Blue jay and Vultures

The newest update to my iPad features the ability to make a still photo from a video. Unfortunately, I need two right hands to do it! It’s actually simpler for me to use my old method of pausing the video and saying, “Siri, make a screenshot.” 

But here’s an image I got using the new method. The bird cam filmed the blue jay taking a drink.

In other news, I posted some photos of vultures on a Facebook group. They are shots from my archives.

Some people considered vultures to be creepy but I appreciate them for the cleanup work that they do and their ability to soar on the winds.

Birds of the State Park

This afternoon I picked up a flyer at Seven Bends State Park titled "Common Birds of Seven Bends."

There are many different kind of birds at the park, partly because it offers a diverse habitat, including wetlands, meadows, and forests.

The brochure states that there are over 165 species of birds that have been found at the park, and it has pictures of these common ones: Canada goose, belted kingfisher, common merganser, red-tailed hawk, turkey vulture, bald eagle, pileated woodpecker, white-breasted nuthatch, red-bellied woodpecker, Carolina wren, mourning dove, song sparrow, and tree sparrow.

I didn’t get any bird pictures today, partly because I had my dog on a leash. I took a picture of one of the bird houses. The tube deters animals from raiding the nest. 

The rest of today’s pictures are from my files, starting with a bluebird. 

I took the picture of Canada geese in winter. We see them here year-round.

I saw a kingfisher by the river, where they like to watch for fish. This is a cropped cell phone picture from last year. I don’t capture photos of  kingfishers often, although I regularly glimpse them before they fly away.

It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s…

Unreal Birding

Wild Bird Wednesday

I didn't photograph any birds this week, except for an undistinguished one on a wire, plus this metal bird on top of my feeder pole. I like to think it's a bluebird because of its shape.

I did see a good-looking hawk on a tree branch, but I was driving and could not safely pull over. I found a similar scene in my files, but the hawk looked blurred. I used an app to sharpen it, but I don’t know if it’s totally true to reality. Therefore, I added a label to show that it’s modified. 

 

Have the Hummingbirds Left?

I have not seen hummingbirds since Monday, nor has the bird cam captured any. Perhaps they know that the season is changing and have headed south. It’s also possible that they’re still around and I’ll see one tomorrow or the next day.

 The camera is still working. It got a picture of a squirrel.

It’s not time to put out birdseed yet. They still have plenty to eat in “the wild.”

Here’s a duck, both on the grass and in the water.

And that’s all I’ve got for Wild Bird Wednesday.

Blue Jay and Hummingbird

A Blue Jay visited my birdbath. I was pleased that the automatic camera caught images of it.

The Birdfy camera takes wide angle videos, plus it saves a preview shot from the beginning. I sometimes take screenshots from the video. For this post, I cropped all the pictures to 4x3 format.

Hummingbirds are still visiting to store up energy from sugar water before they fly south.

Long Gliding Wings and Small Busy Wings

Vultures are not glamorous birds, but they glide gracefully, sailing on air currents high in the air. 

Tiny hummingbirds are admired for their beauty, but their wings beat so fast that I’m lucky when they don’t look completely blurry in a photo. 

That shot was taken by a motion-activated camera mounted in a birdfeeder. The model I have was designed for birdseed, but I set it up for hummingbirds in the summer. 

I have a hanging feeder for them too. Recently they’ve been visiting many times a day, gathering energy for a long migration southward. 

I took this picture yesterday while relaxing on the deck. 

Another visitor to the deck was this butterfly. The “Siri Knowledge” app says this is a hackberry emperor. 

Deer, Dogs, and Other Fine Things

First, some deer at Bryce Resort.

Next, a report from Charlie.

Hi! I had a pretty good week. I got to play with Sadie several times.

On Sunday, Mom took me to Strasburg Town Park. No one was at the dog park, so we went down by the river where all the people were. 

I saw another beagle! Her person said she was shy so I barely got to meet her.

At home, we still see the little hummingbirds sometimes.

Mom asked StarryAI to draw a paisley cat. I don’t know why she said that.

Here is something about beagles that she found on the computer.

Beagles are famous! Yesterday we were walking on this road at Seven Bends State Park. A man got out of his car and came over to ask, “Is this Charlie the famous beagle?” He said I was even more handsome than my pictures! He has seen me on this blog.

I think I can rest on my laurels now.

Phone Photos of Hummingbird

Ruby-Throated Male

These are pictures I took with my iPhone while sitting on the deck with my dog. I eat lunch out there almost every day, and several weeks passed before the hummingbird was bold enough to feed in our presence. I was pleased that Charlie did not jump up and scare him.

I used a moderate zoom to take the pictures. I have found that if I use the maximum zoom setting, the images come out blurry. I have better results with zooming at 2X or 3X and then cropping later.

I planned on this being a longer post, but I’m having trouble uploading pictures right now. I don’t know what’s going on with Blogger. I hope they're not going to bring AI into it.

Sparrow, Finch, Butterfly

When I was taking pictures for the theme post on travel, I saw some house sparrows. Here's one that was perched on a railing behind the brick building. 

I checked out the pollinator garden, hoping to get a butterfly picture, but the butterflies floated past without pausing. I did see a goldfinch, but its head was obscured by foliage. 

This afternoon, I saw a butterfly on the pavement. Unfortunately, it’s flying days were over.

Petting Zoo and Charlie’s Report

1. At a Festival in Stephens City.

2. Charlie’s Report

Hi! Here I am the dog park in Strasburg. No dog friends came to play, so I ran around a while and then we left.

On the way home, Mom drove on a small road and look what we saw!

Mom said a man carved that face in a dead tree. It looks strange to me.

In Toms Brook

Other than that, I didn’t go far from home. I did get to see Sadie a few times. We like to walk together.

One evening, Mom and I were walking, and we saw a deer in our neighbor’s yard!

Sometimes when we are on our deck, we hear buzzy things. Mom calls them hummingbirds. They are small, and they buzz away as soon as they see me.

Well, that’s all I can think of. The weather has been nice.