We came upon this little guy at The Los Angeles Arboretum outside Glendale, California. I am not a duck expert but I never saw one before that had this blue stripe badge on its side. I thought it unusual and hope one of my followers can educate me on what type of duck this is.
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Duck
A lot of people visiting Florida think these birds are Flamingos when they see them in flight. Flamingos are not as common in Florida as many may think and are more native to South America and Central America. The spoonbill though is common in the southern United States. Mostly you will see them wading in wetlands but when they fly they truly look strange. These were photographed on Captiva Island in Florida.
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Roseate Spoonbills in Flight
When we first moved to the Pocono Mountains we would see all the deer and get real excited. Aren’t they pretty? Isn’t nature wonderful?
Our real estate agent laughed and told us that within five years we would think of them as pests. He was wrong, It only took three years. We saw the impacts of deer wasting disease and eventually our community had to vote for a deer cull. There was no hunting in our community and the deer population was unhealthy.
For the last three years we have been wintering in Florida and I love to watch birds in flight, especially large birds like pelicans. People who live there hate them, especially fisherman. They steal bait, steal the catch, poop all over their boats and stalk them well out to sea. Here is a small group pestering a fisherman in a bay near Captiva island Florida.
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Friend or Foe
I think we all have a fascination with flight. We dream about it. We study birds, build aircrafts and ride rollercoasters and other rides just to experience the sensation of flight. Wealthy people spend a lot of money to go up into space to experience free fall and hell people even jump out of plane to skydive and jump off of cliffs to experience the sensation of flight.
Looking through my images I realize as a photographer I have long been fascinated with the concept of flight. Here are a few of my favorite images on the subject.
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In Flight
In Flight
Fascination with Flight
Recently I posted an image of a Flamingo Squabble at the Highland Park Zoo in Pittsburgh. All the flamingos, maybe a dozen in all, were engaged with one another but off to the side was one flamingo all by himself. There were also a few blue herons together but one was also estranged and hung out near the solitary flamingo. Were these two pals ostracized from society for some unknown avian crime? Guess I will never know.
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Strange Birdfellow
As a photographer I have risen frequently to greet the morning sun. I am always struck by the birds. If you are going to take a sunrise picture you want to be on the scene before the sun rises. If you are real early in the eerie light you can hear the birds waking up but can’t see them. Then you will begin to see them perched and stretching their necks,fluttering their wings and then as the sun begins to peek out flight.
Taken in Mexico off a beach near Cancún.
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Greeting the Sun
When I think about large birds I think of condors, pelicans, eagles and the albatross. I forget about the ostrich. Yes it is a bird but it does not fly. Thank god! They can weigh up to 400 pounds and be up to 9 feet tall. Can you image a sky full of these?
They can also sprint at almost 45 miles per hour according to the National Geographic. They are weird but fun to watch. They have a strange gait and when they sprint they make your jaw drop. They share a large habitat in the Highland Park Zoo of Pittsburgh where this picture was taken.
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Big Bird
At the Pittsburgh Zoo in Highland Park I was struck about how fierce the Flamingos were when they squabbled. I was also struck at how little they looked like the plastic ones that adorn people’s lawns. I did not alter the color on this images but can honestly say I remembered Flamingos as being less vibrant in color. It may have something to do with what their diet is but I honestly don’t know. Maybe its because I had cataract surgery.
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Flamingo Fight!
Watching Pelicans fly is like watching fish in a tank for me. It makes me happy and lowers my blood pressure. When they skim over the surface looking for fish it reminds me of a scene in Doctor Strangelove. George C. Scott is describing how low “his boys” can fly a B-52 under the radar.
This one fishing off the fishing dock at Johns Pass in Madeira Beach Florida.
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Skimming
My friends in Tampa Bay have a pair of Hawks that nest in their neighborhood. We used to have a nesting pair in The Poconos that migrated south each year. I wonder if it’s the same pair?
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Imagery Photography 