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When I was growing up, my
folks always pointed out the different kinds of birds in our yard in
suburban New Jersey home or on road trips. Since then, I've
always kept an eye out for our feathered friends to see if anything
interesting is going on. Last year, in the early spring, I saw
a flock of vultures, about 12, sitting in the tops of some trees
about a half-mile from a turkey farm! I wish I had my camera
with me that day!
In any event, here are a
few pictures I snapped of our feathered friends (and if you think
it's simple shooting these pictures, YOU should try to click one up
close of a bird some day--it's tough!).
Laying on my stomach 40
feet away from them in Snyder Park, Springfield, Ohio, I snapped
this picture of two ducks just as the mating ritual was getting
ready to start.
You can tell Mama Duck is playing coy and
acting disinterested (she shook her feathers out at me while I took
the shot), but that mallard sure thinks I'm a competitor!
A little later,
these two characters were on their honeymoon. No, sorry, I
didn't take any pictures of that event!
Here's an interesting web site
I found the other day: www.birds.com (no, I'm not kidding, it's for
real!) 
Here's another one I took in one of
the local parks here in Miami County, Ohio where I live.
While I had no idea what its name is, I know the yellow
and red and orange wing bars are only displayed during
courtship. I e-mailed a copy of this picture to the
Dayton Audobon Chapter and asked them to help identify it for
me. Gene Storer,
the Dayton Audubon Webmaster, told me this appears to be a
red-winged blackbird.
Thanks, Gene, for the tip on
this character's identity and the kind compliments about Bluejeans'
Place!
Here I am a few weeks ago,
minding my own business, driving home from the post office here in
Tipp City, and what do I see in someone's yard?
A blue heron!
Yes--in someone's
yard!
I pull the Firebird (no pun
intended) to the side of the road, creep out silently, slowly raise
the hatch to get the camera out, and prowl down the street on foot
to get near this character. The bird stood there, frozen in
place, for a good five minutes. I got within about 85 feet of
him and snapped this picture.
The heron heard the whir of
my camera's film advancer, started running...
...and then took
off.
I was disappointed that he
took off, but I kept snapping away. It was a beautiful sight
to see in nature.
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