Yesterday I Drove Down To Cape May, NJ To Help And Work With The NJ Audubon's Spring Shore Bird Migration Count. These Birds Have Just Arrived From South America Where They Spend The Winter Months. Cape May Is A Major Stop Over And Resting Place For These Birds. They Will Spend A Few Weeks Here Feeding And Resting Before Continuing On To Their Summer Breeding Grounds In The Arctic. These Birds Will Return To Cape May In Late Summer To Feed And Rest Once Again Before Flying Down To South America To Winter. It Was An Awesome Day Working With These Amazing Birds....NATURE RULES!!!

 

Semipalmated Sandpiper Being Measured And Checked 

 

 

 

Semipalmated Sandpiper Being Released 

 

Semipalmated Sandiper After Release  

And looking forward to this summer.

A time to wake up early, enjoy the cool air, and catch the moring's sunrise.  Take a walk along the lake shore and watch the birds,  watch while the boaters enjoy a morning work out.  Catch a spider in the grass and just plain enjoy the cattails.

Added 05/09/08 (pm) lightened spider 

Added 05/09/08 (pm) lightened spider 

Well, trite, perhaps, but still cute.

breakfast III

breakfast 1  

breakfast II  

Just a few of the hundred finches that flocked our cove! Along with the fifty or so of Redwing blackbirds, our birdfeeders are very active these days!

Hope you enjoy the photos. We have enjoyed these little finches so!
They are such fun to watch!

female house finch

female house finch2

Goldfinch2

goldfinch3

goldfinch4

male house finch2

male house finch4

red finch  

The other day I went to Taco Bell for lunch. Just behind the Taco Bell is a little piece of undeveloped land between the parking lot and the first house behind the restaurant. (I use the term restaurant loosly, as it is a convenient place to grab lunch, but not exactly gourmet dining!) Anyway, this is what I saw while I was parked there trying to eat, but more interested in taking pictures!

Goldfinch eating thistle seeds

When I went back to the flower shop (a little late...) I brought my camera in for a little show and tell for the co-workers about how I spent my lunch, one of the designer's must have been impressed by the big IS Zoom lens and asked me to take some pictures of party flower arrangements that she was making. Well, the flower shop is not the best place to take pictures because of the cramped space and clutter of the back room and the flourescent lighting, but I tried to be as creative as I could, considering the boss was also looking at me like I was wasting valuable time on the clock! (However the next day I brought in the prints and he wanted to have a set of them to show to customers... go figure!)
Anyway, here is what I took, they could be better, but I only had a few minutes to take them...

Ivonne's Party Flowers

Thanks for looking.

...or five.
I'm out of here!

The weather front moving in this afternoon has brought the Finches to the feeders

Finches
More Finches
And More Finches
Definitely Not Finches

Cape May, New Jersey Is One Of The Best Birding Spots In The Nation And  Is Ranked Among The Planet's Greatest Migratory Corridors.

Delaware Bay

Here Are Two Of The Shorebirds That Dee And I  Saw.

A Semipalmated Plover Runs From The  Surf

American  Oystercatcher On The Salt Marsh

They say a bird in hand is worth two in the bush, in this case it's not true. Here is a photo of a Purple Finch ( female )at the end of her life cycle, she died moments after this photo was taken. I have many species of birds living here on my mountain top. This is the first one that I saw that met it's end. I believe it was old age even though the temperate has reached 110 on a few days this summer. I provide food, shelter and water for any birds that remain here and thats why they stay. My homemede feeder is mounted on a large Pine tree, I trunk,  I have also added a few Cedar branches for them to rest on. Theres a lot of competition going on at the feeder. The Blue jays are the dominant ones at the feeder, but sometimes they will fill their cheeks with seeds and eat them elsewhere. There is very little fighting going on at the main feeder. Not so at the Humming bird feeder, theres always chasing & fighting going on , they are the hardest to photograph.I have many photos of birds that I have photographed this year which I will be uploading in time. Most of my photos are taken with a Sony Cybershot Dsc-H1, WITH 5.1 megapixel and 12X optical zoom. Very few are modified except for croping or zooming on computer as my photos are taken from a distance of from 3 ft. to 1 mile away, none of my shots are Macro, I use the computer to also zoom in on the best part. I have also got some surprises,  things not seen with the naked eye when I took some photos. I have a Yahoo 360 page with about 42 albums there to view and I am starting to transfer some of them to here. I just started doing photography daily for the past 3 years. Hope you all enjoy my photos..

I've been noticing a heron on the pond every morning on my way to work. Since I don't have to be at work until 11 p.m. (yuck!), I decided to take a walk down the driveway and see if I could get a couple of decent shots of him. I'll let y'all decide how well I did. I like the butterfly wing-man in the last shot.
His flight is done, now it's time to  survey his domain.

As always, all gripes, groans, complaints, and moans are welcomed!

I have had the opportunity to shoot alot of Goldfinches on and around my feeders in the backyard. But, shooting these guys in thier natural environment hasn't been as easy. I got these the other day,
1 Finch  2 Finch

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Bonus DOF

Female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird On The Feeder.

Ruby 1
Ruby 2

Enjoy The Beautiful Colors Of The Male American Goldfinch.
Black & Yellow

People ask me why I choose to live near the Coast when I know hurricanes are a part of life down here.  Ask no more and see why.  Yesterday morning I had a little time to waste so I decided to drive down the park.  It winds and bends around a mile of the beach with ponds for all kind of birds.  Actually it is called a bird sanctuary.  No  bird is to be harmed. Even the poopers are safe here.   Sometimes the birds decide to nest and have a little ducklings.  Maybe I will have pictures of little ducklings one day.  

Cardinals Are One Of My Favorite Birds To Watch And Photograph. Enjoy The Beauty Of The Female Northern Cardinal

Hear What You've Never Heard,
See What You've Never Seen,
Feel What You've Never Felt Before,
NATURE

Female House Sparrow
Male House Finch
Yesterday's Sunset From My Backyard

Cape May, New Jersey

Two Week Old Gull Chick
Jellyfish Swimming By The Boat Dock

Bun 1
Bun 2

 Col.BB Wanted To See Yesterday's Thumbnail  Macaw Friends. I Saw These Two Beautiful Macaws On Display At The Waterfront In Old Town Alexandria, Va. These And Other Exotic Birds Were On Display To Raise Money For A Bird Rescue In Va.

Dee And I Are Driving Three Hours South Tomorrow To Cape May, New Jersey, Our Favorite Place At The Jersey Shore. See Ya Next Wednesday. Have A Wonderful Weekend Everyone!
Rockey

I Have Been Real Busy At The Wildlife Rehab Center. We Also Got Hit With Some Real Bad Thunderstorms On Tuesday Eveing And Lost Power For Two Days.

Female Cardinal
Robin With Berries In Her Beak