** Weekly X-Series Photo-Sharing Thread 19 MAR – 25 MAR **

I especially like the images of the swift/swallow(?), duck, and grebe(?) of some sort. The postures are interesting, they seem lively and quirky. Really engaging!

I really appreciate it when people post short captions, giving animal or plant IDs, or rough locations. especially with flowers and birds. I am good with ID of Mesozoic dinosaurs, but still learning ID of the huge variety of these Johnny-come-lately Cenozoic dinosaurs a.k.a. “birds.”

Thanks for posting.

Photos from camping and hiking trips last fall.

Sharp Top in VA

Peaks of Otter lodge from Sharp Top

Nearing Sharp Top summit

Pasture near Waynesville, NC

Highway 276 to Brevard, NC

Morris0 wrote:

Vivid, now that's an understatement. There should have been a warning to put on sunglasses :-}

Lovely Bob

Morris

Actually I did have sunglasses on! 😁

Greg in Durham NC wrote:

Very cool how a large flock birds can act as one.

Greg

Yes it's amazing.  I've seen slow motion video of how each bird reacts to it's neighbors.

Morris

Greg in Durham NC wrote:

Are these naturally occurring wild flowers? Colors are quite vivid.

They are not wildflowers.  They are Drosanthemums.  It is a very common ground-cover shrub planted in the more arid parts of our area especially in the yards of homes.

There were very small patches of poppies but these patches were maybe 3ft. square.  At the end of this next week I may go out and look for more.  The main poppy area about 10 miles away from me has been closed off because of the possibility of hoards of people descending upon the fields causing damage and traffic tie-ups.  The Sheriff has imposed strict rules that could get you in a heap of trouble.

Greg in Durham NC wrote:

Morris,

Also like the left then right orientation of the birds' flight of the two photos.

Here's one I got of some buffleheads in flight last winter on the NC coast. Still working on my bird photography and need to pick up a super telephoto and a better tripod head if I'm going to get more serious.

Yes its fun to see large flocks.  In the case of the two photos I show they reversed direction.

Morris

The last is super Greg

Morris

We did not have an opportunity to see the Puffins and the Eastern part of the island was shrouded with rain and fog when we passed through so I appreciate these photos.

The landscapes show how clear the air is.....something I appreciated when I was there (since I live in SoCal)

We live on a mountain deep in the woods, so things don’t get much light.  Finally, the daffodils have bloomed in the forest!  They are much appreciated.

Long ago, I decided to create a flower garden and I bought hundreds of bulbs.  What an idiot!  The squirrels and such dug them all up before they could bloom.  The good news was that they buried some of the bulbs here and there in the woods and forgot about them.  Usually, the deer eat them before they can bloom.  For some reason, the deer left the alone this year.  The result below:

Greg

Beautiful!!!

CeeDave wrote:

I especially like the images of the swift/swallow(?), duck, and grebe(?) of some sort. The postures are interesting, they seem lively and quirky. Really engaging!

I really appreciate it when people post short captions, giving animal or plant IDs, or rough locations. especially with flowers and birds. I am good with ID of Mesozoic dinosaurs, but still learning ID of the huge variety of these Johnny-come-lately Cenozoic dinosaurs a.k.a. “birds.”

Thanks for posting.

I will provide names for the birds from now on. I'm not a bird expert so I have to rely on an app (Merlin Bird ID) to identify them. Still learning!

The tree swallows are very quick and they were so many of them flying by. I tried to capture them in flight but I couldn't get one to fill the frame. Felt impossible seeing how quick they move. This was the best I could capture which is cropped heavily and processed with Topaz AI.

A very nice photo!

ChrisGibbons001 wrote:

jm10 wrote:

Nice color Bob! I was reading some opinions that the Superbloom may not happen this year in spite of all the water that came down lately. The seeds may be washed out and there is not enough warm days for sprouting...we shall see...

Meanwhile a few more pictures from my Iceland visit:

God, I need to go to Iceland. Stunning images.

Thank you for your nice comments Chris! Yes, this is an amazing place to visit and photograph...

Another great series MrKazador! You make it look so easy (and I know it is not...). Do you live close to this Sanctuary?

jacob

BobsYourUncle wrote:

We did not have an opportunity to see the Puffins and the Eastern part of the island was shrouded with rain and fog when we passed through so I appreciate these photos.

The landscapes show how clear the air is.....something I appreciated when I was there (since I live in SoCal)

We spent several hours photographing the Puffins. I did not know that they dig holes in the ground to build their nests. They need protection from bigger birds that try to grab the fish that the Puffins catch. Not an easy life The area in the Eastern part of the island where the Puffins hang around is fenced off for tourists, so the birds feel safe and are quite used to crowds.

I visited in July and weather was pretty good, but it is the busiest month for tourism. It seems to be a very attractive place to be in winter but that would be too cold for me...

Superb shots.  Makes me wish we’d visited a couple of the places you so nicely captured here during our visit a couple of years ago.  Also would have loved to see a puffin or two.  No such luck.

Absolutely awesome place and some amazing opportunities for photography.  Thanks for sharing!

Excellent exposure showing feather detail in the blacks

Morris

jm10 wrote:

Another great series MrKazador! You make it look so easy (and I know it is not...). Do you live close to this Sanctuary?

jacob

Thank you jm10. Not so close, about a 50 mile drive one way. It was my first time going and I plan to go back.

Its easy when they're perched on a branch lol. It also helps I took 4500 photos that day so there has to be a few good ones.