Once again, this is a monthly reflection on past experiences, memories from three years ago. I will continue the "scavenger hunt" for photos which represent a few selected themes: Living CRITTERS of all kinds, beautiful SKIES and REFLECTIONS, as well as MACRO images and GOOD FENCES. I have met this challenge for the past 13 months in a row, so let's see how far I must travel into the month of February, 2013 to achieve my goal! We started the month of February back home in Florida, having returned from Illinois late on January 24th in order to host Mary Lou's brother and his daughter and her husband whom we had invited to stay with us before we had to run off in early January to care for our daughter's family when she broke her leg. We took our guests to Shark Valley in Everglades National Park, where this American Alligator was basking. I did not dare get close enough for a Macro: Although common throughout much of North America, American Robins visit the Florida peninsula only in winter. We see them infrequently, so they are a treat when they do appear. This one is feasting on exotic Brazilian Pepper: You may recall that on December 22, 2012, two captive-reared Whooping Crane colts overflew their migration route and appeared in our local wetlands. During our absence, the female ("Tussock" #12-13) injured her foot, became emaciated and had to be captured and transported to Wild Kingdom in Orlando for treatment and rehabilitation. The male (Cypress #12-15) was still here, flying about... ...and casting a fine reflection: Here is a brief slide show and video clip that tells more about the Whooping Cranes:
(if video does not appear in the space below, click on THIS LINK)
Although he had been captive-reared in Wisconsin where great pains had been taken to shield him from human contact, Cypress looked right at home in a small park just across the street from our neighbor Scott's house: Indeed, pedestrians and auto traffic seemed not to bother him a bit: This was cause for great concern as, after being left on his own, he seemed oblivious to the dangers of an urban environment. On February 10, two representatives of the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP) were dispatched to capture Cypress. They located him with telemetry and did a very professional job of safely retrieving the crane. He was malnourished, but soon recovered and was relocated to a ranch in the Lake Okeechobee area with others of his species. Shrouded in a white sheet and tempting him with grapes, Jeannette led the crane into an open area where a snare had been placed: The ruse worked, and the crane was trapped by the leg: Ricardo rushed to immobilize the great bird: He quickly placed a sock over the crane's head, which immediately quieted him (Photo property of Scott McPherran, used with permission): Within minutes, safely cradled in Jeannette's arms, Cypress was on his way to Orlando. I wish the story had a happy ending, but both cranes subsequently perished out in the wild during the harsh winter (Photo property of Scott McPherran, used with permission): The very next day we flew back to Illinois to permit our son-in-law's parents to return home after taking their turn at caring for the household. It was snowy and cold, and the two Tibetan Mastiffs just loved it: Another canid, this a Coyote, stopped to watch us as we looked for winter sparrows in a cornfield: Under gray skies, a bank of trees acted as a windbreak for the cropland: Among the cornstalk stubs we found American Tree Sparrows... ...Lapland Longspurs... ...and Horned Larks: In our daughter's back yard, we saw another robin, this time fluffed up against the cold and falling snow... ...and a hardy "Snowbird," a Dark-eyed Junco: I had to really search for a shot that could legitimately qualify as a MACRO. This is the only part of a Tricolored Heron that I could fit into the viewfinder as it roosted on the railing of the boardwalk at Everglades national Park: I got even closer to this Gray Squirrel as it refused to climb any higher in the tree in our front yard until it finished eating the acorn: In Illinois later in the month the snow had cleared. This is a better photo of the fence in our daughter's back yard. Behind it is a managed tall grass prairie which is very attractive to wildlife: Two Black-capped Chickadees race each other to the feeders: This old barn is one of my favored subjects:
Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart Linking to I Heart Macro by Laura ________________________________________________ Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display ________________________________________________
This month's potpourri gathered from the archives features the themes of critters, fences, skies, macros and reflections. This presented a particular challenge. It is a retrospective view of photos taken three years ago, in November, 2012. As you will learn in a moment, events took an unexpected turn.
At that time I did not seek to portray each of these memes, so it is to some extent a game of chance. Let's see how far I needed to go into the month to find at least one of each. If I can get them all I will have won the game eleven months in a row since starting in January, 2015. This month's flashback once again produced the required set of images, but not until November 26th
Unusually, we started out the month in NE Illinois, partly to celebrate a large Halloween party honoring our son-in-law. Nearly 200 guests attended and enjoyed a Cuban-style pig roast. In lieu of gifts the event benefited a volunteer agency that assists foster children and their court-appointed attorneys.
Agramonte, one of two Tibetan Mastiffs in our daughter's household, welcomed the cold weather:
We discovered that the landscape surrounding our second home had been drastically changed in our absence. The cornfields that had been fallow for over 10 years and which produced a surprisingly rich habitat for prairie species were being "reclaimed." Within months we would be surrounded by new town-homes and lose our view of the horizon. These are not "good fences" except in the sense that they prevent construction debris from blowing about:
Migrating Sandhill Cranes, which usually stopped here, instead flew overhead against a gray sky:
We encountered birds that would not venture into south Florida, such as this Long-eared Owl...
...Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Juncos...
...Red Crossbills...
...American Tree Sparrows...
...and Lapland Longspurs:
One of the more impressive "critters" was this Red-tailed Hawk, displayed as a MACRO:
Bundled up against the cold, we birded with our local Kane County Audubon Society group, at nearby Nelson Lake/Dick Young Forest Preserve:
Winter weather on the Great Plains can be extreme, producing dramatic sunsets..
...and rainbows over the cornfields:
We had extended our stay to be with our daughter and two granddaughters while her husband was away on a hunting trip in North Carolina. Unfortunately, a deer stand collapsed under him and he broke both of his legs. Roly had to be transported back home for specialized treatment. We therefore remained through much of the month to help them out. Here he is after successful surgery, "walking" in his neighborhood with his daughters and other family members who flew in from Florida and Connecticut:
During our stay in Illinois I failed to capture a single reflection, and my only "fence' was a poor substitute for the real thing. Luckily, our return to Florida, on November 24, produced immediate results. Here is our home, not only including its reflection and that of a backyard egret, but also showing our neighbor's fence! Finally I had a spate of more credible MACRO photos on November 25, unknowingly saving me from "future failure," including a Honeybee...
...and a Zebra heliconian:
For the first time over the eight years that we lived there, flocks of White Pelicans and Roseate Spoonbills appeared on the local wetlands! A spoonbill cast a lovely reflection on November 26:
They mixed with the pelicans:
The pelicans fed cooperatively, lining up to herd a school of fish to the lake's margin:
I captured this video of their feeding behavior, American White Pelicans Feeding Cooperatively (turn the sound down to avoid hearing my New Jersey accent!) If the video fails to load in the space below, try THIS LINK:
https://youtu.be/t7XslbDgSPU
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Linking to Misty's CAMERA CRITTERS,
Linking to I Heart Macro by Laura ________________________________________________ Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display ________________________________________________
