09 Saturday Jun 2018
Posted in Photography
This evening, I tried to shoot more photos near the bird feeder, and surprised two birds, one full of color, the other blander.
A Northern Cardinal flew in and landed on a magnolia branch. It shook itself as if to get rid of some water, and that’s when I took this photo. He was one of the reddest Cardinals I have ever seen.
Northern Cardinal.
A young female House Finch did not see me until I took her picture.
Female House Finch.
09 Saturday Jun 2018
Posted in Photography
This morning, I went out on the deck and took pictures of the early birds that came for breakfast. Some looked very young, and they may be this year’s fledglings.
Blue Jay.
Northern Cardinal: “Peekaboo!”
Blue Jay: “I see you!”
Young male House Finch.
Young Carolina Chickadee.
10 Saturday Feb 2018
Posted in Photography
I took the following photos in 2015 on the 11th of February. Today, going through my archives and seeing them, I am surprised I had not posted them at that time.
Female Northern Cardinal. In other shots, it was obvious that she was blind in her left eye.
Nuthatch.
White-throated Sparrow.
Dark-eyed Junco.
08 Thursday Feb 2018
Posted in Photography
Le Rouge et le Noir (The Red and the Black) is the title of a novel published in 1830 by the French writer Stendhal. That said, the following two images have nothing to do with the book.
The Red, a Northern Cardinal.
The Black, a Dark-eyed Junco.
03 Saturday Feb 2018
Posted in Photography
I still have not ventured out since coming down with the flu. There may also be quite a few people similarly afflicted for the local pharmacy shelves have been laid bare of the more popular flu and cold medicines. The weather has not been cooperating either, being mostly cold, snowy at times, and windy almost always. This has given me time to cull through some recent shots of Blue Jays and other birds in our backyard.
Blue Jay.
Blue Jay.
Blue Jay.
Young House Sparrow.
Female Northern Cardinal.
Male Northern Cardinal.
16 Tuesday Jan 2018
Posted in Photography
The thaw did not last long, and our January freeze is back. However, a very pretty female Northern Cardinal made up for all the cold and dreariness of winter.
Female Northern Cardinal.
Female Northern Cardinal.
10 Wednesday Jan 2018
Posted in Photography
Northern Cardinal, male.
Northern Cardinal, male.
05 Friday Jan 2018
Posted in Photography
Yesterday the blizzard started at 6 AM and ended a few minutes after 3 PM, after dumping about 5 inches (12 cm) in our area, but up to 17 inches (42 cm) in other counties closer to the ocean.
Once the snow stopped blowing around, I refilled the bird feeder. There were so many birds that the sunflower seeds were gone in a day as compared to 3-5 days normally.
With their brilliant colors, Northern Cardinals stood out against the snow, so I opened the patio door a crack and photographed several that came close to the feeder.
Male Northern Cardinal.
I had spilled some seeds on a table. A male Cardinal took his time eating those seeds.
Male Northern Cardinal.
Male Northern Cardinal.
A female Northern Cardinal waited patiently for her turn.
Female Northern Cardinal.
Female Northern Cardinal.
Male Northern Cardinal, looking at camera after he had his fill.
04 Thursday Jan 2018
Posted in Photography
The first blizzard of 2018 is in full force outside. I can hear it as I write these words. Earlier I saw a couple of Northern Cardinals near the bird feeder. I took their pictures through the patio glass door.
Northern Cardinal on magnolia branch during blizzard.
Mr. Red on snow covered deck railing.
Same pose, Mrs. Red.
Female Northern Cardinal on magnolia branch.
30 Saturday Dec 2017
Posted in Photography
Not much snow fell, somewhat less than 2 in (5 cm), but the cold is staying with temperatures in the teens and twenties (-10 C to -5 C). Nothing is melting. Many birds came to our feeder, and I even saw a new one that was gray with black wings. It was too quick and only appears as a blur in a shot I took.
But Mr. Blue and Mr. Red were there of course and lingered long enough for me to photograph them leisurely.
Blue Jay.
Mr. Red especially took his time, even checking out the photographer several times.
Northern Cardinal.
Northern Cardinal.
Northern Cardinal.
A Tufted Titmouse patiently waited for its turn at the feeder.
Tufted Titmouse.
23 Saturday Dec 2017
Posted in Photography, Weekly Photo Challenge
The URL for this challenge is: https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/2017-favorites/
In early May 2017, I went to Barnegat Lighthouse Park and walked the short (0.2 mi) Maritime Forest Trail looking for birds to photograph. Suddenly a red bird, a male Northern Cardinal flew by with a seed in his bill. He went to a branch on which a female was already perched and began to feed her in a gesture of love and courtship, as you can see in the following shots.
Northern Cardinals.
Northern Cardinals. Her eyes say it all.
16 Saturday Dec 2017
Posted in Photography
The first one if not red all over, but the House Finch is one of the more dominant birds in our neighborhood. They are also not native to our area, but over the years have migrated from the West Coast to the East Coast.
Male House Finch.
A Northern Cardinal, all red except for some black patches around its beak, stands out especially well amid the whiteness of yesterday’s snow.
Northern Cardinal.
10 Sunday Dec 2017
Posted in Photography
Tags
blue jay, downy woodpecker, house finch, house sparrow, junco, northern cardinal, photography, postaday, tufted titmouse
Today skies are mostly sunny and snow is melting at a good pace. I took the opportunity to photograph the various birds that come to our feeder all day long.
Blue Jay, checking out the bird feeder. They rule the place and whenever they land, all other birds scatter away.
Blue Jay.
Junco about to jump.
Female Downy Woodpecker.
Female House Finch.
Male House Finch.
House Sparrow.
Tufted Titmouse, working on a sunflower seed.
Finally, the one and the only Northern Cardinal, resplendent in colors rivaling its human counterparts in Rome.
Northern Cardinal.
09 Saturday Dec 2017
Posted in Photography
Snow fell today in our region for the first time this winter. We did not get much, maybe 4 inches (10 cm), but the sky was gray all day and although many birds came to our feeder I did not try to take their pictures. So here are a couple shots of a Northern Cardinal from last year, under similar weather. The banner shot is also from last year.
Northern Cardinal.
Northern Cardinal. Same guy, different pose.
20 Thursday Jul 2017
Posted in Photography
It was 101 °F (38 °C) when I got out of work this afternoon. The following photos of a handsome Northern Cardinal who has been coming to our bird feeder is illustrative of the red hot summer we have been enduring over these past few days.
Northern Cardinal.
Northern Cardinal.
Cooling rains are coming this weekend.
07 Wednesday Jun 2017
Posted in Photography
Lately our weather has been nothing but rain and clouds, so I have not gone out much, relying on the birds around our bird feeder to pose for photographs. They did not disappoint.
Goldfinch.
A moody House Finch.
Northern Cardinal.
House Finch.
Young female House Finch with stray feather.
This last one is not a bird, although it would like to be one to get at the food.
Squirrel at bird feeder.
07 Sunday May 2017
Posted in barnegat, Photography
A male Northern Cardinal will often court a female by offering her food. I have seen that behavior before, but today was the first time I managed to capture it in photos. This took place this morning in a small grove next to Barnegat Lighthouse.
A male Cardinal holding a seed in his beak.
He fed the seed to an appreciative female Cardinal.
A fraction of a second after the “kiss”.
18 Saturday Feb 2017
Posted in Photography
Today, temperatures rose to 64oF (18oC) which made it feel like Spring. I went to the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge opposite Philadelphia International Airport on the other side of I-95. Vegetation still looked drab and dull, but among the light brown reeds I saw a flash of brilliant red. It was a male Northern Cardinal. He kept foraging for food in the same area for several long minutes. I took a series of shots and the following turned out to be the better ones.
Male Northern Cardinal at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge.
Northern Cardinal.
Northern Cardinal.
06 Saturday Feb 2016
Posted in Photography
More snow is forecasted for several days next week, but today the snow that felt two weeks ago has melted almost completely. To help out our backyard feathered friends, I put out sunflower seeds and roasted peanuts for them. Many came out, and they did not mind me taking their pictures, even with the patio door partially open.
Northern Cardinal holding sunflower seed in its beak.
Tufted Titmouse with roasted peanut.
Downy Woodpecker looking toward bird feeder. He did not like peanuts and went for the sunflower seeds.
A pair of Blue Jays flew in, each grabbing several peanuts at a time.
Blue Jay eyeing peanuts.
Blue Jay stuffing peanuts in its throat pouch, perhaps to take back to nest.
Blue Jay gorging on peanuts.
Blue Jay: I can always fit one more down there.
Blue Jay with last peanut before taking off.
Within less than an hour, the birds had finished half a box of peanuts!
