Larry Ostby's Wild Critters: May 2011

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

A Couple of Warblers

I believe I got really lucky. I went looking for something different. I headed to an area where I had once seen a Baltimore Oriole hoping to maybe see one again. I ended up following my ears. I didn’t know what I was listening to but what ever it was it was close and unfamiliar to me. Finally I saw my first warbler, a Yellow Warbler. I was able to get a few photos but I was on the wrong side of the sun. As I was trying to better my angle my quarry disappeared. I was complaining about the lighting conditions when I noticed I was being serenaded to. There he was a Common Yellowthroat and was very cooperative. I was able to get
several photos.

Yellow Warbler

Common Yellowthroat

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Me Me Me Pick Me

I can’t help it; they were posing so I obliged their narcissistic venue. They were begging for attention, a mate. Male Red-winged Blackbirds do everything they can to get noticed. I just happened to be close by. They are very plentiful especially this time of year, a familiar sight atop cattails here at the Lilypons Water Garden. As I am being entertained by the blackbirds, I notice an osprey being pestered by the same nemesis. The tormenting went for only a few moments and it was over. The gardens are starting to bloom, this is only the beginning... Just wait.

Here I am bold and beautiful

What you see is what you get

Look at this pose

This is what you get

Mememe... I'm the one

OK already... It's me you want

I'm waiting...

Oh oh... He's back

This is the last ride you're gittin'

Morning dew

Water jewels

TaDaa!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Beauty and the Beast

It’s not really difficult to find beauty in ugly, whew, what an oxymoron that is. Buzzards which are really vultures, ugly, but in their own right have qualities that are… well, revealingly rather beautiful. Feathers for example, eyes maybe, colors, mmm, not so much. Two of the most numerous vultures distributed in North America include the turkey vulture, Cathartes aura; and the black vulture, Coragyps atratus. The turkey vulture possesses a keen sense of smell along with excellent sight. The black vulture has a more southerly distribution, lacks the graceful flight of the turkey vulture, and depends more on keen eyesight than sense of smell when foraging. The American Egret or Great Egret (very beautiful), stalk prey by walking slowly or standing still for long periods, waiting for a fish, frog or snake to come within range of their long necks and blade-like bills. The largest and most widespread heron in North America, the Great Blue Heron has very similar hunting qualities and is also quite beautiful.

Black Vulture

Turkey Vulture


Turkey Vulture

Great Egret

Great Blue Heron

Friday, May 13, 2011

Always Good to See Them

The Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata), it is resident through most of eastern and central United States and southern Canada, although western populations may be migratory. The bird's name derives from its noisy, garrulous nature, and it sometimes also called a "jaybird". The female Orchard Oriole, (Icterus spurious), is the smallest North American species of icterid blackbird. These birds enjoy living in shaded trees within parks along lakes and streams. The Gray Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis), in contrast to the many songbirds that choose a prominent perch from which to sing, the catbird often elects to sing from inside a bush or small tree, where it is obscured from view by the foliage. The White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis), is a stocky small bird, with a large head, short tail, powerful bill and fun to watch. The Tufted Titmouse, is now considered a separate species (B. atricristatus). They forage actively on branches, sometimes on the ground, mainly eating insects, especially caterpillars, but also seeds, nuts and berries. The Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota), like all swallows and martins, subsist primarily on a diet of insects which are caught in flight.

Blue Jay

Orchard Oriole-fm

Gray Catbird


Gray Catbird

White-breasted Nuthatch

Tufted Titmouse

Cliff Swallow

Friday, May 6, 2011

The Given Gifts of Beauty

“One of the most exciting ways to teach anyone about the natural world is to take them outdoors.”

-The National Audubon Society-

The beginning of all days and all creatures, feathered, furred or scaled are presented to us in countless methods of striking presentations. All we need to do is our best to represent what is offered to us. As I observe and photograph, that is what I try to do. These photos were taken in three different locations in as many weeks.