For some reason, I've been on a bit of a bird kick lately. . . I usually don't take shots of anything that moves. In order from the top, is Mad Robin, Twilight Cormorant, Cedar Waxwing and Hunting Osprey.
The Robin Family nested in our Privet Hedge in the back yard a few weeks back. Whenever we would go outside, the mother and father would both fly out and glare at us, cheeping in indignation and then dive bomb us repeatedly! The Mad Robin shot was taken seconds before he flew at me!
The cormorant shot came about as an accident. I was down at Portland's Waterfront on the dock near sunset and saw a couple of Harbor Seals swimming around about 100 feet away. It looked like they were headed my way, so I waited for them, and instead, the Cormorant popped up right in front of me! Unfortunately, I missed the silvery fish that he gulped down as soon as he surfaced, but I like the shot anyhow.
I took the Cedar Waxwing shot, (which is nothing special as a photograph) when I was on a birding walk with our friends, Bruce and Michele, on Sunday evening. Believe it or not, I had never seen a Cedar Waxwing outside of a bird book, and there was a flock of 10-12 of them down at Capisic Pond. I think I've always mistaken them as lady Cardinals from afar, but as you can see, they're quite clearly different.
The Osprey is also not the best shot, being cropped in significantly to show it this large, but he was fishing right over our heads (about 50 feet or so above us) at Wolf's Neck State Park in Freeport a couple of weeks ago. It's very special to see these massive birds feeding their chicks and hunting for fish in the ocean right near you.
So that is my wildlife tour for today. Hope you enjoyed the photos. As always, you can click on any of them to view them larger. Cindy
