Showing posts with label ruby Tuesday 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ruby Tuesday 2. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Vulturine

Now this is what I call a bad hair day!
I saw this poor guy at my feeders yesterday.
 
 
A male Northern Cardinal in molt.
 
Because feathers wear out, birds molt old ones once or twice a year, usually in late summer and early fall, and grow new replacements. When it comes to molting, there are a lot of "except for the exceptions." A cardinal or blue jay may molt its head feathers all at once instead of gradually. But why?
 
Many people think birds may lose all of their head feathers because of an infestation of lice or mites. Others believe it is due to a nutritional deficiency. I also read that losing head feathers during the post-nuptial molt (after nesting is over), is a normal process in some species including Cardinals, Blue Jays and Common Grackles

 
David Bonter with Project FeederWatch, says "Birds molt at different times and in different ways. There are some general patterns in terms of which feathers are replaced at which time of the year and in which order. In reality, however, there’s an incredible amount of variability in molt patterns, even within the same sex or age class of birds within a species at the same time of the year.”
 
Not to worry,
 
 
in a couple of weeks he will be as handsome as this fellow I'm sure! 
 
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Monday, June 3, 2013

Bubbles and Beep

 
My granddaughter loves to play with bubbles,
and I like to photograph them...
 
 
 
but I LOVE to photograph her!
 
 
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Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Mug Shots

A collection of some the birds in my yard in April. 
 
Goldfinch Pine Warbler(male) Thanks Eileen!
 
Cardinal (male)
 
Cardinal (female)
 
Junco (female)
 
Red-winged Blackbird (male)
 

Monday, May 13, 2013

Not Such A Warm Welcome

This little guy just got in from Columbia, South America where they winter.
 They come up to to breed here in North America in spring and summer.
 Hmmm, maybe I flew a bit far too north thinks this Rose-breasted Grosbeak.
Yep, that's snow you see. Yesterday May 12th, it snowed off and on all day in my part of SW Ontario.
 
The Rose-breasted Grosbeak is a large stocky insect-eating songbird in the cardinal family. It is primarily a foliage gleaner. It breeds in cool-temperate North America, migrating to tropical Central and South America in winter.

They also eat sunflower seeds, safflower seeds and raw peanuts, which is a good thing, because there were no insects around in the snowstorm!
 
This is a "first" for me, I've never seen Grosbeaks before. I spent a lot of the day watching TWO of them pigging out at the feeders! I also saw one female, but she never stood still enough for me to get a shot.
 
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Monday, April 29, 2013

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Near and Far

click on the pics to enkarge 
Mama and Papa Cardinal

 
Three's a crowd

  
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lots of photo memes, because I am recovering from my nasty slip and fall accident. Once I am up and around, I hope to get out and about, to take HEAPS of photos. For now, all shots are snapped from the windows of my house...and yes, I am suffering  tremendously with "cabin fever"!


 
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Monday, March 11, 2013

At Feeders, On Fences

I'm sorry that I haven't been able to stop by your blogs often to comment in the past week.
I had a nasty fall last Tuesday, down 8 icy cement steps, landing on by back. I am lucky, nothing was broken, but I have torn ligaments, and deep bruising  in the lumbar region of my spine, which equals pain and immobility. My doc says I should heal in about 3-4 weeks.
 
It was a busy weekend in the yard! All these shots were taken from my bedroom window. My world has once again been viewed from a very small perimeter, but it's wonderful all the same.
click on the pics to enlarge
Chipping sparrow
I like his raised crest!
Red breasted nuthatch
Male downy and chipping sparrow
Male cardinal and junco

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Looking For Love

click on the pics to enlarge
Female Cardinal

 Male Cardinal

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, "The distinctive crest can be raised and pointed when agitated or alert, and lowered and barely visible while resting and relaxed.
 
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Monday, January 21, 2013

What's That?!

click the pics to enlarge
Yep, it's a Downy!!!
 
I've been waiting all winter for one of these little guys to show up. The other evening just before sunset, I glanced out the bedroom window, and there he was!

He hopped off the feeder as soon as he heard the camera click,

then made his way up the tree, and flew off.
It was about a 30 second glimpse, but I was thrilled.


 
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Sunday, December 30, 2012

A Walk In The Park With Beep

We had our first snowfall on Boxing Day.
 A perfect night to take a walk in the park with our granddaughter.
 Beep and Papa
 
 
Our favourite tree
 

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OUR WORLD TUESDAY
RUBY TUESDAY 2

 Happy New Year everyone!
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Monday, November 12, 2012

Getting Crafty

There are only 42 more days until Christmas!

I've started making my Christmas cards! Gee, I've got a long way to go!
 

 


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Monday, June 18, 2012

Fresh Picked


It's strawberry season!
I'm going to hull and honey these beauties,
top with whip cream and indulge!

Sharing with -


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