"I'm going to speak my mind because I have nothing to lose."--S.I. Hayakawa
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Sunday, December 31, 2017

Happy New Year!

May your new year be filled with delights, unlike this poor boreal chickadee!






I have a massive project underway--getting all my ducks (and birds) in a row so I can find them when I want them.


I have come across a number that made me laugh and some that I really like.   Here they are:



I like the gossamer effect of this photo of two common mergansers

A little breeze and this merganser's hair do turns crazy.

Why make four trips when you can cram in all the peanuts and make one trip?

A timid pine grosbeak fledgling

I never did find out what mischief this Steller's jay was up to when it got covered in med.

And away we go!

I was in my kayak when I took this photo and I am amazed at how sharp the loon's eye is.

Ah, that lovely golden light on this red-necked grebe.

This male pine grosbeak is reaching for a tender spruce bud.

The beautiful green-winged teal male.

The mew gulls at Tern Lake do not appreciate me kayaking near their nests.

A very busy varied thrush collecting goodies for the hatchlings back in the nest.,

Momma pine grosbeak feeding her youngster a seed.

Probably my favorite bird photo of 2017.   This bunch of  greater scaup ducklings look like thugs.

That awkward stage when you're growing out of your white fuzz and into your juvenile gray feathers.

A red-breasted nuthatch taking a peanut from my hand.

The juvenile merlin that almost flew into me several times when it chased jays on my deck.

A juvenile spotted sandpiper that finally got used to me being around and taking its photo.

I have no words.

A Savannah sparrow in Homer.

Took this photo of a tufted puffin while on a boat in Kachemak Bay.   Probably the only in-focus shot I got.

That juvenile spotted sandpiper again.

Faster than a speeding bullet and streamlined like a Stealth jet, the belted kingfisher.




A rare moment--the belted kingfisher sitting still.

Everything technical is wrong with this photo but I love it because it is the epitome of merganser behavior.

My favorite water bird, the American dipper singing in the rain.

A very cooperative merlin posing for photos.

A trumpeter swan.

Steller's jay in a snowstorm.

Momma, daddy, and baby yellow warblers make a family.   The baby is really hard to see, but the eye is visible above the rim of the nest, center of photo.
And a happy greater scaup female.
The Tern Lake air corps chasing a big, bag bald eagle away from their nests.


A Coastal brown bear nursing her spring cub.

6 comments:

  1. The photos are glorious -- and I really enjoyed your captions. I'd love to know more about your organizing project. I don't have a fraction of the photos you do (plus mine are all point, shoot and keep my fingers crossed) rather than the hard-won artistry you've achieved, but I would like to find a way to catalog and i.d. the keepers. I don't mind the hard work of doing it, but hate the idea of getting halfway through and realizing the method I chose isn't workable. So, any ideas gratefully received.

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    1. After years of making a total mess, I am finally moving my photos to external hard drives by subject matter, i.e., bears 2017, bears 2016, chickadees, black-capped, nuthatches, swans etc. I also have photos from each trip in separate folders, usually by date, but that still makes it difficult to find what I'm looking for.

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  2. The Stellar's Jay with the r corn kernels stuffed in his beak reminds me of a Lab we used to have who would go around with three tennis balls stuffed into her cheeks.

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    1. Those are peanuts in its beak--and more in its throat.

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  3. I agree with you on the picture of the ducklings; they really formed what looked like a formidable force, sort of like circling the wagons ... as in, "We DARE you to take us all on, because ALL of us is what is in store for you." Also liked the picture of the terns chasing the eagle away. Normally you would think the eagle would face off any other birds, but in a 'pack' like the terns were in, I can understand why the eagle was in retreat! Happy New Year!!! Patti and Cap

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  4. Thanks for another amazing Post. Great photo of the Tern Lake Air Corps and the Eagle. Tell me about organizing and even then finding photos when one has more-than-a-few memory chips. For my one chip, you must have 15-20. A never ending endeavor it seems like to me. Happy Joyous New Year 2018 from myself and Patti.

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