    Flying Female Mallard.jpg
  • The East African Crowned Crane (Grey Crowned Crane) gets its name from the distinctive golden crown of feathers on its head. The Grey Crowned Crane is a bird in the crane family Gruidae. It occurs in dry savannah in Africa south of the Sahara, although it nests in somewhat wetter habitats.They can also be found in marshes. This photo was taken at the Saint Louis Zoo<br />
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This species and the closely related Black Crowned Crane are the only cranes that can roost in trees, because of a long hind toe that can grasp branches. This habit, amongst other things, is a reason why the relatively small Balearica cranes are believed to closely resemble the ancestral members of the Gruidae.<br />
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The body of the Grey Crowned Crane is mainly gray. The wings are predominantly white, but contain feathers with colors ranging from white to brown to gold. The head is topped with a crown of stiff golden feathers. Cheek patches are white, and a red gular sack is present under the chin. The gular sack is similar to a wattle, except that it can be inflated. Legs and toes are black. The bill is short and dark gray. <br />
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West African crowned cranes are monogamous birds that form pairs for life. Pairs can be seen together even in the middle of a large flock, which suggests an exceptionally strong pair bond. Adult cranes reinforce their pair bond by dancing for and with each other. They perform ritualistic dance displays that include bows, leaps, runs, wing flapping, short flights, jerky bouncing, running, and stick tossing. Cranes of all ages dance. Among younger birds, dancing may serve to reduce aggression with other cranes, provide physical exercise, and possibly relieve anxiety.
    Crowned Crane Consistency.jpg
  • A Female Dark-Eyed Junco Foraging For Food in the Snow During A Cold Blue Winter Day.<br />
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Females and juvenile birds are generally paler and show a greater mixture of brown in the plumage. Generally, there is less white on the outer tail feathers in juvenile and female birds. There is, however, much individual variation.<br />
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The Dark-eyed Junco is the best-known species of the juncos, a genus of small grayish American sparrows. This bird is common across much of temperate North America and in summer ranges far into the Arctic. Dark-eyed Juncos are neat, even flashy little sparrows that flit about forest floors of the western mountains and Canada, then flood the rest of North America for winter. They're easy to recognize by their crisp (though extremely variable) markings and the bright white tail feathers they habitually flash in flight. One of the most abundant forest birds of North America, you'll see juncos on woodland walks as well as in flocks at your feeders or on the ground beneath them. <br />
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Juncos are the "snowbirds" of the middle latitudes. Over most of the eastern United States, they appear as winter sets in and then retreat northward each spring. Some juncos in the Appalachian Mountains remain there all year round, breeding at the higher elevations. These residents have shorter wings than the migrants that join them each winter. Longer wings are better suited to flying long distances, a pattern commonly noted among other studies of migratory vs. resident species.
    Blue Christmas Junco.jpg
  • Mature males are distinctive with reddish brown wing markings and a row of red triangles on the abdomen. Females and tenerals have the red largely replaced by yellow and could be mistaken for several other pennants.  See Banded Pennant, Halloween Pennant and Martha's Pennant.  Carolina Saddlebags has a similar basal spot but is much larger and the rest of the wing is clear.
    Female Calico Pennant.jpg
  • Mature males are distinctive with reddish brown wing markings and a row of red triangles on the abdomen. Females and tenerals have the red largely replaced by yellow and could be mistaken for several other pennants.  See Banded Pennant, Halloween Pennant and Martha's Pennant.  Carolina Saddlebags has a similar basal spot but is much larger and the rest of the wing is clear.
    Female Calico Pennant 3.jpg
  • Immature bald eagles have mostly dark heads and tails; their brown wings and bodies are mottled with white in varying amounts. Young birds attain adult plumage in about five years.
    Immature Bald Eagle Square.jpg
  • An Eagle grabs a fishy snack to cure a powerful appetite. The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle.<br />
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The Bald Eagle is an opportunistic feeder which subsists mainly on fish, which it swoops down and snatches from the water with its talons. It builds the largest nest of any North American bird and the largest tree nests ever recorded for any animal species.<br />
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The plumage of an adult Bald Eagle is evenly dark brown with a white head and tail. The tail is moderately long and slightly wedge-shaped. Males and females are identical in plumage coloration, but sexual dimorphism is evident in the species in that females are 25 percent larger than males. The beak, feet and irides are bright yellow.<br />
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There are two subspecies of bald eagles. The "southern" bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus leucocephalus, is found in the Gulf States from Texas and Baja California across to South Carolina and Florida, south of 40 degrees north latitude. The "northern" bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus alascanus, is found north of 40 degrees north latitude across the entire continent. The largest numbers of northern bald eagles are in the Northwest, especially in Alaska. The "northern" bald eagle is slightly larger than the "southern" bald eagle. Studies have shown that "northern" bald eagles fly into the southern states and Mexico, and the "southern" bald eagles fly north into Canada. Because of these finding, the subspecies of "northern" and "southern" bald eagles has been discontinued in recent literature.
    Bald Eagle Snacks.jpg
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