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  • Cats-Emerald-Eyes.jpg
  • Insects in the Diptera family Asilidae are commonly called robber flies. The family Asilidae contains about 7,100 described species worldwide. All robber flies have stout, spiny legs, a dense moustache of bristles on the face (mystax), and 3 simple eyes (ocelli) in a characteristic depression between their two large compound eyes. The mystax helps protect the head and face when the fly encounters prey bent on defense. The antennae are short, 3-segmented, sometimes with a bristle-like structure called an arista.
    339A0748.jpg
  • African lions live in a number of different habitats: grassy plains, open woodlands, semi-desert areas, even high mountains. They eat anything they can catch and kill, including antelope, zebra and buffalo
    Lioness Growl.jpg
  • A Titmouse peeks down below to see what all the commotion is about under the bird feeder
    Titmouse Peekdown.jpg
  • A Tufted Titmouse Perched on Metal Pole with flowing details
    Flowing Tufted Titmouse.jpg
  • It's Not Easy Being Green
    Kermie.jpg
  • American White Pelican just relaxing and casually swimming across the pond.
    American White Pelican.jpg
  • Warm Kitty, Soft Kitty, purr purr purr. Loving the 'tiny' big cats at the Saint Louis Zoo
    Warm Kitty Soft Kitty.jpg
  • Like most owls, the Great Horned Owl makes great use of secrecy and stealth. Due to its natural-colored plumage, it is well camouflaged both while active at night and while roosting during the day. Despite this, it can still sometimes be spotted on its daytime roosts, which are usually in large trees but may occasionally be on rocks. This regularly leads to their being mobbed by other birds, especially American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos). Since owls are, next to Red-tailed Hawks, perhaps the main predator of crows and their young, crows sometimes congregate from considerable distances to mob owls and caw angrily at them for hours on end. When the owls try to fly off to avoid this harassment, they are often followed by the corvids.
    Great Horned Owl 5.jpg
  • Jackson C.jpg
  • Jackson B.jpg
  • Jackson A.jpg
  • An Evil Grackle Eyes a Nearby Feeder waiting for an innocent bird to approach so he can torment them.
    Ominous Molting Grackle.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 />
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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 />
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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
  • The Tufted Titmouse is a small songbird from North America, a species in the tit and chickadee family. The active and noisy tufted, North America's most widespread titmouse, is remarkably uniform morphologically, genetically, vocally, and behaviorally throughout its range. Besides gleaning trees and shrubs for arthropods, it spends more time on the ground searching leaf litter than do chickadees and most other titmouse species.<br />
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A little gray bird with an echoing voice, the Tufted Titmouse is common in eastern deciduous forests and a frequent visitor to feeders. The large black eyes, small, round bill, and brushy crest gives these birds a quiet but eager expression that matches the way they flit through canopies, hang from twig-ends, and drop in to bird feeders. When a titmouse finds a large seed, you'll see it carry the prize to a perch and crack it with sharp whacks of its stout bill. <br />
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Tufted Titmice are acrobatic foragers, if a bit slower and more methodical than chickadees. They often flock with chickadees, nuthatches, and woodpeckers and are regular visitors to feeders, where they are assertive over smaller birds. Their flight tends to be fluttery but level rather than undulating.
    Tufted Titmouse Twinkle.jpg
  • Yes even a robin can have some majesty and prowess.<br />
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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 />
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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 />
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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
  • On February 14, 1978, the bald eagle was federally listed as endangered in all of the lower 48 United States except Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan (it was classified as threatened in these states). The species was reclassified as threatened in the remaining states on August 11, 1995. Of course, the threatened status means that bald eagle populations are increasing, but have not increased to the point where they are out of danger.<br />
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A 1975 estimate of the total bald eagles in the world (since they are only found in North America, I could say North America) was between 35,000 and 60,000! Most of these are in Alaska and Canada where bald eagles are not endangered. To give you an idea of how the population has grown in the lower 48 states, in 1963 there were 417 breeding pairs known, and in 1994 that number was up to 4,452<br />
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The American bald Eagle has short powerful toes but long scimitar shaped talons. These are perfect for gripping onto slippery fish. The Bald Eagle has brilliant talon - eye coodornition and is capable of snatching unsuspecting fish from the surface of a lake at top speed and is incredibly accurate when doing so.
    All Feathers and Additude.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
  • Grackle Grabs a Seed.jpg
  • Grackle With An Additude.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
  • Splotted-Gecko.jpg
  • The Bald Eagle has been the national emblem of the United States since 1782 and a spiritual symbol for native people for far longer than that. These regal birds aren't really bald, but their white-feathered heads gleam in contrast to their chocolate-brown body and wings. Look for them soaring in solitude, chasing other birds for their food, or gathering by the hundreds in winter. Once endangered by hunting and pesticides, Bald Eagles have flourished under protection. <br />
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The Bald Eagle dwarfs most other raptors, including the Turkey Vulture and Red-tailed Hawk. It has a heavy body, large head, and long, hooked bill. In flight, a Bald Eagle holds its broad wings flat like a board. <br />
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Look for Bald Eagles near lakes, reservoirs, rivers, marshes, and coasts. For a chance to see large Bald Eagle congregations, check out wildlife refuges or large bodies of water in winter over much of the continent, or fish processing plants and dumpsters year-round in coastal Alaska and the Pacific Northwest.
    Eagle With an Attitude.jpg
  • It is said the eagle was used as a national emblem because, at one of the first battles of the Revolution (which occurred early in the morning) the noise of the struggle awoke the sleeping eagles on the heights and they flew from their nests and circled about over the heads of the fighting men, all the while giving vent to their raucous cries.
    Scream For Freedom.jpg
  • Few sounds symbolize American patriotism like the piercing shrill of a bald eagle. But just like George Washington and his cherry tree, that majestic call - is a myth. The screech associated with the bald eagle, in fact, belongs to a different bird. It's a cry that's synonymous with America's national bird. But there's a problem. If you were to look up at the bird making that sound in real life you wouldn't see a bald eagle. Unfortunately for the bald eagle, it has like a little cackling type of a laugh that's not really very impressive for the bird.<br />
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The hole in the tongue is not for swallowing, it's for breathing. The bird trachea (wind pipe) comes up through the tongue. The esophogus is behind that. This is very functional, actually. The eagle's tongue also has sort of a barb on it. When they are swallowing something large, like a fish, they will stick out their tongue so the barbs go past the morsel, then pull their tongue back in. The tips of the barb will pull the food back into their throat, where it can be swallowed. If an eagle's windpipe were behind the tongue like a human, they wouuld be unable to breath with a large piece of prey or whole fish in their their throat.  A situation like that is where the tongue comes into play. They will stick out their tongues to allow the barbs to get the bite of food, but while the tongue is extended, they will open the hole in their tongue to take a breath of air.
    Down The Hatch.jpg
  • Columbia, an adult female bald eagle, came to the National Eagle Center in 2003 as a juvenile. She hatched in the spring of 2001.<br />
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After feeding on road kill near Dunbar, WI, Columbia was struck by a van. This accident left her with an open fracture near her right shoulder. While this wound was significant and would render her unable to fly again, the accident most likely saved Columbia's life. During treatment for her injuries, Columbia was found to have nearly twice the lethal dose of lead in her blood.<br />
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Lead is extremely dangerous for eagles. Just a tiny amount of lead can be lethal in 4-5 days. She was able to be treated for lead poisoning, but any damage already incurred would be irreversible.<br />
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Columbia arrived at the National Eagle Center just a few months before the Space Shuttle Columbia mission that ended in tragedy. Columbia was named in honor of the commander and crew of this shuttle.
    Columbia - Eagle.jpg
  • An American Bald Eagle with an Edgy Amber Attitude snacks on the last bit of a fish, remnants of fishy bone and flesh still visible on the tongue.
    Edgy Amber Eagle.jpg
  • The addax, also known as the screwhorn antelope, is an antelope of the genus Addax, that lives in the Sahara desert. It was first described by Henri Blainville, a French zoologist and anatomist, in 1816. This shot was  taken at the Saint Louis Zoo.
    Addax.jpg
  • A Bald Eagle Eats on A Fresh Caught Fish
    Baldy Has SOme Lunch.jpg
  • Harriet is the oldest eagle ambassador and arrived at the National Eagle Center in 2000. In 1998, a vehicle collision left her left wing badly dislocated and part of it was subsequently amputated.<br />
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Although she was fully adult at the time of her injury, we know that she hatched in 1981. Harriet was banded as an eaglet in her nest in northern Wisconsin. A researcher placed a small aluminum band on her leg, and she lived in the wild for 17 years before her accident in 1998.<br />
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Harriet has a feather tuft atop her head that makes her easy to identify. We can't be certain, but suspect that this distinctive feather growth is the result of scar tissue and damage to feather follicles.<br />
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As an eagle ambassador with the National Eagle Center, Harriet has made appearances across the country. She's been featured on the Today Show and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In 2007, Harriet was in Washington DC to celebrate the removal of the bald eagle from the endangered species list.<br />
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Much of Harriet's work over the years has been with veterans. She has visited VA hospitals and been a part of numerous veterans honor ceremonies. Harriet is the eagle featured on the Minnesota Support Our Troops license plate.
    Bald Eagle Eating Fish.jpg
  • Meet Donald. Donald is the first Golden Eagle Ambassador and we are proud to have both eagle species that are native to North America represented at the National Eagle Center.<br />
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Donald came to the National Eagle Center after being treated at the California Raptor Center. He had been hit by a car near the town of Placerville, CA, breaking his right wing in two places. Donald is no longer able to sustain flight.<br />
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We are unsure of Donald's exact age. His fully adult plumage suggests he was at least five years of age when he was injured, so he hatched sometime before 2002.<br />
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Donald arrived at the National Eagle Center on January 8, 2008 and was named for the Donald Weesner Charitable Trust, whose generous donation made his arrival and training possible. During his first year, he continued to be bashful among the other eagles and with guests. He often spent the day looking only at the murals with quick glances toward people. Today, Donald often displays quite relaxed postures in the mews.<br />
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Golden eagles can be found around the world in the northern hemisphere, and Donald's presence at the National Eagle Center has ignited new interest in understanding the life and habitat of golden eagles.
    Golden Eagle - Donald.jpg
  • This Hippopotamus Plays A Bit Of Peekaboo Below The Water at the Saint Louis Zoo. The hippopotamus, or hippo, from the ancient Greek for 'river horse', is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae
    Hippo Under Water.jpg
  • Addax Details.jpg
  • KiKi-A.jpg
  • A Black-crowned Night Heron in Green Waters. The Black-crowned Night Heron, commonly abbreviated to just Night Heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, except in the coldest regions and Australasia. Black-crowned Night-Herons are stocky birds compared to many of their long-limbed heron relatives. They're most active at night or at dusk, when you may see their ghostly forms flapping out from daytime roosts to forage in wetlands. In the light of day adults are striking in gray-and-black plumage and long white head plumes. These social birds breed in colonies of stick nests usually built over water. They live in fresh, salt, and brackish wetlands and are the most widespread heron in the world. <br />
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Black-crowned Night-Herons often spend their days perched on tree limbs or concealed among foliage and branches. They forage in the evening and at night, in water, on mudflats, and on land. In flight they fold their head back against their shoulders, almost making the neck disappear.<br />
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These are social birds that tend to roost and nest in groups, although they typically forage on their own. Look for them in most wetland habitats across North America, including estuaries, marshes, streams, lakes, and reservoirs.
    Black-crowned Night Heron 2.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 />
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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
  • For such a powerful bird, the Bald Eagle emits surprisingly weak-sounding calls - usually a series of high-pitched whistling or piping notes. The female may repeated a single, soft, high-pitched note that has been called 'unlike any other calls in nature', apparently this signals her readiness for copulation.
    Screming Eagle.jpg
  • An aged and faded patriotic bald eagle with a backdrop of old glory behind.
    Faded Glory.jpg
  • Angel came to the National Eagle Center in 2000.  She had been found on the ground with a broken wing near Grantsburg, WI in 1999. She was just a fledgling and had been surviving on scraps of fish from nearby herons' nests.<br />
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Angel was treated at the University of Minnesota's Raptor Center in St. Paul, where she underwent surgery and realignment of the broken bone in her wing. Though repair of the bone was successful, the damage to the musculature could not be repaired. Angel is unable to sustain flight as she would need to survive in the wild.<br />
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Angel seems to have adjusted quite well as an eagle ambassador. She has matured from a dark headed juvenile to a fully mature, white-headed female bald eagle. Angel's loud vocalizations can be heard when a wild eagle passes by the windows of the National Eagle Center. Angel got her name in a naming contest by a 4th grade student from St. Felix School in Wabasha.<br />
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Angel's regal appearance has made her a favorite guest at many Native American ceremonies and countless educational events for schools, scout troops and communities.
    Columbia in B and W.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
  • Black-eyed Susans are flowering plants that grow over three feet tall. They have green leaves up to six inches long.
    Susans Swirly Eyes.jpg
  • Are you feeling intimidated yet?
    Look Into My Eyes.jpg
  • A Black and White Bald Eagle Side Profile Head Shot
    From The Eagles Eye.jpg
  • With its long, earlike tufts, intimidating yellow-eyed stare, and deep hooting voice, the Great Horned Owl is the quintessential owl of storybooks. This powerful predator can take down birds and mammals even larger than itself, but it also dines on daintier fare such as tiny scorpions, mice, and frogs. It's one of the most common owls in North America, equally at home in deserts, wetlands, forests, grasslands, backyards, cities, and almost any other semi-open habitat between the Arctic and the tropics.<br />
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Great Horned Owls are fierce predators that can take large prey, including raptors such as Ospreys, Peregrine Falcons, Prairie Falcons, and other owls. They also eat much smaller items such as rodents, frogs, and scorpions. Great Horned Owls have large eyes, pupils that open widely in the dark, and retinas containing many rod cells for excellent night vision. Their eyes don't move in their sockets, but they can swivel their heads more than 180 degrees to look in any direction. They also have sensitive hearing, thanks in part to facial disc feathers that direct sound waves to their ears.
    Great Horned Owl.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 />
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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 />
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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 />
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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
  • 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 />
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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 />
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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
  • Azrael is the Archangel of Death in some traditions. He is also the angel of retribution in Islamic theology and Sikhism. Depending on the outlook and precepts of various religions in which he is a figure, Azrael may be portrayed as residing in the Third Heaven. In one of his forms, he has four faces and four thousand wings, and his whole body consists of eyes and tongues, the number of which corresponds to the number of people inhabiting the Earth. He will be the last to die, recording and erasing constantly in a large book the names of men at birth and death, respectively.<br />
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Shortly after his creation, Azrael was assigned to study a phenomenon not well-understood by Heaven at that time: the disposition of human souls. The angels had long known that some human souls arrived in Heaven, and others did not. Reincarnation and oblivion had been offered as theories, but no one really knew where the 'missing' souls were going . . . and the Seraphim Council intuited that following the Fall, this question might be very important. Azrael was given the Word of Death to carry out his duties (angelic Words were much less competitive and assigned with less deliberation in those days). <br />
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The other Archangels know Azrael is still alive, but he is not spoken of in Heaven. It has happened -- a few times in the millenia since the Grigori were cast out -- that an angel has researched Azrael's work, identified strongly with his mission, and sought out the Outcast Archangel of Death. Azrael automatically turns away members of the Host who manage to find him . . . but a very rare few have been persistent and sincere enough to persuade the Archangel of Death to take them into his service. (Azrael only takes in angels who remain dedicated to Heaven, but who also feel a genuine calling to Azrael's mission -- he is not a refuge for dissatisfied Servitors or Outcasts seeking patronage.)
    Archangel Azrael.jpg
  • The lines will guide you on your journey, just keep your eyes on the road!
    Down a Black and White Road.jpg
  • Jr. takes a peek at some "Eye Candy" from behind.
    Peeking at Eye Candy.jpg
  • A Tufted Titmouse keeps an eye on me in the yard, deciding when it may be safe to fly to the feeder
    Tufted Keeps an Eye On Me.jpg
  • A Black-Capped Chickadee Eying Me From A Tree Branch
    Chickadee Eying Me.jpg
  • An Extreme Head-Shot Close-Up Of A Bald Eagle
    Eagle Eye BW.jpg
  • The Wood Duck or Carolina Duck is a species of duck found in North America. It is one of the most colourful North American waterfowl. Males are iridescent chestnut and green, with ornate patterns on nearly every feather; the elegant females have a distinctive profile and delicate white pattern around the eye. These birds live in wooded swamps, where they nest in holes in trees or in nest boxes put up around lake margins. They are one of the few duck species equipped with strong claws that can grip bark and perch on branches.<br />
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In good light, males have a glossy green head cut with white stripes, a chestnut breast and buffy sides. In low or harsh light, they'll look dark overall with paler sides. Females are gray-brown with white-speckled breast. In eclipse plumage (late summer), males lose their pale sides and bold stripes, but retain their bright eye and bill.<br />
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Wood ducks breed across most of the central and eastern United States, southeastern Canada and along the Pacific coast from California to British Columbia. The highest breeding densities occur in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. In recent decades, the breeding range has expanded westward into the Great Plains region following development of wooded riparian corridors. Wood ducks prefer riparian habitats, wooded swamps and freshwater marshes.
    Wood Duck Flap.jpg
  • A Wood Duck Hen Preens Along The Shore of the Lake.<br />
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Wood ducks pair up in late winter and they begin breeding in early spring. The males attract females with their call and attractive, colorful breeding plumage. <br />
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Female wood ducks have grayish-brown bodies. The back is dark gray-brown and the sides are a lighter shade. The most noticeable characteristics of the females are found on the head. The head is gray with a white eye-ring around each eye. The head also has a crest of feathers at the back and white feathers on the throat and chin. <br />
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Wood ducks will 'tip up' and dip their heads under the water to find the standard wetland fare to eat like wild rice, smartweed, pondweed, bulrush, and lotus seeds, but they love to eat "out," of the water that is. They love fruits and nuts found in the woods like beechnuts, wild acorns grapes, and one of their favorites, acorns.
    Preening Wood Duck Hen.jpg
  • Defiance, Missouri has so many wineries and around Autumn you can really capture the beauty of these wineries through the eye of a camera.
    Autumn in Defiance.jpg
  • Lupine draws the eye skyward with its gorgeously colored and interestingly structured flower spikes. Bicolor Russell hybrids are the most popular type. Their large pea-like flowers come in amazing colors and combinations, clustered in long spikes on sturdy stems.<br />
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Lupine prefers light, well-drained soil that is slightly acidic, and it does not tolerate heat or humidity well. It performs best in areas with cool summers, especially the Pacific Northwest.
    Natures Magic.jpg
  • A male Wood Duck rocks in the water mimicking a rocking horse, putting on a vibrant show.<br />
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Wood Ducks forage in the water by taking food from the surface and up-ending to reach food underneath. They also graze on land. Pairs form on the wintering grounds, and males attract females by showing off their brightly colored plumage. Females demonstrate strong fidelity to the sites where they hatched (philopatry), and they lead their mates back to those sites in the spring.<br />
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Male Wood Ducks are flamboyant in breeding plumage, practically unmistakable with their brightly colored chestnut and yellow bodies, green droop-crested heads, bright red bills, and bold white barring on their faces and bodies. Females are drabber, with subtle iridescence on overall grayish-brown bodies, spotted flanks, and a white teardrop surrounding each eye. Juveniles appear similar to females, as do non-breeding males in eclipse plumage (from June to September), although they have the red bill and white facial markings.
    Woody Rocking Horse.jpg
  • A Description?! To give a description would force the mind to view things in a certain light. Have you ever looked at a cloud formation, and noticed something, only to wonder if another would see the same thing as you?<br />
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I hope this bold abstraction takes your mind and eye's in as many different places as mine.
    scus petiole.jpg
  • A deer hears me approaching and is curious enough to turn around to keep an eye on me
    Resting Buck.jpg
  • if you zoom in, you can see the clouds in his eye
    Peekaboo Squirrel.jpg
  • A deer watches over the cemetery keeping an eye on departed souls at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. Almost seemingly stopping at each headstone and pausing to reflect at each grave, this buck gave a sense of serenity and calm.
    Watching Over Departed Souls.jpg
  • This Tufted Titmouse was keeping an eye on me to make sure I did not steal his food.
    Titmouse Look-Back.jpg
  • A row of hay bales leads the eye through the field and down the dirt road towards a forest of autumn colors under rough skies of blue just outside New Melle, Missouri.
    Embossed Autumn Field.jpg