Another sixth day of the seventh month of the year of the OP

Great Egret Pair Nest Building

The male of the species brings a twig to a nest under construction. Both birds take part in the building of the nest but as in most life, the lady of the house has the last word on twig placement.

These two were found in April of 2006 at the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, FL. Note the lores (that area around the eye) during the mating season take on a very green hue, almost a chartreuse color. Normally the lores are a dull yellow.

This is a tall and slender bird which offers the viewer some very graceful scenes particularly during the golden hours of early morning and late afternoon. These birds generally stand over three feet high but weigh two pounds……..all feathers. They can be found in most shallow waterways gently stalking prey. Their bills are long, sharp, and lethal. I have seen them from Maine to Florida generally in tributaries, small ponds, lakes and rivers. Concentrations can be found in the salt marshes and tidal flows all along the coast.

The sixth day of the seventh month of the year of the OP

TRANSLUCENT
A GREAT EGRET

I spent two weekends April of 2006 at the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine, Florida.

The place has been there for a hundred years and was originally a farm growing alligators for commercial use. Now it is a tourist destination and incidentally a rookery for dozens of long leg wading birds. So, the secret is out. Whenever you see a really close photograph in a magazine of a heron and it is tack sharp, chances are good the photographer made the image at the farm.

Guests at the rookery are actually feet away from nesting birds. I have even had an immature tri-colored or Louisiana Heron peck at the end of the lens as I leaned over the walkway railing.

The above image is one in which I guess you can say I was lucky again. Normally, a bird flying is back-lit by the sky and the exposure makes the subject into a silhouette. In this case the bird was not only sharp but the lighting was good. Placed in the left third of the frame and with little cropping the image is striking. During the months that these birds mate, usually in the spring, one can see Great Egrets such as this one along with Wood Storks, Cattle egret, Louisiana Herons, Little Blue Herons, and the irrepressible Snowy Egrets. Mating rituals, nesting rituals, nest building, mating, and young can all be witnessed.

That is not to say that there are many other things to see at the farm, but for the photographer this is a special place.

http://www.alligatorfarm.us/

The fifth day of the seventh month of the year of the OP

THE FLIGHT OF A HUMMER

I always said that I would rather be lucky than good! Whilst making frames in my workshop, I noticed this humming bird feeding on the lantana. Like most wild game and birds, this one was intent of feeding and I was able to move up close enough to make this image.

The trick is having the patience to get close enough without spooking the bird. Just fun shots that I cropped pretty tightly. The images were made in Cayce, SC in 2006 in the early afternoon.

I do make my own frames from exotic and fine woods. Flat and broad frames which show considerable grain that compliment the image and matt that I am going to choose. I use mostly fine walnuts and oak, while refinishing antique frames consistent with the images I use. Expensive of course, but signed and dated for the discriminating collector of fine goods.

KABOOM

THE FOURTH DAY OF THE SEVENTH MONTH OF THE YEAR OF THE OP HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

INDEPENDENCE DAY

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

The third day of the seventh month of the year of the OP

A heartfelt and happy fourth of July to you all.

Please remember our brave men and women who have and are serving and also the real meaning of the 4th.

It ain't hot dogs and hamburgers folks.

The image is of the flag, of course, overlaid on the place that Francis Scott Key wrote the Star Spangled Banner.

Yep, Fort McHenry in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

http://www.francisscottkey.org/

Also please check out my Twitter sight to become either uproariously happy or depressingly angry....happy Fourth!

https://twitter.com/Skipwillits