Predators; Little & Lovable Lookin', Larger & Lethal … on Creative Arts Three Day Weekend
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Red Fox Kits, Little & Lovable Lookin' (Above & Below)
© A. Mac/A.G.
© A. Mac/A.G.
Sharp-shinned Hawk, Larger & Lethal
© A. Mac/A.G.
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Here we are again! Show your creativity.
(Top photo, Bald Eagle, © A. Mac/A.G.)
cool pictures mac. I can watch raptors for hours on end, and since I live in the land of prairie dogs, I have.
Is an eagle a raptor? I remember my dad telling me that he was stopped at a traffic light and an eagle swooped down and grabbed a squirrel. That would have been a sight to see!
Morning..Poor squirrel..Love squirrels, we don't have them here..Hmmm probably as they are not deadly they didn't qualify..🐿️🐿️
Seeing the eagle swoop - would have been quite the sight to see - right there in front of me - not so much the poor squirrel getting eaten.
based upon all of the other animals unique to oz, I would be terrified of any squirrels there.
Morning...Our possums are good.. Brush Tails and Ring Tails. About as close to a squirrel as we have got. They do bite scratch etc but don't kill you..but there again could get infected, septis sets in and you are cactus/dead.. not heard of anyone snuffing it/dieing but you never know...
I remember one time I saw a vulture up close - it was perched on the part of a bridge as I was riding by - almost had an accident. Not one of the Lord's beautiful creatures.
Another time I saw a bunch of turkey vultures sitting on the roof on top of the condos across the way from my deck - they were all looking my way - it was creepy!
Speaking of vultures . . .
Barn swallows swoop on me every time I walk out the door.
Ya gotta love em.
Nice pics. Just realized I have something in common with that eagle.
You have talons?
No, and I don't have feathers either. It's a BALD eagle.
You silly goose!
I saw that one coming...
Actually, there is another similarity. LOL
nice beak...
It is somewhat prominent, I admit.
As the wolf might have said to Little Red Riding Hood: "The better to smell you with."
That Wolf really had a thing going with L'il Red.
Great shots, especially of the hawk, and that fox is cute as all get out.
I also got one of a hawk this week, but it's not as clear and sharp as yours. I'm not sure if it's a Cooper's or a sharp-shinned. Again it was too far away and had to be over-zoomed (digitally). I'm already thinking about getting a better camera.
What size range for lenses do you like for general wildlife photography? Would 300mm be enough, or do I need 500mm or more?
Naturally for wildlife and many sports, the longer lenses give you more reach; but unless you spend a lot of money, most longer lenses are considered slower as the maximum aperture are usually 4.5 or 5.6 so fast shutter speeds won’t be available except in bright situations, or, at high ISO settings. Like life, there are trade offs in photography.
Depending on how a photo will be used, cropping and enlarging can be viable options. A 300mm lens can get you enough reach depending on distance-to/subject. Above all, get the shot and crop and enlarge if needed. No matter the lens, if you don’t get the shot, it won’t matter.
Will a 300mm get good shots of bird-sized subjects out to about 150 ft.?
Too many variables to answer definitively, but, song birds, perching birds and birds other than hawks, owls, tall wading birds and large waterfowl, at that distance, they won’t fill much of the frame. But again, get the shot and then see if cropping and enlarging do it justice.
Thanks for the advice, Mac.
One of our resident Heron's decided to come into our community pool. He flew in walked around for a while and then flew back out to one of our lakes in the complex.
One of our Florida softshell turtles headed back to the lake after a jaunt around the neighborhood.
I loved seeing herons on the bay front where I used to live.
So cute, the turtle was out for a stroll.
Nice pictures. The heron is amazing.
Morning..Hope you check the pool incase any snappies are sitting on the bottom before you get in..🐊🐊🐊
I do check but it's for gators, not snappies. In the US snapping turtles are sometimes referred to as snappies. They can take a finger or toe off quite easily.
ha ha ha, I love it...
Ummm....does it come in a bigger size?? That would be a croc snack take away... Glad you check, always a worry when they are hanging around...
The males on average are 13 to 15 feet. The largest in Florida was 17.5 feet.
We also have crocodiles here in Florida. They can reach 20 feet and weigh around 2,000 lbs but most are in the 11 to 15 foot range.
We also have Burmese python in the Everglades this is the largest one ever captured in Florida and one of the largest in the world. 18 feet 3 inches.
Yes pass on those ones...From what I have heard they are introduced and a pest now?? And causing massive damage? Perhaps they should have an open season on them..
They are not native to North American and they have infested the Everglades and are causing a huge amount of damage to all the other wildlife that inhabit the ''Glades''. There is an open season on them and people are paid to get rid of them.
They were not introduced. People had them as pets and when they got too big they let them loose in the Everglades and it took years before they were detected now they are out of control and have actually started leaving the Everglades and have been found crossing into neighborhoods close to the glades.
Hope they manage to cull and control them..well better try and get some sleep. It is nearly 3.30am and I am bright eyed and bushy tailed... enjoy your day.. see you later alligator...after awhile crocodile...
At least that wasn't anything I was worried about when we had a swimming pool at our Toronto home.
I never thought of Florida as being such a dangerous place.
Pretty sure that all wildlife is much more dangerous down under.
Including that redhead from Sidney I met back in the day.
We had a heron visit the neighborhood storm water retention pond a couple weeks ago after days of heavy rain. The pond slowly releases runoff over the concrete weir wall, providing the opportunity to snap up little fish and whatnot. This is the favorite spot for the bird in the back sitting beneath the rail - he wasn’t too happy about having to share food with this big guy. Anyone know what kind of bird that is beneath the rail? I think it’s a king fisher.
Looks like a black crowned night heron.
I think you are right.
Good to see youGregTx …
The smaller bird at the top is probably a Black Crowned Night Heron, the long legged bird at the bottom with the yellowish bill is probably a Great Blue Heron.
I don't think I appreciated the fact that we had herons on the lake my four-season cottage was on, but what was great and unforgettable were the loon calls early in the morning.
Vintage style pics of a vintage village in Sichuan Province
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.A family celebration beside the river
The National Game - Mah Jong
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One of the things that I love about China is all the artwork (statues etc) and the brilliant colors that are used in everything.
And all of these photos are B&W, LOL.
There is a reason they're B&W. It was my previous camera, and for some reason when I started to take photos there, the colour started fading until it was completely gone. I wrote to Olympus about it and they told me nothing could be done about it, so I had to get a new camera, not an Olympus.
Same here, Kavika. S. Korea ass well, although, Korea is not quite as colorful as in China. I guess the bright colors of China appeal to my Cherokee blood.
Okay Raven and Kavika, you want the colours of China? Here are some samples for you - all of the photos were taken by me over the years I've been here.
I call this one "Primary Colours", a photo taken at the White Horse Temple in Luoyang.
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TheTemple of Heaven, behind the Forbidden City in Beijing. A.Mac has previously posted his photo of a replica of it in Disney World.
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The ceiling of a pagoda - does it make you feel dizzy?
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The Buddhas are usually displayed in beautifully decorated settings.
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Inside a cave at Guilin, near the Karst Mountains of Guanxi.
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A building faced with mosaic art at the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute a 5 minute walk from us.
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The kite was invented in China.
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China at night - buildings more colourful than during the day
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And the boats, floating rainbows
Perhaps it's to make up for the rarity of spectacular sunsets - nature always wins in the end.
The pagoda ceiling produces an optical illusion (to my eye) that makes it look like the color wheel is moving back and forth. Cool.
Last time I was in China and taking pictures, I was arrested. FUCK the regime!
Tell us about it. Why were you arrested? I've been taking thousands of pictures all over China for almost 15 years and never had a problem. Were you taking photos of army installations or something of that type? Maybe what happened to you was your own fault, and you're using it as an excuse to hate.
Crickets - as expected. So it's likely my assumption is correct.
Lots of beautiful colors. Thanks Buzz.
The day we visited the Great Wall, this family was setting up for lunch.
© G. Gam 2021
Although there were people on the wall hawking souvenirs and snacks I never saw anything like that when I was there at Christmas - it was really cold and windy, as you can see from this...wearing my signature Greek fisherman's cap that I had bought at the Fisherman's Wharf, S.F. and wore during winters for at least 3 decades until it disintigrated.
Is that a lilac bush, Hal?
Yes it is. It really exploded this year and smells amazing.
Terrific flower images - took about two minutes to fully open. Where I grew up we had a lilac bush in the back yard - loved the smell.
Very beautiful photos.
I have a lilac exactly like that one (same flower color), but it hasn't bloomed for two years in a row now. I've had freaky, unusual weather the past two springs which has apparently affected it. Maybe next year.
I fertilized my lilac a few years back and it hasn't bloomed since.
If a plant "thinks" it not in need of any basic elements its environment provides for its survival, it may not be "induced" to reproduce (to flower in this case).
I planted milkweed seeds from the Pocono Mountains in my backyard garden in Philadelphia. The plants produced lots of foliage, but, in the first year, NO FLOWERS. I speculate, because the plants that evolved in the shallow, rocky soil of the mountains, upon their seeds germinating in the richer soil of my back yard, "felt" no urgency to flower and reproduce. But now, two years later, they are producing multiple new plants via their underground roots, AND FLOWERING LIKE CRAZY!
Glad to hear it, and are they effectively attracting lots of Monarch butterflies?
In the canal behind my father's house in Florida. I took it in 2015 on the last visit I had with him before he passed away.
Would you like me to enlarge that photo for you?
Never mind. I'm heading to bed now.
Morning. Night Buzz..
I suggested enlarging because I couldn't tell what was on the rock until I enlarged it in my own picture library, but since no reply, never mind.
Morning..oh what a cute little snappy.. looks like he is having a bad colour day..sorry about your dad..hope you have wonderful memories to hold on too.
LOL
Your snappies grow a lot bigger down under eh?
Morning Tessylo...just a tad/abit..Some are up to a hundred years old.. Will tackle anything cows, boats, people, dogs..Some poor guys up Darwin a few weeks ago a croc jumped into their boat, they jumped out.
Have been known to chase people up trees and wait days down the bottom. If the people have no way of communication, they are stuck.
They also attack and eat each other. Couple of people a year are usually taken so they are not the nicest of things around.
No such thing as a "cute" croc. Had to run for my life once.
Swamp Thing !!!
Being creative with my photos.
© G. Gam 2021
© G. Gam 2021
© G. Gam 2021
I love the first one. It's a great triptic.
Thanks, Perrie
picture #2 - it reminds me of some drug induced nostalgia from the early 70's.
Hmm... Having a flashback, dev?
summer 1973, windowpane LSD, a pretty accurate depiction of some scenery that was passing by.
3 WOWS!
WOW!
WOW!
WOW!
Thank you so much!
I love how your artistic skills have grown, G. You are letting your imagination open so many new doors for you and they are awesome. Your talents are growing by the day, and we are so lucky to be able to see them grow.
Thank you very much, Raven Wing.
You art has, of course, inspired me greatly, as has Mac's.
Nice color combinations, G. Pleasing to the eye.
Thanks, Dig.
And creative you be....
Thank you, Buzz.
Well done,G.
Thank you very much, Kavika.
There are pigeons and there are pigeons. Our version is drab and then you have the ''Rainbow Piegon'' native to parts of SE Asia.
Those are not Air Jordans on his feet.
That bird proves that Mother Nature has a sense of humor, and a great sense of color. Beautiful!
LGQBT?
Off to a great start … keep it goin'!
Hello Fri..day!!
Exceptionally beautiful!
Thank you very much, Mac. I am very glad you like it.
Raven, you did a fantastic job with that one.
Thanks Buzz. I tested with a few different wood burls, but, the buckeye wood burl seemed to fit best with the primary subject.
Nice one, RW.
Thank you, Dig. Glad you like it.
That is a very beautiful image, Raven Wing.
A black rat snake checking out a couple of empty bird houses. If they were occupied I wouldn't have let the snake mess with them, but as things were I thought I'd let it pose for a few pics.
A most impressive series!
That is an uncomparable set of photos. Slim pickings for that guy.
Thanks. He did leave hungry. Fortunately, he didn't approach any other bird houses that I know have nests in them.
Very interesting series of photos, Dig. While the snake did not end up with good results of its explorations, you sure did.
Great photos Dig.
Just this AM in the rock garden on the side of the house was a black rat snake, a small one about 3 ft long.
That's the second time I've caught a snake checking out those particular bird houses. This one seemed to know exactly where it was going, too. Now I'm wondering if that's why they've been unoccupied for the past couple of years. I'm not really sure what to do about that. I don't want to put those ugly cones around any trees in the yard.
The snake may have got some bird eggs there in the past so it will keep coming back looking for more.
You must have seen what the vets put on a dog to prevent it from scratching its eyes and face - can you adapt something like that onto the tree trunk below the birdhouse?
Yeah, but I think they're ugly and I don't really want them on trees in the yard. I may put one under the bat house that I picked up but haven't hung yet. I'm not going to put it right in the yard, though, so it won't be plainly visible. I won't mind that.
Might be if there is an aura or traces of a snake on the tree and around and on the bird houses, that might be why they have remained unoccupied for so long.
That occurred to me as well. I know I saw a wren checking out the white one a few weeks ago, but it didn't move in. If the snake leaves a smell, that could certainly explain why birds are avoiding them.
I am not a snake experts by far, but, like many other animals of different species, they tend to leave a scent to mark their 'territory', perhaps claiming right to that tree and the bird house. While it might not have been the same birds that would take up residence in the birdhouses, it is rather unusual for a bird house to go unclaimed by a bird of some sort for such a long time.
It is not unusual for birds to reject a birdhouse if there is the scent of a cat anywhere in the close vicinity of it. I have seen that happen many times. So maybe it is a similar situation with snakes as well.
A squirrel baffle. Don't know if baffles are made with diameters large enough for tree trunks.
In nature, organisms occupy what are called "ecological niches" … which often create conflicts between what humans prefer but what an ecosystem requires to sustain itself. A snake population in a given ecosystem eats birds eggs, or, nestlings, over time, too many snakes will mean " not enough bird eggs, and snake populations will decrease for lack of food ultimately.
On the other hand, not enough snakes will allow certain bird species populations to become too large, and that bird population will decrease for lack of food, etc. because of inter-species competition.
The point is, NATURE HAS ITS CHECKS AND BALANCES, and when humans mess with that balance, there could be consequences for the humans.
Rat snakes will possibly eat birds eggs and baby birds … BUT THEY ALSO EAT … YUP! … RATS. It's quite possible, that a rat snake looking for birds' eggs, may have reduced a rat population within its ecosystem, and, until the rat population comes back, the snakes that eat them will find other food sources, or, move on to rattier pastures.
If a human population living in a given area doesn't want to see snakes and discourages their natural inclinations, those humans may find an unchecked rat population even less desirable than snakes that will eat bird eggs.
NOTE: The biologist in me survives despite the years.
See everyone on Saturday.
Good night for now.
That is a real beauty, Mac. Very interesting visual effect on the photo gives it a very unique look. It almost looks like a snake in the lower right corner crawling among the rocks along side the stream. The visual effect on the water gives it a rather surreal appearance.
Very well done, Mac.
I totally agree with your assessment of that photo.
Saturday....here we come!!
And we would feel safe if he were there to protect us....
Thanks Buzz. (smile)
G'day from the friendliest animal in the world, the Quokka native to parts of Australia. It's also the world's smallest kangaroo. And yes they do have a pouch to carry their young.
Aw. It wants to give me a big hug.
That top photo is pure joy.
Hitching a ride.
How cute!!
Dat turtlay doding a beauties pose fors deh camra.
That dragonfly needs to be careful it doesn't end up being a meal.
Hope your Saturday is great!
You're really good at blending images.
Thank you, Buzz. I am very glad that you like it.
This artwork is to show a Shaman presiding over the the ceremony of a young Brave passing into adulthood. In many Tribes the males are not considered to be adults until they are 25 y/o.
Also, as he becomes an adult he is given a new Spirit Guide, the Falcon, which is also shown. The others shown are lesser Spirits that will also watch over him as he moves into adulthood.
Eastern kingbird, watching for insects on the ground from the garden fence.
Eastern wood peewee. Their call always gives them away.
Goldfinch and something I'm not sure of. I thought maybe a female house finch, but the beak doesn't look 'finchy' enough to me. Could be wrong about that, though. Does anyone know what it is?
Northern cardinal and indigo bunting.
Maybe a female house sparrow? Anyone know?
Yet another red-headed woodpecker. Definitely different from the one before. This one looks older to me, and also has black splotches on the white part of its wings
The first time I ever saw one at a feeder. What luck! Hasn't been back since I took this shot, though. At least not that I've noticed.
A blue jay nesting higher up in the second tree that the snake was checking out in my other photos above. I was all ready to get shots of a confrontation, but the snake didn't go that high.
Anyone remember my video of the chickadees moving into this bird house a while back? Well, last week I heard chicks chirping in it, and the adults were busy feeding them, but before I could get any shots of the chicks sticking their heads out they were gone. Maybe chickadee chicks are calmer than wren chicks and don't do that. Shortly after they left, a house wren claimed the bird house and started pulling out the chickadee nest. Shown here is some kind of fur the chickadees used for lining that I couldn't identify.
After seeing the wren trying to clean out the box, I decided to help and emptied it out for him (male house wrens build the nest). After it was empty he started bringing in twigs. Below is a hilarious moment I caught when he was trying to figure out how to get a twig through the hole. Just pushing against it doesn't work, lol. He figured it out in no time, though. House wrens are hands down my favorite bird house residents. They are feisty little buggers, and the song they sing while nesting is top-notch. Their wings are high speed and flutter away like a hummingbird's at times, which is neat to watch. They are all-around awesome birds to have in your yard (bug eaters, too). At present I have three hanging bird houses with house wrens in them. Mornings are a cacophony of wren song. It's wonderful.
Great series of beautiful birds, Dig.
Welcome to Dig's outdoor aviary - as I've suggested already, you could sell tickets to birdwatchers and photographers.
Wonderful photos.
Been on the road but it looks like all is well and we’re looking good.
FLAT out looking forward to Sunday.
© A. Mac/A.G.
Your flounder, as seen through my eyes and camera lens....
But now it's dead.
Sad but true - a flounder that floundered.
It is humanity that flounders when it is casual about how it "harvests" … the balance of nature is delicate and so-called "humanity," unlike other animals, often takes more than it needs, not considering anything but the present and the immediate future. It overpopulates, consumes disproportionately -- leaving too many too little and amassing gluts for too few.
Getting down from my soapbox now.
"Casual"? or dedicated...not only overpopulates and consumes disproportionately, but also wastes.
Sorry to be running late today.....very busy morning.
So here is one for Sunday..
Late or not - as nice as usual.
Thank you Buzz.
That is fantastic, Raven Wing.
Hope you all have a great week. See you next Friday!
Very nice, and the framing is an excellent match.
Thanks G. I am glad you like it. The frame itself is one I created using the Bevel feature in PP. First time I tried it in this manner.
Is that bird seeking or providing?
It's looking for a sample for its nest. (grin)
The bird is a MAGPIE … The magpie totem is a good luck symbol that indicates joy, love, and lasting fortune. It can also signify trickery and deception. The meaning of the magpie can represent good and bad omen, or duality and opposites.
I remember that the magpie was the first bird I saw in China.
Very true, Mac. Similar to the Raven as a totem. It is considered very highly by some Tribes, and as a trickster or bad omen by others.
Knowledge of the iconography of various cultures, when adeptly applied to artwork, takes it to levels and dimensions beyond the mundane. You incorporate it at a superior level.
I have but one Egret … and he is pictured just above.
© A. Mac/A.G.
Lol.
Thanks to all who made this another excellent article. I will close it down on late, Monday morning.