pieceoflace's photostream Pro User

Good morning everyone and Happy Feathery Friday. Been a long time coming, but finally male Red-bellied Woodpeckers (Melanerpes carolinus) have been coming within camera range. All winter the only RB's that did were females. For what seemed like six months I wasn't able to get a single pic of a male...and rarely did I even see one. Then with the onset of spring and warmer weather I'm seeing more males now than females.

As for these pics, all were taken this past April and I included one pic in the comment section of a female for comparison purposes.

Thank you for stopping by...and I hope you have a truly great day and a most pleasant weekend.

Lacey

ISO800, aperture f/5.8, exposure .004 seconds (1/250) focal length 300mm

Good morning everyone and Happy Dragonfly Thursday. While out & about photographing damsels & dragonfliess last week a Slender Baskettail (Epitheca costalis) flew right in front of me then perched. When I focused in on it with the camera only then did I see there was a Common Baskettail (Epitheca cynosura) perched on the same twig right below it (as seen above). Kind of a first for me to get two different species of Baskettails perched so close together like this.

I posted a few additional pics of both in the comment section along with two of the Common Baskettail alone, which I took after the Slender Baskettail flew off. One final note, I'm not seeing nearly as many Baskettails in general this year, which I attribute to last summer's drought since the nearby water source where I usually see them totally dried up in 2012.

Thank you for stopping by...and I hope you're having a most pleasant week.

Lacey

ISO400, aperture f/11, exposure .006 seconds (1/180) focal length 230mm

You feed me when I'm hungry,
You keep water in my dish,
You let me sleep on anything
Or any place I wish.

You let me lick your hands,
or even lick your face,
Despite the fact I've licked myself
In a very private place.

You taught me how to come when called,
You taught me how to sit,
You taught me how to go outside,
So I can take a s- stroll.

You'll always have my love & loyalty,
up to the bitter end,
'cause after all, it's plain to see...

You are my very best friend!

Happy Mother's Day!

Good morning everyone and Happy Feathery Friday. As the title indicates, my little Slate-colored Junco (Junco hyemalis hyemalis) friends have headed north as they do each year after spending winter with us. They actually left about a month ago, as they do every year in April. So while I'm late posting my annual series dedicated to these birds, I figure late is better than never.

For me it's always sad the day when I realize they are gone. Here one day...gone the next. I wish them a safe journey to and from their summer breeding grounds, and look forward to seeing them again when they return in October.

Kind of a long series with a lot of commentary. But in spite of that I hope you enjoy the photos of these cute little birds and find the text informative.

Thank you for stopping by...and I hope you have a nice day and most pleasant weekend.

Lacey

ISO400, aperture f/5.8, exposure .006 seconds (1/180) focal length 300mm

Good morning everyone. And as the title indicates, the first of the early season dragonfly species have finally begun to emerge here locally. On the day I took these pics (being May 1st) it was my first field trip for 2013 in search of dragonflies. I visited two places. The first being the reclaimed strip mine where there is an area with a normally healthy population of Baskettails. The other being the only place locally where Blue Corporals can be found.

My timing seemed to be just about right as both species looked to be in the early stages of emerging. Neither species were overly abundant and all of the dragonflies I saw look recently emerged.

First up is the above Common Baskettail (Epitheca cynosura). The only one I saw that day. Followed by a Slender Baskettail in the comment section. Then I posted a few pics of newly emerged Blue Corporals.

For a lot of reasons at the time it wasn't the best of days for me to be out & about taking pics and it shows somewhat in the photos. But in spite of that I still wanted to post a few of the first dragonflies for yours truly in 2013.

Thank you for stopping by...and I hope you have a truly great day.

Lacey

ISO400, aperture f/11, exposure .004 seconds (1/250) focal length 300mm